Nakandakari Hijaa

A Village Spring Rebuilt in Stone

Nakandakari Hijaa (仲村渠樋川, Nakandakari Spring) is a stone-built communal water facility of 1912 in Nakandakari, Tamagusuku, Nanjo City, Okinawa Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 27, 1995. In Okinawa a hijaa is a facility that channels and stores spring water, and this one supplied the village of Nakandakari (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a stone spring comprising the igigaa, the inagugaa, the surrounding channels, retaining walls, a place of worship, an open square and a stone-paved path (kaabira). It counts as one enclosure, is owned by the Nakandakari property ward and managed by Nanjo City, and was designated for notable regional character.

From Wooden Spout to Stone Fountain

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tamagusuku sits on a plateau of porous Ryukyu limestone rich in springs. Nakandakari Hijaa was once little more than a wooden spout, but in 1912 and the following year it was rebuilt in Ryukyu limestone and other stone. The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau says the work was done by stonemasons from Tsuken Island.

The village drew drinking water here and used it for laundry, washing vegetables and bathing until piped water arrived in 1955 (Okinawa Story). Today it supplies irrigation water to the surrounding fields (MAFF).

Why It Was Designated

Nakandakari Hijaa was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1995. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries regards it as representative of Okinawa's traditional stone springs. With separate men's and women's basins, a place of worship, a square and the paved approach all intact, it preserves the whole pattern of how a village used its water.

What to Look For

At Nakandakari Hijaa, water from springs on the north side of the site collects in a cistern and flows on to the basins (Okinawa Story). The men's basin, igigaa, and the women's basin, inagugaa, are separate (Agency for Cultural Affairs), so compare the two.

The stone-paved path down to the water, the place of worship and the square are all part of the designation (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau also lists a communal bath, noting that this is the only hijaa in the prefecture with a goemon-style iron bathtub.

Visiting Nakandakari Hijaa

Nakandakari Hijaa is at 724 Nakandakari, Tamagusuku, Nanjo City (Okinawa Story), about 50 minutes by car from Naha Airport. By bus, MAFF gives a 15-minute walk from the Oyakebaru stop, while Okinawa Story gives a 3-minute walk from the Nakandakari stop on the N bus from Nanjo City Hall. Enquiries go to DMO Nanjo (098-948-4660).