was a Ryukyuan

gusuku often refers to castles or fortresses in the Ryukyu Islands that feature stone walls. However, the origin and essence of ''gusuku'' remain controversial. In the archaeology of Okinawa Prefecture, the ''Gusuku period'' refers to an archaeological ...

during the Gusuku Period of Ryukyuan history. It is famous for being the birthplace of the Ryukyuan general

Gosamaru was a Ryukyuan people, Ryukyuan Lord (aji (Ryukyu), Aji)"Gosamaru." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")Ryukyu Shimpo (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009. of Yomitan, Okinawa, Yom ...

."Gosamaru." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")
Ryukyu Shimpo
(琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009. Gosamaru led the army of the castle's

magiri The administrative divisions of the Ryukyu Kingdom were a hierarchy composed of districts, ''magiri'', or cities, villages, and islands established by the Ryukyu Kingdom throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Divisions There were three or ''hō'': , , ...

against Nakijin Castle in 1416, helping the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Chūzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more ...

to conquer

Hokuzan , also known as before the 18th century, located in the north of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century during Sanzan period. The political entity was identified as a tiny c ...

. In return for his loyalty, Gosamaru was given land in Yomitanzan. He was allowed to build a new gusuku, and he used materials from Yamada Castle to build Zakimi Castle in 1420. The ruins of Yamada Castle are in present-day

Onna, Okinawa is a List of villages in Japan, village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the village had an estimated population of 10,869 and a population density of 210 people per km² ...

, in the Yamada district.

References

Castles in Okinawa Prefecture {{castle-stub