Nakijin Castle

Nakijin Castle (今帰仁城, Nakijin Gusuku; Kunigami: Nachijin Gushiiku, Okinawan: Nachijin Gushiku) was a Ryūkyūan gusuku fortification located in the village of Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It was also known as Hokuzan Castle or Hokuzangusuku. It has been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1972. In November 2000, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, along with the Shuri Castle ruins and others.In the late 14th century, the island of Okinawa consisted of three principalities: Nanzan to the south, Chūzan in the central area, and Hokuzan in the north.

Nakijin was the capital of Hokuzan and Nakijin Castle was the seat of the King of Hokuzan. It is today known for the Hikan cherries which bloom in northern Okinawa between mid-January and early February, providing the first cherry blossoms each year in Japan.

Text adapted from “Nakijin Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Nakijin Castle ranks #1,024 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #51 of the 297 mapped in Japan. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 57% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,829 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.

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