Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drawing of Nakagusku Castle from Commodore Perry's 1853 Expedition.
The fortress was built starting around 1440 by the legendary Ryukyuan commander
Gosamaru. He had it built to defend his kingdom against attacks from the east by Lord
Amawari of Katsuren Castle. Although today Nakagusku Castle is a ruin, it is exceptionally
well preserved. What remains are the massive surrounding defensive walls and the castle's in-
terior scheme, which divided it into multiple citadels.
Commodore Matthew Perry and his expedition came to Japan in 1853 to pressure the
country to open its borders and trade with the West. Having sailed around Africa, the Indian
Ocean and Hong Kong, Perry first landed in Okinawa on his way. At that time it was the
Kingdom of the Ryukyus. Over the next two years, while engaged in Japanese “diplomacy,”
he was to make port at Naha five times. He conducted an inland survey that included Nak-
agusuku Castle. From this expedition there very fortunately remains a series of remarkable
lithographs by the German-American Wilhelm Heine (1827-85), official artist of the journey.
he accurate, life-like sketches he drew of the places he visited and the people he encountered
were to form the impressions of the Far East for several generations of Europeans and Amer-
icans. They remain one of the most important records of Okinawa and Japan as they were
before foreigners arrived en masse .
 
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