Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
underneath this little man-made mountain of stone and water waiting to be explored. The
reward is a view of the park through the waterfall from behind it.
14
NAMINOUE SHRINE
波の上宮
If you're not yet at peace from your garden visit, a spiritual visit might better suit you. About
five blocks away, maybe 10 minutes on foot, is the Naminoue Shrine (
波の上宮
; Naminoué-
gū; lit. “Above the Waves Shrine”), the primary Shinto shrine in Okinawa Prefecture. It's
beautifully sited atop a bluff overlooking the East China Sea and the approach to Naha shin-
kō and Tomari Harbor.
The shrine's place in history and lore goes back a long way, maybe 1,000 years. Legend
holds that a fisherman found a mysterious stone at the site. He prayed, his catches became
greater, the stone glowed, but then the gods took the stone away. But the place itself became
holy. As early as 1367 historical records show that a Buddhist temple was founded on the
site. It came to be called Naminoué-san Gokoku-ji (
波上山護国寺
; lit. “Naminoue Mountain
Temple for the Protection of the Country”).
Naminoue was to become associated with the protection of the many ships coming and
going from Naha as Okinawa's trade with China, Japan, Korea and regions to the south
expanded. Prayers were offered to the gods of the seas for safe journeys, good navigation
and successful trade. At the beginning of each year, the Ryukyu king visited the shrine and
prayed for the peace and prosperity of the kingdom and for good harvests and good fishing.
Naminoue rose to become the most important shrine of the Ryukyu kingdom.
Interestingly, the shrine was to play host and home to an early and controversial Christian
missionary. In 1846 Bernard Jean Bettelheim (1811-70), a Hungarian-Jewish would-be rabbi
converted to Protestantism, arrived in Naha with his wife and children by way of Italy, Tur-
key, England and Hong Kong. Refused permission to disembark, Bettelheim bribed his way
ashore, bringing his wife, children and possessions with him. He found refuge at Naminoue
and thereupon remained. Difficult as it may be to believe, he was to preach, teach and bully
his way on Okinawa without any real reprisal or repercussion for the next seven years. Des-
pite his eccentric and irascible behavior, his frequent run-ins with local officials and his un-
authorized occupation of the shrine, he became useful as the unofficial translator for all vis-
iting Western ships and seemingly could not be budged from his new-found residence at the
shrine.
