Shuri Castle

The Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu is an UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of nine sites all located in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The heritage sites include two utaki (or sacred sites, one a gate and the other a grove), the Tamaudun mausoleum, one garden, and five gusuku castles sites, four of which are ruins and one of which is a reconstruction. The sites were inscribed based on the criteria that they were a fine representation of the Ryūkyū Kingdom's culture, whose unique blend of Japanese and Chinese influence made it a crucial economic and cultural junction between several neighboring states.^[2]

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu