Autograph inscription of King Shangyu, the 18th king of the Ryukyu Kingdom (Ryukyu Shinbun)
In the early morning of October 31, a fire broke out in Shurijo Castle, a world cultural heritage site in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and the main hall, the north hall, and the south hall were all burned down, and many precious works of art related to the Ryukyu Kingdom collected by the Okinawa Beautiful Island Foundation, which manages Shurijo Castle, may also be destroyed in the fire.
According to Japan's Ryukyu Shinbun newspaper reported on November 1, among the artworks collected by the Formosa Boulevard Foundation is the handwritten inscription of King Shangyu, the 18th king of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The inscription is a seven-sentence sentence written by King Shangyu to show his skills to the Qing Dynasty envoys who were visiting Ryukyu at that time.
"Flower and Bird Diagram" (Ryukyu Shinbun) on display in Shurijo Castle in April this year
The collection also includes three paintings of flowers and birds by the Chinese Qing Dynasty painter Sun Yi, which is said to hang in the academy of the Ryukyu King.
Shangjia Specialty Clothing - Red Clothing (Ryukyu Shinbun)
It is said that the Shang family's "dragon robe", a red-shaped garment made of fine Silk Cloth made in China, may also have been destroyed in the fire. The Formosa Boulevard Consortium is currently investigating the specific storage of many of the collections, and if they are kept in warehouses in the city, the possibility of the collections being destroyed is very high.
Shang Wei was interviewed after attending the Qingming Festival in April this year (Ryukyu Shinbun)
The last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Gensun and the 23rd shogun of the Shogaku clan, was shocked to learn that Shurijo Castle was destroyed by fire, saying, "I am very distressed that the people of Okinawa have lost Shurijo Castle as a spiritual symbol."
He, who currently lives in Mie Prefecture, said he hoped to return to Okinawa as soon as possible to confirm the fire situation. In order to rebuild as soon as possible, he hopes to contribute his own strength. He had also planned to participate in the "Ancient Parade", a traditional festival of the Ryukyu Kingdom, held on the 3rd. In order to achieve reconstruction at an early date, he hopes to participate in it and contribute his strength "wholeheartedly".
The Ryukyu Shinbun newspaper also reported earlier that the Japanese government in the Meiji period "punished" Ryukyu twice on the grounds that Okinawa accepted the canonization of the Chinese emperor but did not accept the japanese emperor's canonization of the Ryukyu king, and incorporated it into Japanese territory in just a dozen years.
During World War II, Okinawa became the only battlefield in mainland Japan, and a large number of local residents died in the war. After the war, Emperor Showa conveyed the "Emperor's Message" to the U.S. military, hoping that the U.S. military would occupy Okinawa, which is also the root cause of the problem of U.S. military bases that still plague the people of Okinawa.
Akihito was attacked by a flaming bottle during his first post-war visit to Okinawa (Asahi Shimbun)
In 1975, Akihito, then crown prince, made his first post-war visit to Okinawa on behalf of the Japanese Imperial Family, during which he was attacked by a thrown flame bottle.
At present, Okinawa Prefecture has begun to investigate the cause of the Shurijo Castle fire, and Okinawa Prefectural Governor Tamashiro Denny (his father is a U.S. troop in Japan and his mother is a local Okinawa woman) has also traveled to Tokyo, hoping that the government will fully support the reconstruction of Shurijo Castle.
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