Springs

An ugamigaa sacred spring, at Ocean Expo Park in Motobu, reproduced based on one at Nakandakari, Tamagusuku

• Okinawan: 川 (kaa) or 樋川 (fiijaa)

Natural springs were treasured in pre-modern and early modern Ryûkyû as one of the chief sources of fresh water. Many springs came to be considered sacred sites, and though no longer as central to daily life as they once were (due to municipal water supplies), a great many are still marked today as sites of worship by small square stones; these sacred springs are known as ugamigaa.

Springs directly accessible at ground level are referred to as kaa in the Okinawan language, while those where an artificial pipe or trough has been constructed are known as fiijaa.

Due to the importance of sources of fresh water, castles were often built around the site of a natural spring.

List of Notable Springs

• Adani-gaa - in Shuri
• Ikutokusen - at Shikinaen
• Kadeshi-gaa - at Nanzan gusuku
• Kakinohana-fiijaa - at Kakinohana gusuku
• Kara-gaa - communal water source for Gibo and Tôbaru neighborhoods of Shuri
• Sashikasa fiijaa - in Tôbaru neighborhood of Shuri
• Sukuyamanu-gaa - at Ôzato gusuku
• Ryûhi - at Shuri castle, also fed the Ryûtan pond.
• Ubii-gaa - in the area of Shikina
• Utinda-fiijaa - in the Ônoyama neighborhood of Naha. One of the only freshwater springs in historical 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.