Urasoe

Urasoe was an early centre of power on Okinawa, with a royal court at its hilltop castle. Its rulers commanded a territory that included the port of Naha, and maintained contacts with China and other parts of Asia. The stone-walled gusuku overlooked the country that would become the heart of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Early in the fifteenth century Shō Hashi defeated the ruler of Chūzan and shifted the court to Shuri. Urasoe later served as the residence of local lords, but its castle was burned during the invasion by Satsuma forces in 1609, when the kingdom was brought under the influence of the Japanese domain.