STORYWALK
Shuri: The Gate Even the King Did Not Pass
How far the royal capital of Ryukyu let each person through
Hear each place’s story in English — about a minute per chapter, right where it happened. An iPhone app.
Before you walk the royal capital.
In the 16th century, in years that overlap with Japan's Warring States period, an independent country stood in the southern sea: the Ryukyu Kingdom. It sent envoys to the emperor of China, and it was known as a country that valued propriety. Its center was the royal capital you are about to visit, Shuri.
The people in this story are the kings who ruled that country, the officials who served them, and the ordinary people who lived in the capital. And the story follows a single question: who did this country let through, and how far?
The large red-tiled gate at the entrance has no doors at all. The small stone gate beyond it was one even the king did not pass through. In the castle courtyard, the color of the floor decided where a person stood. At the royal tomb, the names of those who entered are carved in stone. Why so many of these lines are still here, scattered across the capital — that is a pleasure to save for the walk itself.
Take your first step, and two gates will be the first to meet you.
From the station to the castle and the stone road.
Start at Shuri Station (Yui Rail) and walk the chapters in order.
Walk in the order of the numbers. On the day, the app guides you to each next chapter.
4 chapters
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01 ・ 17 min walk from the stationShureimon and Sonohyan-utaki Ishimon
Ryukyu Kingdom — the gate that lets you through, and the gate that does notAbout 240 meters east, a large vermilion building comes into view.
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02 ・ 4 min walk from the last chapterShuri Castle: Main Hall and Una Courtyard
Ryukyu Kingdom — the line drawn on the groundHead back west about 460 meters to the royal tomb.
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03 ・ 10 min walk from the last chapterTamaudun Royal Tomb
Ryukyu Kingdom — nine names carved in stoneAbout 210 meters south, you reach the top of the stone-paved slope.
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04 ・ 3 min walk from the last chapterShuri Kinjocho Stone-Paved Road
Ryukyu Kingdom to today — the king's road became the residents' road
Stand there, and you’ll hear it.
In front of you stands a large gate roofed in red tile. This is Shureimon. It is said to have been built during the Ryukyu Kingdom, in the reign of King Sho Sei, between 1527 and 1555. But look closely. There is something unusual about this grand gate: it has no doors at all. It was not built to keep people out. Modeled on the Chinese pailou, a ceremonial gateway, it was built to welcome people and for celebrations. The plaque above it reads "Shurei no Kuni" — literally, "a land of propriety." The phrase goes back to 1579, when the Ming emperor described Ryukyu as a country that valued propriety.
The rest is in the app. Chapter one is free.
Time, fees and getting there
- Start
- Shuri Station on the Yui Rail monorail
- Time
- About 2.7 km on foot, about 2 hours 50 minutes including stops, with a bus for the way down
- Getting there
- From Shuri Station on the Yui Rail monorail, it's about a 15–20 minute walk to Shureimon Gate, around Ryutan Pond. To walk less, take a city bus from the Naha Bus Terminal area to the Shurijo Koen Iriguchi stop; Shureimon is about 5 minutes on foot from there. Check Naha Bus timetables for routes and times.
SourcesNon-fiction, based on official sources.
Shurijo Castle Park (official site) ／ Naha City (official site) ／ Okinawa Prefectural Archives ／ Agency for Cultural Affairs — Cultural Heritage Online ／ Okinawa Story (Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau) ／ Japan Tourism Agency — multilingual explanation database
Hear this story where it happened.
iPhone app — coming soon. Chapter one is free.