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Our guide
Izena Castle, Ijina Gushiku in Okinawan, is a Ryūkyūan gusuku on Izena Island, built around the 14th century by Samekawa, son of the Yogura chief of Iheya Island. It stands on a limestone outcrop about 100 m above sea level on the island's south-east side; its south, west and east faces are near-vertical cliffs, and the entrance is on the north side, up steps cut into the hill. Inside are several enclosures divided by 3 m walls of piled Ryūkyū limestone, with sacred places such as utaki and finds including celadon and Sue ware.
Izena is an island, and we have not checked ferries or the path up, so check local information before you go.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- FH010003 — mrhama · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
What this place is
Izena Castle (伊是名城, Izena-jo; Okinawan: Ijina Gushiku) is a Ryūkyūan gusuku on Izena Island. It was built around the 14th century by Samekawa, son of the Yogura Chief of Iheya Island. It is built over a limestone outcrop about 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level on the south eastern side of the island. The castle has three sides which are near vertical cliffs; the south, west and east faces of the castle are rock cliffs, while the northern side provides entry to the castle through a series of steps cut into the hill. There are several chambers in the castle which are separated by walls, built with piled-up pieces of Ryūkyūan limestone, 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height. The chambers have many sacred relics such as utaki (holy enclosures of the Ryūkyūan religion) and also celadons, Sueki wares, and other important objects, which are also seen in other gusuku sites.
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Castle
Getting there
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