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Shuri Castle, Okinawa

Shibuya246 · · 9 photos

The red Seiden, the main hall, before the 2019 fire.Photo dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 13:26
The red Seiden, the main hall, before the 2019 fire.

A December afternoon at Shuri Castle in Naha, the old royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The bright red main hall is very different from castles on the mainland, with Chinese and Japanese styles mixed together.

These photos show the main hall as it stood in 2012. It burned down in a fire in October 2019, and the rebuilt hall is due to open again in November 2026.

A view through an old wooden gate to stone stepsPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 13:14
Looking through one of the gates.
Visitors climbing stone steps below curved stone walls and a red gatePhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/6.3Shutter1/160sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 13:14
The curving stone walls are unique to Okinawan castles.
A model of a court ceremony in front of the red main hallPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/1.8Shutter1/30sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 14:03
A model of a royal ceremony in the courtyard.
A wall made of curved red roof tiles beside a lanePhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/5Shutter1/100sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 14:45
Walls built from old red roof tiles.
Close-up of round tile ends in a wallPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/4Shutter1/60sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 14:45
The tile ends are stamped with flower patterns.
Small plants growing on an old stone wallPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/1.4Shutter1/800sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 14:47
Plants growing out of the old walls.
A quiet stone-paved lane between housesPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/1.4Shutter1/2000sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 15:19
The quiet lanes below the castle.
A narrow street with stone paving and plantsPhoto dataCameraNikon D700Focal length50mmAperturef/1.4Shutter1/1000sISO200Taken9 Dec 2012, 15:38
Stone-paved streets and potted plants.

After the castle I walked down through the old lanes of Shuri, with their stone paving and walls made from old roof tiles.

I took these photos in December 2012 and only got round to posting them in 2026.

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