Kurayoshi Takara gives lecture on Shuri Castle restoration effort in Naha

Kurayoshi Takara gives lecture on Shuri Castle restoration effort in Naha

Kurayoshi Takara giving a lecture titled “Shuri Castle, now and in the past” – April 17, at the Palette Civic Theater in Naha


April 18, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

The Palette Kumoji 30th anniversary lecture series took place at the Palette Civic Theater in Naha April 17, and University of the Ryukyus emeritus professor and historian Kurayoshi Takara gave a lecture titled “Shuri Castle, now and in the past.” Takara said, “The restoration of Shuri Castle is a central aspect to resurrecting the culture and activity built by our ancestors,” and spoke about his thoughts on the restoration effort, which he has been passionate about over the past 30 years.

Shuri Castle’s main temple and principal facilities were destroyed in a fire in October, 2019, and Takara has been serving as the chairman of Japan’s “Shuri Castle restoration engineering investigation committee.” He explained the “Reiwa era restoration” schedule to have the main temple rebuilt by 2025, and the state of the discussion surrounding it, saying “We have to somehow resolve the contradiction of enacting a thorough policy to prevent another fire or disaster, without destroying the traditional wooden architecture. We are in the course of combining our knowledge while continuing to investigate the issue.”

While looking back on the previous restoration of the Castle, which was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa he introduced an idea to collect and preserve the cultural and history materials of the Ryukyu Kingdom that have been scattered both to other areas of Japan and abroad. “We have not historical records, and a building that has not been rebuilt. Shuri Castle is unfinished, and there is still a lot of work to do. I want the next generation to work at the restoration with new investigative research and information gathering.”

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

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