Japanology Plus (2014)

Season 9: Episode 16

Okinawa Prefecture is a group of subtropical islands in the far south of Japan. It was previously a prosperous maritime trading state called the Ryukyu Kingdom. In the second of 2 episodes about Okinawa, we focus on the kingdom's political and cultural hub: Shuri Castle. Our guest, historian Takara Kurayoshi, talks about working on the castle's reconstruction, and shares how he felt in 2019, when a devastating fire burned it to the ground. He also tells us about the forthcoming reconstruction project.