Mawashi

• Japanese: 真和志 (Mawashi)

Mawashi was a farming village on the island of Okinawa, located between the Ryûkyû Kingdom's capital of Shuri, and the kingdom's main port city of Naha. Incorporated along with Shuri into the city of Naha in the modern period, Mawashi is today the largest area within that city; it includes within it the neighborhoods of Aja, Makabi, Azato, Tsuboya, and Shikina, among others.

Mawashi was originally a part of the royal court's directly controlled lands, but as Shuri was developed into the royal capital, Mawashi was separated off to become its own magiri (a division of land). In 1908, Mawashi magiri was re-designated a village (mura). Much of the area was employed for rice cultivation and Satsuma imo sweet potatoes, but Mawashi also included neighborhoods famous for other products, including the sugar cane of Makabi, tofu made in Hantagawa and Kohagura, and ceramic roof tiles produced in Kokuba.

The area was ruined in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, as much of the island was, and many people who fled from the battle did not return. However, the area did slowly recover. In 1953, Mawashi Village was re-designated Mawashi City, but only four years later it was absorbed into Naha.

References

• "Mawashi ma~i" 真和志ま～い. Pamphlet. Naha City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division 那覇市教育委員会文化財課, 1989.