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*''Japanese'': [[中城]]城 ''(Nakagusuku gusuku, Nakagusuku jou)''
*''Japanese'': [[中城]]城 ''(Nakagusuku gusuku, Nakagusuku jou)''
Nakagusuku was an Okinawan ''[[gusuku]]'' fortress, on the east coast of central [[Okinawa Island]]. Built in the Xth century, the castle fell in [[1458]] when its lord, [[Gosamaru]], was defeated by forces of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]; the ruins have today been designated a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], as part of the broader umbrella grouping "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu."
Nakagusuku was an Okinawan ''[[gusuku]]'' fortress, on the east coast of central [[Okinawa Island]]. Built in the 14th century, the castle fell in [[1458]] when its lord, [[Gosamaru]], was defeated by forces of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]; the ruins have today been designated a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], as part of the broader umbrella grouping "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu." Nakagusuku is generally regarded as the most well-intact ''gusuku'' site on Okinawa.
==History==
==History==
Originally built in the 14th century, Nakagusuku gusuku was ruled for a number of generations by the successive ''Sachinakagusuku [[anji]]''. In [[1440]], the lord of [[Zakimi gusuku]], Gosamaru, was moved to Nakagusuku and became the lord of the castle. As lord, Gosamaru oversaw the expansion of the northern and third enclosures.
The castle is most famous for the circumstances surrounding its fall. The fourth lord of Nakagusuku, Gosamaru, was assigned there by the royal court at [[Shuri]] in order to keep an eye on [[Amawari]], lord of [[Katsuren gusuku]], who the court suspected of plotting against the king.<ref name=summit>Okinawa G8 Summit Host Preparation Council. "Three Castles, Two Lords and a Ryukyuan Opera." [http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/summit/gusuku/gusuku_1b/index2.htm The Okinawa Summit 2000 Archives]. Accessed 25 July 2009.</ref> There, Gosamaru oversaw a renovation or expansion of the castle; though many accounts indicate that Nakagusuku was built at this time, Gosamaru was the fourth lord of the castle, so clearly it must have been built earlier.
The castle is most famous for the circumstances surrounding its fall. The fourth lord of Nakagusuku, Gosamaru, was assigned there by the royal court at [[Shuri]] in order to keep an eye on [[Amawari]], lord of [[Katsuren gusuku]], who the court suspected of plotting against the king.<ref name=summit>Okinawa G8 Summit Host Preparation Council. "Three Castles, Two Lords and a Ryukyuan Opera." [http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/summit/gusuku/gusuku_1b/index2.htm The Okinawa Summit 2000 Archives]. Accessed 25 July 2009.</ref> There, Gosamaru oversaw a renovation or expansion of the castle; though many accounts indicate that Nakagusuku was built at this time, Gosamaru was the fourth lord of the castle, so clearly it must have been built earlier.
==Layout==
==Layout==
The castle is located atop a 160m high hill, roughly two kilometers from Yagi Harbor. From the highest point in the site, Nakagusuku Bay (and the Pacific Ocean) is visible to the east, and the [[East China Sea]] to the west; the Katsuren and Chinen peninsulas are also visible. The stone walls are made primarily of cut Ryukyuan limestone.
The castle is organized into six enclosures (''kuruwa''), spread in a long, narrow shape from roughly east to west. Four enclosures run along the south side of the complex, from the southern enclosure (''minami no kuruwa'') and main gate (''seimon'') at the west end, through the first, second, and third enclosures. Two enclosures run along the north side, from the west enclosure (''nishi no kuruwa'') on the west end to the northern enclosure (''kita no kuruwa'') and rear gate (''uramon'') on the east end. The western enclosure is roughly 120 meters long, and was used in part as a horse-running grounds. The castle was well-supplied with fresh water from two wells/springs on the grounds - the ''ufugaa'' (大井戸) in the northern enclosure, and the ''miitugaa'' (未婦井戸) in the western enclosure.
Today, it is the historical rear gate which functions as the main gate into the complex.
The first enclosure (''ichi no kaku'' or ''ichi no kuruwa'') was the largest of the castle's enclosures, and contained the main hall (''seiden''). After the fall of Nakagusuku, this hall was replaced with an administrative building (''bansho'') overseeing the surrounding ''[[magiri]]'' (district); following the [[Ryukyu shobun|abolition of the kingdom]], a village office (''sonyakuba'') was constructed in the space, but was not rebuilt after its destruction in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. The third enclosure (''san no kaku'' or ''san no kuruwa''), expanded under Gosamaru some time after the initial construction of the castle, is sometimes referred to as the "new castle" (''miigusuku''). Its walls are built in the ''aikata'' style, a newer, more advanced style than the ''nuno-zumi'' style in which the walls of the first and second enclosure were built.
Some eight sacred spaces (''[[utaki]]'') once stood within the grounds, including one dedicated to prayers for rain, and one facing [[Kudaka Island]].
Just outside of the walls to the west is a cave called ''kashijaa gama'', which is believed to have been used for smithing, though it is unclear whether these smiths were in the service of the castle, or belonged to the neighboring village.
==References==
==References==