, or just , is the term used for the distinctive Okinawan form of castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

s or fortresses. In standard Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, the same kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

 is pronounced "shiro", but the word is probably cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

 with a different Japanese word, "soko" (塞), which means "fortress". Many gusuku and related cultural remains in the Ryūkyū Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

 have been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

s under the title Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

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 Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The heritage sites include two groves or utaki, the mausoleum Tamaudun, one garden, and five gusuku castles sites, most of which...

.

List of gusuku

• Agena Castle (安慶名城) - Status: Ruins
• Chibana Castle (知花城) - Status: Ruins
• Chinen Castle (知念城) - Status: Ruins
• Itokazu Castle (糸数城) - Status: Ruins
• Katsuren Castle - Status: Ruins
• Kyan Castle (喜屋武城) - Status: Ruins
• Nakagusuku Castle
  Nakagusuku Castle
  is a gusuku in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is currently in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15th century to defend against attacks from the east by Lord Amawari of Katsuren Castle...
  
   - Status: Ruins
• Nakijin Castle - Status: Ruins
• Sashiki Castle (佐敷城) - Status: Ruins
• Shuri Castle
  Shuri Castle
  Shuri Castle is a gusuku in Shuri, Okinawa. It was the palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed...
  
   - Status: Reconstructed
• Urasoe Castle
  Urasoe Castle
  was an Okinawan castle, or gusuku, which served as the capital of the medieval Okinawan principality of Chūzan prior to the unification of the island into the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and the moving of the capital to Shuri....
  
   - Status: Reconstructed
• Zakimi Castle - Status: Ruins

External links

• Gusuku Sites and the Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu at Wonder Okinawa Gusuku of Okinawa