is one of the three royal mausoleums of the Second Shō Dynasty of kings of the Ryukyu Kingdom, along with Urasoe yōdore at Urasoe Castle and Izena Tamaudun near Izena Castle in Izena, Okinawa. The mausoleum is located in Shuri, Okinawa, and was built in 1501Kerr, George H. Okinawa: The History of an Island People (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p109. by King Shō Shin, the third king (reigned 1477–1527), to bury his father, King Shō En a short distance from Shuri Castle. The Tamaudun complex was designated a National Historic Site in 1972. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 2, 2000, as a part of the site group Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu and a National Treasure in 2018.
Overview The Tamaudun site, covering an area of 2,442 m2,Official pamphlet obtained on-site consists of two stone-walled enclosures and the north-facing mausoleum itself, made of three compartments and backed by a natural cliff to the south.Kadekawa, Manabu. Okinawa Champloo Encyclopedia (沖縄チャンプルー事典). Tokyo: Yama-Kei Publishers, 2001. p56. A stone stele in the outer enclosure memorializes the construction of the mausoleum, which was finished in 1501, and lists the name of Shō Shin along with those of eight others involved in the construction. The three compartments of the mausoleum are laid out from east to west, with kings and queens of the Ryukyu Kingdom entombed in the eastern compartment and the princes and other members of the royal family in the western compartment. The third, central chamber was used for the Ryukyuan tradition of ; remains would only be kept here for a limited time to allow for decomposition, after which the bones were washed and placed in urns in the western or eastern chamber depending on the royal status of the deceased.Official plaques and gallery labels on-site.
The exterior of the structure is separated into an outer garden and a courtyard paved with coral fragments, surrounded by a stone wall. The shisa (stone lions) guarding the tomb are examples of traditional Ryūkyūan stone sculpture. The architectural style of the mausoleum represents that of the royal palace at the time, which was a stone structure with a wooden roof.
Being located near the Japanese Supreme Commander's office during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, the mausoleum was caught in the crossfire of concentrated artillery bombardment along with Shuri Castle, suffering extensive damage, including the destruction of the east and west chambers. The ruins were subsequently looted, but the tombs and royal remains themselves remained intact, and much of the structure has since been restored. In 1992 Hiroshi Shō, the great-grandson of Shō Tai, the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, donated Tamaudun and the royal gardens of Shikina-en to the City of Naha.
Burials Seventeen of the 19 kings of the Second Shō Dynasty who ruled between 1470 and 1879 are entombed at Tamaudun, along with various queens and royal children. The first person to be buried there was Shō En, for whom the mausoleum was constructed upon the orders of his son and successor, Shō Shin. However, for approximately 25 years, Shō En was not initially interred here, given that he died in 1476 and the mausoleum was not completed until 1501. Other monarchs not interred here include Shō Sen'i (1430–1477), who was not later re-interred here as his brother was, and Shō Nei (1564–1620) who chose to be interred separately in Urasoe yōdore in the aftermath of the Invasion of Ryukyu. The last interree was former Prince of Nakagusuku, Shō Ten, the son of the Ryūkyū Kingdom's last king, Shō Tai, who was entombed there in 1920 in accordance with traditional Ryūkyūan royal funerary rites, followed by his wife Shōko, Nodake Aji-ganashi, in 1931. Some of the identities of some corpses were still unknown, including a single corpse in Central Chamber that was speculated to be Mukuta Ufutuchi.
Eastern Chamber (37 sarcophagi, 40 corpses)Nakamura, Toru. 沖縄の世界遺産玉陵被葬者一覧 (Tamaudun, World Heritage Site of Okinawa – List of Persons Entombed). October 2005. Accessed 24 August 2008. No. 1: Shō En (1415–1476) No. 2: Shō Shin (1465–1526) & Shō Sei (1497–1555) No. 3: Shō Gen (1528–1572) No. 4: , Queen consort of Shō Gen No. 5: Shō Ei (1559–1588) & This is a title, not a name. This person was the wife (indicated by kanashi ) of the anji (, an aristocratic rank and administrative post/title which might be translated as "local lord") of Aoriya (a placename). See also Okinawan family name for the ways in which these terms were typically used by the Ryukyuan aristocracy at the time in place of personal names. No. 6: , Queen consort of Shō Ei No. 7: Shō Hō (1590–1640) No. 8: , Queen consort of Shō Hō; & Shō Kyō (1612–1631), Crown Prince, eldest son of Shō Hō No. 9: (unknown) No. 10: , Queen consort of Shō Hō No. 11: Shō Ken (1625–1647) No. 12: , Queen consort of Shō Ken No. 13: Shō Shitsu (1629–1668) No. 14: , Queen consort of Shō Shitsu No. 15: Shō Tei (1645–1709) No. 16: , Queen consort of Shō Tei No. 17: Shō Jun (1660–1706), Crown Prince, eldest son of Shō Tei No. 18: , Crown Princess of Shō Jun No. 19: Shō Eki (1678–1712) No. 20: , Queen consort of Shō Eki No. 21: Shō Kei (1700–1751) No. 22: , Queen consort of Shō Kei No. 23: Shō Boku (1739–1794) No. 24: , Queen consort of Shō Boku No. 25: Shō Tetsu (1759–1788), Crown Prince, eldest son of Shō Boku No. 26: , Queen consort of Shō Tetsu No. 27: Shō On (1784–1802) No. 28: , Queen consort of Shō On No. 29: Shō Sei (1800–1803) No. 30: Shō Kō (1787–1834) No. 31: , Queen consort of Shō Kō No. 32: Shō Iku (1813–1847) No. 33: , Queen consort of Shō Iku No. 34: Shō Tai (1843–1901) No. 35: , Queen consort of Shō Tai No. 36: Shō Ten (1864–1920), Crown Prince, eldest son of Shō Tai No. 37: , Crown Princess, wife of Shō Ten
Central Chamber (1 sarcophagus, 1 corpse) No. 1 (unknown) speculated to be Western Chamber (32 sarcophagi, 32 corpses) No. 1: (unknown) No 2: , eldest daughter of Shō En, 1st Kikoe-ōgimi No. 3: , eldest son of Shō Shin; & , eldest daughter of Shō Ikō, 2nd Kikoe-ōgimi No. 4: , third son of Shō Shin No. 5: , eldest daughter of Shō Gen No. 6: , wife of Shō Gen No. 7: , wife of Shō Gen No. 8–9: (unknown) No. 10: , second daughter of Shō Ei, 4th Kikoe-ōgimi No. 11–13: (unknown) No. 14: , wife of Shō Hō No. 15: , Crown Princess, wife of Shō Kyō No. 16: , Crown Princess, wife of No. 17–20: (unknown) No. 21: Shō Kyū (1560–1620), third son of Shō Gen No. 22: , second son of Shō Kō No. 23: , fourth son of Shō Kō No. 24: , seventh son of Shō Kō No. 25: , eldest son of Shō Iku No. 26–31: (unknown) No. 32: , fifth daughter of Shō Tai; & , sixth daughter of Shō Tai
Gallery
See also List of Historic Sites of Japan (Okinawa) List of Important Cultural Properties of Japan (Okinawa: structures)
References
External links
UNESCO World Heritage Site Listing – Official Site (Japanese) 沖縄の世界遺産玉陵 (Tamaudun, World Heritage Site of Okinawa)