JPG: Stories: Photo Essay: Castle Keep

Castle Keep

By Keith Graff

2 Oct 2008

In Okinawa, the story goes that a man named Amawari rose from the masses to become the Lord of the Katsuren district in central Okinawa. Legend says that he was abandoned as an infant and raised himself. He was an ambitious man who worked hard and brought himself up by his own bootstraps. In his early years he famous for showing great kindness to the common people of the district and his legend and power grew as a result. To this day, the people of the Katsuren district still revere him even though throughout the rest of the island his name is scorned.

The legend goes that he quickly rose to prominence to become the right hand man to the Lord of Katsuren. This Lord was said to be a cruel man and a drunkard. He was despised by all the people. Through trickery, Amawari caused him to believe that his life was in imminent danger of being overthrown by a rival Lord. Late one night, he got the Lord drunk and took him to the top of the castle's keep to show him the camp fires of an approaching army. Once there and alone he threw him off the wall to his death and assumed the seat of power for himself.

Once in power, Amawari's ambitions knew no bounds. He started his own alliances with foreign powers and through private trade agreements, began to accumulate wealth and power faster than the King himself. The King at this time was Sho Taikyu, son of Sho Hashi. Fearing the power that Amawari was amassing and in an effort to assuage his ambitions, the king offered his daughter in marriage and formed an alliance. To further strengthen his position, the King also ordered his loyal retainer to move his headquarters from Zakimi Castle in the west to Nagagusuku Castle which stood between Amawari in Katsuren and the King's castle at Shuri.

The King's loyal retainer was a man by the name of Gosamaru. He was by this time an older man who was in retirement. He also served as the loyal retainer to the King's late father. Together, they had united the once fragmented Kingdom of Ryukyu. As a reward for his loyalty, Gosamaru became the king's loyal retainer and was second in power only to the king himself. Additionally, his daughter was married to the king's son and was now the queen, His granddaughter was now the wife of Lord Amawari.

At this time, Nakagusuku castle was in a state of disrepair. Gosamaru believed that Amawari's ambitions could not be restrained by an alliance and thus began to fortify the castle and raise an army to defend the kingdom. Amawari was made aware of this and used this information to trick the king. He used his position as the Lord of Katsuren and son-in-law to gain an audience with the king and convinced him that it was Gosamaru that was raising an army to overthrow the king. With the king's blessings Amawari marched against Gosamaru with the king's own army. Rather than fight and betray his king, Gosamaru committed suicide.

In western culture, we might look at this act as being an admission of guilt. In many eastern cultures, suicide is a way of demonstrating ones innocence. Upon hearing of the death of his loyal retainer, the king repented that he believed Lord Amawari's ruse and ordered his army to march on Katsuren Jo "castle." The castle was at the time believed to be impregnable. The king's army breeched it in two days. Amawari was thrown to his death from the castle's keep just as he had done to his predecessor. Peace had been restored to the tiny Kingdom of Ryukyu but at a terrible cost.

Today all that stands of Katsuren Jo is the upper courtyard and the castle's keep. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 and is in the process of being restored to its former glory. The castle is centrally located along Okinawa's east coast near the end of the Katsuren peninsula. This imposing structure is perched high upon a steep hillside and commands a 360 degree view of the area and overlooks several safe harbors and anchorages.