Changes

[[File:Shuri-skyline.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The rooftops of [[Shuri castle]], as seen from the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] Pond]]

[[File:Shuri-model.jpg|right|thumb|400px|A model of the city of Shuri, with the [[Shureimon]] and [[Aijo-ufumichi|Aijô-ufumichi]] leading off the top of the image, and [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]] and the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] to the right.]]

[[File:Shurimap.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A map of Shuri, with the castle and Ryûtan clearly visible, and [[Tamaudun]] and [[Aijo-ufumichi|Aijô-ufumichi]] extending down from the castle in the bottom right]]

[[File:Shuri-skyline.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The rooftops of [[Shuri castle]], as seen from the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] Pond, 2014.]]

[[File:Kinjo-road.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô cobblestone street]] to the south of the castle]]

[[File:Kinjo-road.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô cobblestone street]] to the south of the castle]]

[[File:Adani.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The ''[[Adani-ga-daki|Adani-gaa-daki]]'' shrine]]

[[File:Adani.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The ''[[Adani-ga-daki|Adani-gaa-daki]]'' shrine]]

The royal palace, [[Shuri castle]], faced west towards China. A major boulevard called Aijô-ufumichi (J: ''Ayamon ômichi'') extended west from the castle's main gate, the [[Shureimon]]; this boulevard was home to a number of significant sites, many of which have been restored today. These include the Chûzanmon (second gate after the Shureimon); [[Nakagusuku udun]], the Crown Prince's mansion; the royal mausoleum, [[Tamaudun]]; the Buddhist temples [[Ankokuzen-ji]] and [[Jigen-in]]; and the ''[[Uchakuya]]'', an office/residence used by the ''[[zaiban bugyo|zaiban bugyô]]'', a representative of [[Satsuma han]].<ref>Plaques on-site at Shuri castle.</ref> The grounds of the castle, along with [[Sonohyan utaki]] (a sacred site at the castle), Shikinaen, and Tamaudun, were named UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s in 2000, as part of a group called "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu."

The royal palace, [[Shuri castle]], faced west towards China. A major boulevard called Aijô-ufumichi (J: ''Ayamon ômichi'') extended west from the castle's main gate, the [[Shureimon]]; this boulevard was home to a number of significant sites, many of which have been restored today. These include the Chûzanmon (second gate after the Shureimon); [[Nakagusuku udun]], the Crown Prince's mansion; the royal mausoleum, [[Tamaudun]]; the Buddhist temples [[Ankokuzen-ji]] and [[Jigen-in]]; and the ''[[Uchakuya]]'', an office/residence used by the ''[[zaiban bugyo|zaiban bugyô]]'', a representative of [[Satsuma han]].<ref>Plaques on-site at Shuri castle.</ref> The grounds of the castle, along with [[Sonohyan utaki]] (a sacred site at the castle), Shikinaen, and Tamaudun, were named UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s in 2000, as part of a group called "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu."

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] constructed a cobblestone road network known as Pearl Road (''madama michi'') in [[1522]], connecting Shuri with Naha harbor, and with a series of [[gusuku|fortresses]] built to defend the city. One section of that road, known as the [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô stone-paved road]], survives today a short distance south of the castle. Archaeological excavations and construction work at Shuri Castle Park uncovered additional sections of the road, revealing further information as to the width and composition of the road.<ref>''[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41691-storytopic-121.html Shuri Kinjô-chô ishitatami michi]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; "Hôdô shashin shû Shurijô" 報道写真集・首里城, Okinawa Times (2019), 35.</ref>

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] constructed a cobblestone road network known as Pearl Road (''madama michi'') in [[1522]], connecting Shuri with Naha harbor, and with a series of [[gusuku|fortresses]] built to defend the city. One section of that road, known as the [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô stone-paved road]], survives today a short distance south of the castle. Archaeological excavations and construction work at Shuri Castle Park uncovered additional sections of the road, revealing further information as to the width and composition of the road.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41691-storytopic-121.html Shuri Kinjô-chô ishitatami michi]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, ''Ryukyu Shimpo'', 1 March 2003.; "Hôdô shashin shû Shurijô" 報道写真集・首里城, ''Okinawa Times'' (2019), 35.</ref>

A large marketplace, called ''ufumachi'' (大市), once stood just outside the castle grounds - north of the Shureimon and west of the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] pond. This was the chief marketplace in Shuri, providing food and other goods to the residents. The location is today the site of Jôsei Elementary School.<ref name=pamph>"Shuri ma~i" 首里ま～い. Pamphlet. Naha City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division 那覇市教育委員会文化財課, 1989. </ref> It was neighbored by a royal horse-riding grounds, the [[Matsuzaki riding grounds|Matsuzaki baba]], and by the Nakagusuku udun, the Crown Prince's mansion, which was moved from Aijô-ufumichi to that location, north of the Ryûtan, in [[1875]]. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum was later built on that site, but there are now plans to restore the mansion, as a culture & community center, by 2020. The Okinawa Prefectural University of the Arts is located nearby.

A large marketplace, called ''ufumachi'' (大市), once stood just outside the castle grounds - north of the Shureimon and west of the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] pond. This was the chief marketplace in Shuri, providing food and other goods to the residents. The location is today the site of Jôsei Elementary School.<ref name=pamph>"Shuri ma~i" 首里ま～い. Pamphlet. Naha City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division 那覇市教育委員会文化財課, 1989. </ref> It was neighbored by a royal horse-riding grounds, the [[Matsuzaki riding grounds|Matsuzaki baba]], and by the Nakagusuku udun, the Crown Prince's mansion, which was moved from Aijô-ufumichi to that location, north of the Ryûtan, in [[1875]]. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum was later built on that site, but there are now plans to restore the mansion, as a culture & community center, by 2020. The Okinawa Prefectural University of the Arts is located nearby.

The castle may have been built as early as the 1230s,<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing (2000), 50. </ref> or sometime in the 1350s-1390s according to most sources, but it was certainly in place, in any case, by [[1427]], just before the unification of Okinawa & establishment of the Ryûkyû Kingdom under King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]. Shô Hashi made Shuri his capital, leaving the former royal palace at Urasoe. The Ryûtan pond was built in [[1427]], and an earthen embankment called [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] was constructed in [[1452]], connecting Shuri to the port city of Naha. A secondary royal mansion, built for the Crown Prince and called [[Ufumi udun]], was built just outside the castle sometime before [[1487]]; it would later be used as a maternity hut for members of the royal family, as a secondary residence, and in the 1850s as the regent's mansion.

The castle may have been built as early as the 1230s,<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing (2000), 50. </ref> or sometime in the 1350s-1390s according to most sources, but it was certainly in place, in any case, by [[1427]], just before the unification of Okinawa & establishment of the Ryûkyû Kingdom under King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]. Shô Hashi made Shuri his capital, leaving the former royal palace at Urasoe. The Ryûtan pond was built in [[1427]], and an earthen embankment called [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] was constructed in [[1452]], connecting Shuri to the port city of Naha. A secondary royal mansion, built for the Crown Prince and called [[Ufumi udun]], was built just outside the castle sometime before [[1487]]; it would later be used as a maternity hut for members of the royal family, as a secondary residence, and in the 1850s as the regent's mansion.

The city was considerably expanded as King Shô Shin (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) consolidated power into the capital, as well as under his successor, [[Sho Sei (1497-1555)|Shô Sei]] ([[1527]]-[[1555]]). [[Engaku-ji]], the chief family temple of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]], was established in [[1492]]. The royal mausoleum at Tamaudun was completed in [[1501]],<ref>Kerr, 109.</ref> the [[Benten]] Hall and its attached Tennyo Bridge at the Ryûtan pond were built the following year, and the cobblestone road to the south in [[1522]].

The city was considerably expanded as King Shô Shin (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) consolidated power into the capital, as well as under his successor, [[Sho Sei (1497-1555)|Shô Sei]] ([[1527]]-[[1555]]). [[Engaku-ji]], the chief family temple of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]], was established in [[1492]]. The royal mausoleum at Tamaudun was completed in [[1501]],<ref>Kerr, 109.</ref> the [[Benten]] Hall and its attached Tennyo Bridge at the Ryûtan pond were built the following year, and the cobblestone road to the south in [[1522]]. These and other monuments and structures were part of a broader transformation of the city from more simply the location of the ruler's palace, to a royal capital that functioned as a "physical manifestation of royal power and authority."<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii (2019), 162.</ref>

In 1526, Shô Shin obliged the ''[[anji]]'' (local lords) to take up residence within the capital; by removing them from their lands, Shô Shin strengthened the royal government's control over them, and over their lands, much as the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] would do a century later in mainland Japan with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' system, and by obliging all samurai in the [[han|domains]] (with some exceptions) to live in the castle-towns, under the watchful eyes of their respective ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]''. ''Anji'' residences were organized within the city according to the geographical location of their fiefs, with different neighborhoods being populated by the lords of ''[[magiri]]'' in northern, central, and southern Okinawa.

In 1526, Shô Shin obliged the ''[[anji]]'' (local lords) to take up residence within the capital; by removing them from their lands, Shô Shin strengthened the royal government's control over them, and over their lands, much as the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] would do a century later in mainland Japan with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' system, and by obliging all samurai in the [[han|domains]] (with some exceptions) to live in the castle-towns, under the watchful eyes of their respective ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]''. ''Anji'' residences were organized within the city according to the geographical location of their fiefs, with different neighborhoods being populated by the lords of ''[[magiri]]'' in northern, central, and southern Okinawa.