Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu World Heritage Site

Official name

Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu | UNESCO

Country

Japan | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

Okinawa Prefecture
26.2086° Lat, 127.6827° Lon | Map

Code

972

Time Zone

Asia/Tokyo (JST, +0900)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2000. Five hundred years of Ryukyuan history (12th-17th century) are represented by this group of sites and monuments. The ruins of the castles, on imposing elevated sites, are evidence for the social structure over much of that period, while the sacred sites provide mute testimony to the rare survival of an ancient form of religion into the modern age. The wide- ranging economic and cultural contacts of the Ryukyu Islands over that period gave rise to a unique culture.