Ankoku-zan jukaboku stele

• Japanese: 安国山樹華木之記碑 (Ankokuzan jukaboku no kihi)

The Ankokuzan jukaboku no kihi (lit. "Peaceful Nation Mountain Flowering Trees Record Stele") is a stele bearing the oldest extant example of Okinawan writing. It was erected in 1427 by King Shô Hashi of Chûzan in front of Shuri castle, on the banks of the Ryûtan pond. This area was known as Hantanzan, or Ankokuzan, and was an outer gardens for the castle, designed by the Ming immigrant Kaiki, who planted trees and had the Ryûtan created.

This stone relates those events, and is an oft-cited source supporting historical arguments as to the existence and centrality of Shuri castle by that time, and the division of Okinawa into three kingdoms of which Chûzan was one, among other historical matters.

References

• "Ankokuzan jukaboku no kihi," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.