Tamaudun (Japanese:玉陵) is one of the three royalmausoleums of theRyukyu Kingdom, along withUrasoe yōdore atUrasoe Castle andIzena Tamaudun nearIzena Castle inIzena, Okinawa. The mausoleum is located inShuri,Okinawa, and was built forRyūkyūan royalty in 1501[1] by KingShō Shin, the third king of theSecond Shō Dynasty a short distance fromShuri Castle.
The site, covering an area of 2,442 m2,[2] consists of two stone-walled enclosures, the three compartments of the mausoleum itself facing north and backed by a natural cliff to the south.[3] A stonestele in the outer enclosure memorializes the construction of the mausoleum, which was finished in 1501, and lists the name of Shō Shin along with those of eight others involved in the construction.[2] The three compartments of the mausoleum are laid out from east to west, with kings and queens in the eastern compartment and the princes and rest of the royal family in the western compartment, the central compartment used for the Ryukyuan tradition ofsenkotsu [ja];[2][3] remains would only be kept here for a limited time, after which the bones were washed and entombed.[4] Theshisa (stone lions) guarding the tomb are examples of traditional Ryūkyūan stone sculpture. The architectural style of the mausoleum represents that of the royal palace at the time, which was a stone structure with a wooden roof.[2][4]
The structure suffered extensive damage in the 1945battle of Okinawa, and was subsequently looted,[1] but the tombs and royal remains themselves remained intact, and much of the structure has since been restored. In 1992Hiroshi Shō, the great-grandson ofShō Tai, the last king of theRyūkyū Kingdom, donated Tamaudun and the royal gardens ofShikina-en to the City ofNaha. It was designated aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO on December 2, 2000, as a part of the site groupGusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu and aNational Treasure in 2018.[2]
Seventeen of the 19 kings of the Second Shō Dynasty who ruled between 1470 and 1879 are entombed at Tamaudun, along with various queens and royal children. The first person to be buried there wasShō En, for whom the mausoleum was constructed upon the orders of his son and successor,Shō Shin. However, for approximately 25 years, Shō En was not initially interred here, given that he died in 1476 and the mausoleum was not completed until 1501. Other monarchs not interred here includeShō Sen'i (1430–1477), who was not later re-interred here as his brother was, andShō Nei (1564–1620) who chose to be interred separately inUrasoe yōdore in the aftermath of theInvasion of Ryukyu. The last interree was formerPrince of Nakagusuku,Shō Ten, the son of the Ryūkyū Kingdom's last king,Shō Tai, who was entombed there in 1920 in accordance with traditional Ryūkyūan royal funerary rites.
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26°13′06″N127°42′53″E / 26.21833°N 127.71472°E /26.21833; 127.71472
