Shurei-mon

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Shurei-mon with the inscription 守礼 之 邦 - "Land of Rites" or "Land of Decency", 2011

Shurei-mon ( Japanese 守礼 門 , roughly German  "Gate to keep the rites, gate of the rites, gate of decency" ) is the entrance gate of the Chinese style ( Pailou ) to Shuri Castle in Shuri , Naha on Okinawa . It was built around 1526 during the reign of King Shō Sei (ruled 1527–1555).

Originally the gate was called Taiken-mon ( 待 賢 門 ) after the table with the inscription Taiken ( 待 賢 , "expect [the bearer] of wisdom") and then Shuri-mon ( 首 里 門 ) after the table inscription was changed accordingly . For Chinese embassies, the plaque was replaced by one with the text Shurei no kuni ( 守禮 之 邦 , "land of decency").

In 1664 this plaque was permanently attached, which gave the gate its name that is usual today. In the local Okinawa dialect , the gate is also called Wī nu Aijō ( 上 の 綾 門 , "upper magnificent gate") and was the second gate between the Kankai-mon ( 歓 会 門 , "reception gate ") and the Chūzan , which is no longer preserved today - mon ( 中山 門 ) - also called Shicha nu Aijō ( 下 の 綾 門 , "lower magnificent gate") - which makes it the outermost gate to the castle today.

As such, it is a landmark of the castle and because it was the seat of the kings of the Ryūkyū kingdom, it was also the seat of the kings of the Ryūkyū kingdom , which is also reflected in the fact that it has been featured on the 2000 yen note since 2000 .

In 1933 it was declared a Japanese National Treasure, although it lost this status due to its destruction in World War II . Today's gate is a faithful reconstruction from 1958.

Web links

Commons : Shureimon  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e 堂前 亮 平 : 守礼 門 . In: 日本 大 百科全書 . kotobank.jp, accessed July 9, 2016 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ CHAN, Ying Kit: A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526). In: scholarbank.nus.edu.sg. 2010, p. 32 , accessed on July 11, 2016 (English, master's thesis at the National University of Singapore).
  3. ↑ a b 綾 門 大道 周 辺 の 旧 跡 (ア イ ジ ョ ー ウ フ ミ チ シ ュ ウ ヘ ン ン ノ キ ュ ウ セ キ) . Naha Historical Museum, accessed July 9, 2016 (Japanese).

Coordinates: 26 ° 13 '5.3 "  N , 127 ° 43' 0.8"  E