Denny in the News

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...

Nakijin Castle Ruins Among Okinawa’s several World Heritage sites is Nakijin Castle Ruins on the north side of Motobu Peninsula. In Ryukyuan it is called Nachijin Gusuku. A gusuku was originally a hilltop site for religious rites, but since the same hilltops often served as excellent forts, gusuku came to refer to castles as well. (Nakijin Castle Front Wall) Nakijin Castle was built over such an ancient site. The museum at Nakijin Castle contains artifacts from the origins of the site, including Chinese coins from prior to 110 BC, indicating trade in the area with China, well before the birth of Christ. The castle was the seat of the Hokuzan (Northern Mountains) Kingdom, whose Lords ruled for 3 generations from the early 14th Century until its last lord, Hanaji, was defeated in 1416 by  Hashi (c.1370-1438), Lord of Chuzan (Central Mountains). The defeated Hanaji and his retainers committed suicide and are said to be interred in a cave on a bluff overlooking Unten Port, to the east...