Kakinohana Castle

History

There are no written historical records of when this castle was built. There hasn’t been a thorough archaeological investigation of Kakinohana Castle, so the age of the castle cannot be accurately determined except that it was built sometime between the 12th to 15th century (Gusuku Period.) It is said that Minton Gusuku Aji’s second son built Kakinohana Castle. After its completion, the Kakinohana Aji (roughly translates as “lord”) and his descendants lived there. At the time of Shohashi’s rise to power, the Kakinohana Castle’s Aji, a distant relative of Shohashi, joined him in defeating the Shimashi-Ozato Aji.

Visit Notes

Kakinohana Castle or Kakinohana Gusuku is the most overgrown Ryukyuan gusuku that I have visited so far. This castle ruin is covered in Bird's Nest Ferns and other tropical undergrowth. There are two baileys forming this castle, an outer and an inner bailey in a linear layout. This is shown on a map near the entrance to this hilltop fortress. The stone walls were built using the Nozura-zumi method of construction. There are several sections of the walls which juts out, forming bastions for flanking defensive fire. Some sections of the wall have partially collapsed or are covered in tropical undergrowth.

After a 5-minute bus ride from Nanjo City Hall, get off at either the Kakinohana (垣花) stop or the Nakadakari (仲村渠) stop using the A2 mini-bus which runs in a loop back to Nanjo City Hall. You can also catch the A1 Nanjo City mini-bus, which runs in the opposite direction, but it takes around 35 minutes to get there.

All the photos uploaded to this profile were taken in late December 2022.

RaymondW wrote this castle profile and contributed all the photos.

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Gallery

Stone stairs remnants up to the Outer Bailey gate
Outer Bailey gate ruin
On top of Outer Bailey's wall
Outer Bailey
Pacific Ocean seen from Outer Bailey's wall, west side
Inner Bailey's stone walls and gate ruin
Inner Bailey
Shrine at Inner Bailey
Inner Bailey's stone wall

Castle Profile
English Name	Kakinohana Castle
Japanese Name	垣花城
Alternate Names	Kakinohana Gusuku
Founder	Minton Gusuku Aji's(Lord's) Second Son
Year Founded	Unknown, sometime in the 12th to 15th century
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Bus
Visitor Information	Free
Time Required	30 minutes
Website	https://www.kankou-nanjo.okinawa/bunka/details/7
Location	Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture
Coordinates	26° 8' 53.23" N, 127° 47' 33.94" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2023
Contributor	RaymondW
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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