Chibana Castle

Okinawa, Japan, Japan

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Chibana Castle, also known as Goeku Castle  is a Ryukyuan gusuku (fortified site) located on a hill in the Chibana district of Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and is surrounded by jungle and residential areas.

The castle was built on a hill about 88 meters above sea level and was used during the First Shō Dynasty, serving as the residence of the Aji (local lord) of Goeku Magiri, a district in what is now southern Okinawa City. According to historical tradition, the Ryukyuan general Uni-Ufugusuku received Chibana Castle and Goeku Magiri from King Shō Taikyū in reward for defeating Amawari, the Aji of Katsuren Castle, but after the fall of the First Shō Dynasty, Uni was expelled from the castle and later committed suicide, with his tomb and his wife’s tomb built at the foot of the hill on which the castle stands.

In the early 1960s, a commemorative structure was erected at the top of the hill on the castle site to mark the former gusuku and to serve as a local tourist attraction, offering a panoramic view of the former Goeku Magiri area and surrounding cityscape on clear days. The site is relatively quiet and somewhat hidden within the city, with parking space and signs in Japanese, a small staircase leading to a coral-and-shell altar area at the base of the hill.