Shuri Castle and the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
There are unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites scattered among the southernmost islands of Japan and on the main island of Okinawa where the unique culture and religious beliefs of the Kingdom of Ryukyu once flourished.
In Okinawa, kingdoms began to arise in various areas from around the twelfth century, and castle-like buildings called "Gusuku" were constructed. However, these buildings were not like Himeji-jo Castle, which is registered as a world heritage site, but instead were more like a fort.
Gusuku were treated as sacred sites under local religious beliefs. In the 14th century, Okinawa’s individual kingdoms were unified into the Kingdom of Ryukyu, which was established in 1429. In line with this, the symbol of the Kingdom, the "Shuri-jo" Castle, became the main Gusuku on the island of Okinawa. The building shows strong cultural influences from Japan, China and the Korean Peninsula. Shuri-jo was completely destroyed during WWII and the present buildings are reproductions. Okinawa’s unique culture and beautiful beaches attract many tourists from the main land.
Image Source: Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, Japan It was registestyle41 as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu". Created by 663highland,Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported,unchanged.
What language do you speak? なにごをはなしますか。（何語を話しますか）
Imagine that these groups of people are visiting your city. They are telling where they are from. Click each item to see what language they speak in their country.
| チェンさんは ペキンしゅっしんです。 | |
| イアンさんは ニューヨーク.しゅっしんです。 | |
| けんたさんは とうきょう（東京）しゅっしんです。 | |
| イヴァナさんは ベルリンしゅっしんです。 | |
| チャールズさんは ロンドンしゅっしんです。 | |
| マルコさんは ローマしゅっしんです。 | |
| キムさんは ソウルしゅっしんです。 | |
| オルガさんは モスクワしゅっしんです。 | |
| クロードさんは パリしゅっしんです。. |
Writing Practice
Say the nationality of the people mentioned below. In case you do not know, the country of origin is in parenthesis. You will be asked to write complete sentences using these individuals and country names for an assignment in this unit.
- Antonio Banderas (Spain)
- Juan Gabriel (Mexico)
- Jackie Chan (Hong Kong)
- Shakira (Colombia)
- Michael J Fox (Canada)
- George Bush (U.S.A.)
- Mel Gibson (Australia)
- Christian Dior (France)
- Prince Charles (England)
- Jun’ichiro Koizumi (Japan)
Katakana Words カタカナのことば （カタカナの言葉）
Many English words are also used as adjectives to describe people, clothes, etc.
handsome |
ハンサムな
|
slender |
スマートな
|
elegant |
エレガントな
|
gorgeous |
ゴージャスな
|
cool |
クールな
|
simple |
シンプルな
|
formal |
フォーマルな
|
Graded Assignments
Please return to the Section 1 Tasks & Assignments folder to complete the graded assignments for Section1, Part B.
