Tie Non: Nakagusuku/中城/中成古堡

我們離開中村房子，又去中城（ㄋㄚㄎㄚㄍㄨㄙㄎㄨ）的古堡。這座是沖繩城堡當中很大，很威風。中城是護佐丸（ㄍㄡㄙㄚㄇㄚㄌㄨ）建的。護佐丸是一個「按司」（ㄚㄐㄧ）。（按司是在沖繩，地方的有力者。）護佐丸對國王很誠意，所以國王派他到這裡叫他建城。在中城北東，有另外一個按司叫名「阿麻和利」（ㄚㄇㄚㄨㄚㄌㄧ）。護佐丸發現阿麻和利準備軍隊，怕阿麻和利打算要去跟國王打仗。護佐丸萬一叫自己的軍人開始準備，訓練。但是，阿麻和利是很狡猾，告訴國王護佐丸在準備來國王的首里城攻進。國王派軍隊到中城戰勝護佐丸。護佐丸沒有了，阿麻和利就攻進首里城。最後國王打敗了阿麻和利，可是國王知道護佐丸原來很誠意，國王就覺得很懊悔。

After going to the Nakamura house, we went to Nakagusuku. This is one of the more impressive castles in Okinawa. So impressive is it that Admiral Perry made note of its excellent stonework in his logs when he was trampling about the Ryukyu Kingdom.

The castle is also known for being the final castle of Gosamaru, a hero figure from the early Ryukyu Kingdom. He was said to be very loyal to the king, and when he became suspicious of Amawari (a local lord located to the Northeast in Katsuren Castle, which I'll introduce next time) he had his soldiers start drilling in preparation for a possible battle. However, the crafty Amawari took advantage of this and informed the king who saw Gosamaru's activities as suspicious (the king being unaware of the reason for Gosamaru's soldiers' movements). The king sent his army to attack Gosamaru, and Gosamaru was killed. After Gosamaru had been defeated, Amawari then attacked the king. The king won out in the end, but he felt bad for having doubted the loyal Gosamaru.

Look here for a map that shows where Nakagusuku and Katsuren castles are in relation to each other. You can also see Shuri Castle to the southwest. Nakagusuku is located strategically in between Shuri (the king's castle) and Katsuren (the enemy, Amawari's castle).

中村家を出た後、中城城跡を見に行った。中城は沖縄グスクの中でも、かなり凄い方だ。自慢している様に、「ペリーが来沖した時、その石垣技術に注目したほど石垣が凄い！」とよくパンフレットなどで見掛ける。（なんでペリーの意見をそんなに大切にしなければいけないのかはよく分からないけど。）

中城は護佐丸という按司（琉球の大名みたいな地域ごとにいた偉い人）が最後に作ったお城だ。護佐丸はお城の建築家としても有名だし、また護佐丸と阿麻和利（もう一人の按司、勝連城に住んでいた）の話も有名だ。勝連半島には海外貿易に適している湾があり、昔からそこの按司はそう言った貿易に力を入れて、その地域は琉球王国立国以降でもかなり強かった。そこの按司を恐れた国王は護佐丸を中城に派遣して、お城を建てる様に命令した。（中城は勝連半島と首里の間にあるのだ。）その後、護佐丸は阿麻和利の動きを怪しく思い、もしもの時に備えて自分の軍を訓練させた。ズルい阿麻和利はこのチャンスを利用して、国王に護佐丸が反乱する為に準備していると報告して、国王は護佐丸を先に攻撃することにした。その後、阿麻和利の本意を知った国王は阿麻和利を倒したが、誠意のある護佐丸を疑ったことを非常に後悔した。

The only castle in Okinawa to still have any buildings is Shuri castle, the main castle of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and even that is a reconstruction. Nakagusuku is no exception, and only the walls and foundations remain. They were doing some event here when we came, so there were tents up in the big field in front of the castle.

この日は何かのイベントがあって、お城前の芝生にテントとかあった。

中城是一座美海軍的馬修培理來的。他去日本叫政府開國以前，去琉球叫琉球政府讓美國的船來琉球停船。當時日本有鎖國政策，所以除了一些例外以外，大部分外國船都不可以來日本。

Impressive stonework indeed!

中城はペリーが記録に残した場所としても有名だ。多くの人はペリーが江戸湾に入って来て、アメリカの船が日本に停泊したり、貿易したり出来る様にと幕府に無茶な命令をした人として知られているが、実は江戸に来る前に、ペリーは他に二カ所、現在日本領土になっているところに訪れた。（因みに、両方とも当時は日本じゃなかった）一つは意外な事に小笠原諸島だ。そこに西洋人とハワイ人が何人か住んでいて、ペリーはそこのリーダー格のアメリカ人にお金を渡して土地を買った。近海で活躍している米船を支援するために、そこに石炭倉庫を作るつもりだった。また、小笠原諸島に訪れる前にペリーは琉球に渡った。アメリカは日本に対して貿易したかったので、日本と直接出来なくても、琉球を通して出来るのではと考えていた。ペリーは首里城に侵入して、アメリカの要求を述べた後、沖縄のあちこちで調査を行った。（これはもちろん、相手国・琉球の反対を無視して行った）その間に中城にも訪問した。

Since he visited this castle, I'll mention a bit more about Admiral Perry. When the US sent him to Japan to try to force the country to open up to American ~~economic exploitation~~ trade, he visited Ryukyu first because he was thinking of using it as an indirect means of accessing Japan. Ryukyu at the time was a tributary state of China, but its international affairs were "secretly" (everyone knew) under the control of Satsuma, one of the Japanese domains at the time. The American's were aware of this strange, multiple-soveirgnty arrangement, and they thought that if they could send trade through Ryukyu, it might not be necessary to deal directly with Japan. At the time, Ryukyu was in fact one of the few places through which international trade with Japan (in this case, with China) was conducted, along with a couple of other places like Nagasaki (Dutch and Chinese trade) and Tsushima (Korean trade). After departing Okinawa, Perry also visited the Bonin islands--now part of Japan, but at the time inhabited by a mix of westerners and Polynesians, some of whose descendants still live there--where he arranged with an American there who was the informal leader of the population to buy some of the land to serve as a coal storage area for American ships that passed through the area. Lastly, he pulled into Edo Bay (modern Tokyo) and demanded that Japan open up its ports to American ships and trade.

Here we're looking down into the sunken area where the castle's well is. It's inside the walls, so the castle was guaranteed a source of water even if besieged.

上の写真は井戸のある場所を見下ろしている。その下に降りてみたら、井戸の中に蟹が棲んでいた。

A crab living in the well.

在城堡裡有一口井。在裡面我看到一隻螃蟹。

Inside the walls is another open area.

It wasn't like this last time I was here, but it looks like they are doing a major archeological excavation here. All of these rocks are numbered and labeled. The past two times I've come to Okinawa, I've been glad to see work like this going on at a couple of the castle sites I've visited, where previously there was nothing of the sort. There's still a lot that's not 100% clear about the Ryukyu Kingdom's history, especially in the early period, and even more that's unknown about Okinawan history before the Ryukyu Kingdom was founded.

何かの調査を行っている様だ。これら全ての石に番号が付いていた。琉球王国の初期と建国前の時代について不明な点がまだたくさんあるので、これからの研究がうまくいけばと思う。

現在好像在研究。這些石頭上都有號碼。