Changes

*''Japanese'': 赤木名城 ''(Akakina gusuku)''

*''Japanese'': 赤木名城 ''(Akakina gusuku)''

Akakina gusuku was a ''[[gusuku]]'' site located on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] (in what is today Kasari Town). In the [[Edo period]], a ''daikansho'' (''[[daikan]]'' official's office) and the Buddhist temple Akakina Kannon-ji were established on the site; a branch of the [[Shinto shrine]] [[Akiba Shrine]] is located on the site today.

Akakina gusuku was a ''[[gusuku]]'' site located on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] (in what is today Kasari Town), one of the largest in the [[Amami Islands]]. In the [[Edo period]], a ''daikansho'' (''[[daikan]]'' official's office) and the Buddhist temple Akakina Kannon-ji were established on the site; a branch of the [[Shinto shrine]] [[Akiba Shrine]] is located on the site today.

The ''gusuku'' is considered representative of medieval ''gusuku'' sites in the [[Amami Islands]]; located on a hill overlooking Kasari Bay, it featured stone walls of a style reflecting stronger Japanese than Ryukyuan influence.

The ''gusuku'' is considered representative of medieval ''gusuku'' sites in the [[Amami Islands]]; located roughly 100m above sea level on Kamiyama, a hill overlooking Kasari Bay, it extended across an area roughly 300m from north to south and featured stone walls of a style bearing some notable similarity with fortress or castle sites on Kyushu. Though known as a "''gusuku''," the structures at Akakina show little or no influence from Ryukyuan ([[Okinawa Island]]) ''gusuku'', and bear stronger signs of Japanese (Kyushu) influence.

 

It is believed that the ''gusuku'' structures were at their largest extent in the 15th to 17th centuries. Little is known of the medieval history of the site, or of the island more generally, but it is believed that the fortress was likely established in the 15th century at a time when the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] and samurai forces from Kyushu were both attempting to expand into the Amami Islands.

The local ''daikan'' was based for a time at Akakina; his office (the ''daikansho'') was relocated in [[1801]] to Itsubu village or Kaneku village (in what is today Naze City), but the Kannon-ji temple remained for nearly another twenty years, before being relocated to Itsubu as well in [[1819]].

The local ''daikan'' was based for a time at Akakina; his office (the ''daikansho'') was relocated in [[1801]] to Itsubu village or Kaneku village (in what is today Naze City), but the Kannon-ji temple remained for nearly another twenty years, before being relocated to Itsubu as well in [[1819]].