Haebaru, Okinawa

Shimajiri District (島尻郡, Shimajiri-gun, Okinawan: Shimajiri) is a district located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Modern translation of Shimajiri means "Butt of the island" which may refer to its southerly position on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Kunigami District, Okinawa. However, there are hundreds of geographic references throughout Japan and even into the northern Kuriles using "shiri", to approximate the Ainu word shir, meaning island. Despite Okinawa being so far south, historically Jōmon culture was dominant as on the mainland, and words likely have survived, though their original meanings have long been lost or modified. As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 131,670 and the density of 464.36 persons per km2. The total area is 283.55 km2. The district also includes Kume Island, the Kerama Islands, the Aguni Islands, and the Daitō Islands.

The gardens of Shikina-en (識名園) are located on a small hill to the south of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa. The residence and its gardens are also known as Shichina-nu-Udun (シチナヌウドゥン) or Southern Gardens (南苑), as opposed to the Eastern Gardens (東苑) or Uchayaudun (御茶屋御殿), laid out on a small hill east of Shuri Castle in 1677. In 1992 Hiroshi Shō, the great-grandson of Shō Tai, the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, donated the royal mausoleum of Tamaudun and Shikina-en to the City of Naha.

The Kinjo Dam (金城ダム, Kinjō Damu) is a concrete gravity dam on the Li River in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is designated as a cultural property and is located 500 m (1,640 ft) south of Shuri Castle. Construction on the dam began in 1989 and it was completed in 2000. Its main purpose is flood control and on average, it can control an intake of 40 m3/s (1,413 cu ft/s); releasing 23 m3/s (812 cu ft/s). The 19 m (62 ft) tall and 120 m (394 ft) long dam was constructed on fragile rock and is set on a deep concrete staircase foundation.

Okinawa Shrine (沖縄神社, Okinawa Jinja) is a Shinto shrine in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established at the end of the Taishō period on the site of Shuri Castle, the main hall of which was reused as the haiden (hall of worship), the shrine buildings were destroyed in May 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. Both castle and shrine have since been rebuilt while this phase has been written out of the "official history" currently told at Shurijō Castle Park.

Okinawa Women's Junior College (沖縄女子短期大学, Okinawa Joshi Tanki Daigaku) is a private junior college in Yonabaru, Okinawa, Japan, established in 1966. Contrary to its name, the college has been accepting male students since 2003. This college relocated from Naha, Okinawa to current location in 2015.

Yonabaru (与那原町, Yonabaru-chō, Okinawan: Yunabaru) is a town in Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located at the southern end of Okinawa Island, on the east coast, overlooking Nakagusuku Bay. As of 2015, the town has a population of 18,410 and a population density of 3,502 persons per km2. The total area is 5.18 km2, making it the second smallest municipality in Okinawa.

Shuri (首里, Okinawan: スイ Sui or Shui, Northern Ryukyuan: しより Shiyori) is a district of the city of Naha, Okinawa. It was formerly a separate city in and of itself, and the royal capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. A number of famous historical sites are located in Shuri, including Shuri Castle, the Shureimon gate, Sunuhyan-utaki (a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion), and royal mausoleum Tamaudun, all of which are designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Originally established as a castle town surrounding the royal palace, Shuri ceased to be the capital when the kingdom was abolished and incorporated into Japan as Okinawa prefecture. In 1896, Shuri was made a ward (区, ku) of the new prefectural capital, Naha, though it was made a separate city again in 1921. In 1954, it was merged again into Naha.

Shuri Castle (首里城, Shuri-jō, Okinawan: Sui Gushiku) was a Ryukyuan gusuku castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed. After the war, the castle was re-purposed as a university campus. Beginning in 1992, the central citadel and walls were largely reconstructed on the original site based on historical records, photographs, and memory. In 2000, Shuri Castle was designated as a World Heritage Site, as a part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. On the morning of 31 October 2019, the main courtyard structures of the castle were again destroyed in a fire.

Shuri Station (首里駅, Shuri-eki) is a railway station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) located in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The station was originally planned to be named Tera Station (汀良駅, Tera-eki) after the neighborhood within Shuri, but opened as Shuri Station on August 10, 2003. It serves the center of downtown Shuri, Shuri Castle, and its environs. Shuri Station was originally the eastern terminus of the line. On October 1, 2019, a new eastward extension to Tedako-Uranishi was opened.The chime played to announce trains' arrival and departure is the traditional Okinawan nursery rhyme Akata Sunduchi.

Enkaku-ji (円覚寺, Okinawan: ウフティラ ufutira, lit. "the great temple") was a Rinzai Buddhist temple and royal bodaiji of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, in Naha, Okinawa. The temple was erected during the reign of King Shō Shin (r. 1477–1526), the first abbot being Kaiin Shōko (芥隠承琥). It was also used as bodaiji of Ryukyuan kings. Ryukyuan kings would visit Enkaku-ji, Tennō-ji and Tenkai-ji after their genpuku and investiture.Enkaku-ji was recognized as a national treasure of Japan in 1933, but it was destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa. Only the sōmon (general gate) and Hōjō Bridge (放生橋) were reconstructed in 1968 because of lack of historical records. The government of Okinawa Prefecture began plans to reconstruct its sanmon in 2014.

Sonohyan-utaki (園比屋武御嶽, Okinawan: スヌファンウタキ Sunufan-utaki) is a sacred grove of trees and plants (utaki) of the traditional indigenous Ryukyuan religion. It is located on the grounds of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, a few paces away from the Shureimon castle gate. The utaki, or more specifically its stone gate (石門, ishimon), is one of a number of sites which together comprise the UNESCO World Heritage Site officially described as Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, and has been designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese national government.While the gates were once opened only for the king, today they are always closed, and so the gates have in a way become a sacred space themselves, representative of the actual sacred space behind them. Many travellers and locals come to pray at the gates.The stone gate was first built in 1519, during the reign of Ryukyuan king Shō Shin, though the space had been recognized as a sacred utaki prior to that. Whenever the king left the castle on a journey, he would first stop at Sonohyan-utaki to pray for safe travels. The site also played an important role in the initiation of the High Priestess (聞得大君, kikoe-ōgimi) of the native religion. The gate is said to be a prime example of traditional Okinawan architecture, and shows many signs of Chinese influence, along with a Japanese-influenced gable in the karahafu style. It was severely damaged in the 1945 battle of Okinawa, but was restored in 1957, and officially designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, along with a number of other sites across Okinawa Island. The utaki, i.e. the sacred grove itself, was once much larger than it is today, an elementary school and other buildings having encroached upon the space.

Shureimon (守礼門) is a gate in the Shuri neighborhood of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the second of Shuri Castle's main gates.