Latest news on the cause of the fire in Shouli City, Japan
According to NHK and other foreign media reports, in the early morning of October 31 local time, a fire broke out in the world cultural heritage Shurijo city in Naha City, Okinawa, Japan. The main hall was swallowed by the fire, and one of the world-famous cultural heritages was feared to be destroyed. It is reported that in addition to the main hall, the North Hall and the south hall are all burning.
According to NHK and other reports, the fire brigade was informed at 2:41 local time on the 31st and immediately sent a large number of personnel to put out the fire, but the fire had not been extinguished until 7 a.m. local time. Television pictures showed huge flames engulfing Shouli city. Local media said there were no reports of casualties.
Ryo Kochi, spokesman of Okinawa County police, said that a tourism activity had been held in Shouli city since the 27th. Some work related to the activity continued until 1 a.m. on the 31st, but it was unclear whether it was related to the fire. The police were investigating the cause of the fire.
Shouli city was basically destroyed during the Second World War, but it was repaired on a large scale in 1992 and reopened as a Japanese National Park. Together with the surrounding buildings and other Ryukyu Islands sites in the region, it was listed as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2000.
Shouli City, located in the south of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands, is a Ryukyu castle to the east of Naha city. From the 15th century to the 19th century, it is the capital and palace of Ryukyu.
The exact founding age of Shouli city has not yet been tested. According to recent archaeological excavations, Shouli was the capital of Zhongshan Kingdom (Shouli Press Department) in the Sanshan era (11th-14th century). In 1426, after Shouli unified the three mountains and established the Ryukyu state according to Si Shangba Zhi, Shouli city was taken as the King City. Second, the Shang Dynasty also took it as its capital, and the king Shangzhen expanded Shouli city. For more than 450 years since then, Shouli city has been the capital of Ryukyu and the center of Ryukyu's politics, economy, culture and foreign trade.
According to historical records, Shouli city has been burned and rebuilt several times. The first was in 1453. After the death of Shang Jinfu, king of the first Shang Dynasty, Prince Zhilu and Wang dibui fought for the throne, and the buildings in Shouli city were completely burned down. The second fire occurred in 1660 and reconstruction took 11 years. The third fire occurred in 1709, and the main hall, South Hall and North Hall were burned down. Due to financial difficulties, it was not until 1712 that Samoan presented 19525 logs for repair.
The cultural relics and treasures in Shouli city were looted after the invasion of Samoan in 1609. After Japan annexed Ryukyu in 1879, it once changed Shouli city into a barracks of the Okinawa detachment in Kumamoto town. Shouli City Council even passed a resolution to dismantle the main hall of Shouli city in 1923. Later, Tadao ITO and fangtaro Kamakura negotiated with the Ministry of education, culture and sports before they were retained. Later, in 1925, Shouli city was designated as a national treasure cultural relic with Okinawa shrine.
During the Second World War, the 32nd army of the Japanese army dug tunnels and set up a command post in the underground of Shouli City, which led to the city being bombarded many times by U.S. Navy aircraft and battleships in the battle of Okinawa in March 1945. On March 29, 1945, the USS' Mississippi 'opened fire and shelled Shouli City, completely destroying it.
The site of Shouli city was used as the site of Ryukyu University after World War II. In 1958, Shouli gate was rebuilt. The restoration of the main building began in 1992. In 2000, Shouli city was listed as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO.