Beyond the Torii: King Sho En (尚圓王) Once Lived Here

His Name Was Kanamaru

 

 

Born on an island off the northeast coast of Okinawa, Kanamaru farmed the land.

Hard working and successful, his ambitions may have led to his downfall.

One year, during a dry spell, his fields were the only ones where the crops had water.

Envious neighbors, accused him of stealing the water if, you can believe that.

Stealing, a precious thing like water, was considered a capital crime it that neck of the woods.

So, Kanamaru, hopped on a boat and, escaped to the big island of Okinawa.

Back behind the torii gate above, was the first place he resided.

It's in Ginama, a peaceful little fishing village, scrunched between the ocean and mountains.

There isn't much room for farmland so, maybe he decided to move along.

He might have suspected the captain of the boat he sailed on, would snitch and collect a bounty.

Or, it's possible, he tried his hand at fishing and, decided that wasn't the life for him. 

What possess people to move from the country, to the big city, always baffles me.

He moved to Shurii and got some sort of job with the government.

Pretty soon folks figured out how efficient he was and, the king hired him as treasurer.

Somehow, a the Sho Dude heading the dynasty started, disappointing the rest of the royalty.

They asked Kanamaru, how he would like to become the king.

He changed his name to Sho En and made all of his family some kind of royalty.

And, he kicked all the other Sho people out of the castle so, they couldn't be royalty anymore !

Dang. Don't you just love a good story with a happy ending ?

REFERENCES:

ISBN 978-0-8048-2087-5 The History of an Island People

Baltimore Sun
 

Okinawa Island Guide

Second Sho Dynasty

The Forgotten Dynasty of the Ryukyu Islands

The Samurai Archives

Travel Shots: Prayer at Katsuren Castle

On the grounds of this UNESCO World Heritage attraction, there are sacred sites.

Water wells, springs, shrines and groves may have visitors, worshiping and making offerings.

This was the scene, I encountered, going up the hill to the castle.

The photo was composed at a distance  to show the stone wall and some terrain.

Once the worshipers left the area, this photo of the sign at the spring was taken.

It gives a bit of history about the site and the name, Machida Spring.

The images aren't anything, I would sell but, they help when I'm doing research.

The people you meet at these places may be direct descendants of the royal families.

It made me wish they hadn't taken off so fast, when it started to rain !

REFERENCES:

Japan Guide

World Heritage Site

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Within UNESCO Nakijin Castle: A Ritual Photo

Wakamizu -- The Sacred Water of the New Year in Okinawa

12 Photos of What Takes Place

These images were taken at ceremonies conducted in December of 2012 and 2013.

It may take another two or three years to capture all of this cultural event.

Reviving some of the history and traditions of the Ryukyu Islands is challenging work.

Most of the documentation was lost or, destroyed prior to and, during the Battle of Okinawa.

A group, the Shuri Tonokura Community Association, has revived of this tradition.

This is the sacred hut (asagi) in Hedo where rituals begin.

Arriving in the village, the day before the event, was a good idea.

It gave me the chance to learn how to build the covered roof from kuba leaves.

And, by the end of the day, I was no stranger in town.

Early the next afternoon, preparations for worship began.

A procession climbs the hill to the house of worship.

Some of their costumes represent royalty.

The women in white are priestesses or, noros (local dialect).

To be determined: Whether this woman was a high priestess or, royalty.

She certainly, was the center of attention, at all the ceremonies.

Prayers and offerings are made at the asagi, before proceeding to draw the first water.

The well, called Ookawa, is reached by taking a long, winding trail down the mountain.

Water, drawn from here, is placed in clay jugs and taken to Shuri.

A week later, in Urasoe, Okinawa this well (Takushi Hiija) is visited.

Prayers and offerings are made before drawing the water from this well, too.

At a shrine named Enkaku-ji, just outside Shuri Castle, the water from both wells is mixed.

From there, the procession heads towards the castle.

The castle is entered through the gate named, Kyukeimon.

Here, the sacred water is presented to a woman of royalty with best wishes for the New Year.

That's the part of Wakamizu my cameras haven't captured, yet.

But, we're working on it.

Thanks to the Ryukyu Shimpo, I got this video you can watch, though.



Ryukyu King, Queen and Royalty: How I Spent My Day

You don't just jump into these sorta things. I learned about it the hard way in previous excursions to the big city. So, today when I went to the King and Queen's Coronation Ceremony in Naha Okinawa I hob-knobbed with the Royalty a little bit before I tried to get close to the big shots.

The guy with no socks and a real beard would be me. I got another cameraman to press the shutter release on my camera. Only he didn't wait for me to fix my hair or anything else.

Once all the dignitaries got used to me hanging around it was fairly easy to sneak through the crowds and capture this photo of the King.

It's actually a Reenactment Coronation Ceremony and the King and Queen are college students playing the roles.

My favorite part of the whole day was snapping the shutter when the Queen had her eyes just where I like them.

Even when rude people popped into my frame with their toy cameras, I didn't mind too much. 

I just hollered "Son of a samwich" a couple of times and people backed away from me.

The inconsiderate individuals could be PhotoShopped out if I was willing to pay someone. Then we could rent the space for advertising, I guess.

I'm going back Sunday to let the King and Queen choose their favorite photo and I'll give them each one for free. I bet, being Royalty, they probably aren't interested in any advertising money.

Really, it wasn't a bad day. How was your Wednesday, any better?