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====Seiden====

====Seiden====

The chief royal residence, or Seiden, the building at the heart of Shuri castle, faces and overlooks the ''unâ''. The largest wooden building in the Ryûkyû Kingdom, it was lavishly painted and otherwise decorated in vermillion and gold, with intricate carvings and other embellishments painted in bold colors. Its construction incorporates Chinese, Japanese, and native Okinawan architectural elements, including among many other features a Japanese ''[[karamon]]'' gabled arch over the entrance, and Chinese-style two-tiered roof modeled upon that of the Chinese Imperial Palace.

The chief royal residence, or Seiden, the building at the heart of Shuri castle, faces and overlooks the ''unâ''. The largest wooden building in the Ryûkyû Kingdom, it was lavishly painted and otherwise decorated in vermillion and gold, with intricate carvings and other embellishments painted in bold colors. Its construction incorporates Chinese, Japanese, and native Okinawan architectural elements, including among many other features a Japanese ''[[karahafu]]'' gabled arch over the entrance, and Chinese-style two-tiered roof modeled upon that of the Chinese Imperial Palace.

Two stone dragon pillars flank the central stair of the Seiden; these, like just about everything on the grounds today, are reconstructions, though pieces of the pre-1945 pillars are now housed at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum. A series of sliding doors at the center of the front of the building opened directly onto the main audience chamber, above which (on the second floor) was the throne room; the two were connected by a narrow staircase, allowing the king, queen, and other top-ranking royals and officials to make their appearance traveling directly from the throne room to the audience chamber.

Two stone dragon pillars flank the central stair of the Seiden; these, like just about everything on the grounds today, are reconstructions, though pieces of the pre-1945 pillars are now housed at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum. A series of sliding doors at the center of the front of the building opened directly onto the main audience chamber, above which (on the second floor) was the throne room; the two were connected by a narrow staircase, allowing the king, queen, and other top-ranking royals and officials to make their appearance traveling directly from the throne room to the audience chamber.