Splendor of Okinawa Bonus: Futenma Shrine and its Cave
Futenma Shrine and its Cave (Futenma Shrine main gate) In news reports, the city of Ginowan’s Futenma District is known for its US Marine Futenma Airfield with its noisy helicopters and Osprey aircraft. However, Futenma also has its lovely Futenma Shrine at the very edge of town, sandwiched between a busy highway and the fence of yet another US base. (Futenma Shrine) The original shrine, destroyed in the bombing and shelling of the first days of the Battle of Okinawa, starting from 1 April1945, has been restored. But the natural cave at the site, embedded in the low limestone hill just behind the shrine, continued on through the war as a place of worship, as it has been, not just for centuries, but for millennia, well predating the arrival of Buddhism and the late-comer Shinto, which now holds sway in the shrine. (Shisa, guardian lion of Okinawan homes, at Futenma Shrine. The shisa’s closed mouth partner can be seen in the right upper corner in the background.) During the Sho Dyna...