Shuri Castle

Shuri Castle is a reconstruction of the original castle of the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom – an independent country (that paid tribute to both China and Japan) until 1879.

This image was made on our trip to Japan in 2005. Although I had lived in Japan for almost two years in the early 90’s, this was my first trip to Okinawa – homeland of karate.

UPDATE: 17 Jul 24. Shuri Castle was destroyed by fire on 31 Oct 19, and is currently being reconstructed.

This image is part of my Photos of the Day album, which can be viewed in high resolution at http://photos.desparoz.com.