A Shuri House That Moved Twice
The Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House is a single-storey timber dwelling of the late Edo period standing in Yamada, Onna Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 15 May 2007.
The Oshiro family did not build it. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs database, it was put up in Shuri by the Yonabaru family, a Shuri gentry line that supplied ministers to the Ryukyu court. Ryukyu Mura adds that the family produced sanshikan, the three senior councillors who stood at the top of the kingdom's administration.
After the kingdom was dissolved the house passed to the Oshiro family and was moved from Shuri to Kanegusuku in Itoman. Ryukyu Mura credits that move with saving it from the fighting of 1945. In 1982 it travelled again, north to Onna Village, and was rebuilt where it now stands. What survives is a house that has been taken apart and put back together twice.
Eaves Built as a Ground-Level Canopy
The Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House measures 12.7 metres along the front and 6.4 metres in depth, with a building area of 102 square metres. The roof is hipped and laid with red Ryukyuan tiles. Among the houses in the park this is one of the larger ones.
Inside, the ichibanza and nibanza, the two formal rooms, sit side by side on the east, each about 9.95 square metres. The urazā back rooms lie north of them, and the sanbanza and kitchen occupy the west end. Putting the reception rooms on one side and the cooking on the other is standard practice in Okinawan houses.
What the national database singles out is the eaves. An amahaji is the deep projecting eave of an Okinawan house together with the sheltered strip beneath it, a device against hard sun and rain driven sideways by typhoons. In most houses free-standing posts carry that overhang. Here, on the east and south faces, the amahaji takes the form of a ground-level canopy instead.
The registration criterion was that the building serves as a model of design. It was listed for showing clearly how Okinawan houses were built, not for any single flourish.
The Pair on the Roof
Two shisa guardian figures sit on the tiles. The Onna Village heritage commentary records that figures of this kind began as the tiler's own work, modelled from plaster left over once the roof was finished. One has its mouth open and one closed, the open mouth to drive off malign spirits and the closed one to keep good fortune from escaping.
Under the kingdom, red tiles were reserved for the Shuri nobility and upper gentry, and plot sizes were regulated by rank. An Edo-period house with a tiled roof and generous grounds therefore carries its own proof of standing. Around the time of the 1879 abolition of the domain, the Oshiro family prospered shipping brown sugar to Kagoshima and elsewhere.
A walled enclosure runs around the plot. Most Okinawan houses screen themselves with fukugi trees; at the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House the planting is brighter, with bougainvillea among it.
Looking at the House
Visitors can step up into the rooms of the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House. Walk the east and south faces first and stand under the eaves: the phrase ground-level canopy makes sense only from below, where you can see how far the roof reaches out and how it is held. Once inside, look up. The roof framing is left exposed, so the beams and purlins read directly.
The roof shisa are seen from below and tend to fall into silhouette against a bright sky. Coming round from the east earlier in the day gives a cleaner outline. Photography is allowed throughout the grounds.
Directions, opening hours and admission are set out on the Ryukyu Mura page. Access arrangements inside the park change from time to time, so check the notices on the day if you want to go indoors.
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Q&A
- When was the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House built and when was it moved?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period, roughly 1830 to 1867. It was relocated to Ryukyu Mura in 1982, having earlier been moved from Shuri to Kanegusuku in Itoman.
- Who built the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House?
- The Yonabaru family, Shuri gentry who served as ministers of the Ryukyu court, built it in Shuri. The Oshiro family acquired it later.
- Can visitors go inside the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House?
- Yes. Paid admission to Ryukyu Mura allows you up into the rooms, and photography is permitted. Arrangements can change, so check the notices when you arrive.
- How large is the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House?
- It is 12.7 metres by 6.4 metres, with a building area of 102 square metres. The two formal rooms measure about 9.95 square metres each.
- Why is the Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was listed under the criterion that a structure serves as a model of design. The hipped red-tiled roof and the ground-level canopy form of the eaves on the east and south faces are treated as a standard example of Okinawan domestic building.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryukyu Mura Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House (琉球村旧大城家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1130 Yamada, Onna Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture (inside Ryukyu Mura) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 47-0030 |
| Year Designated | Registered 15 May 2007, gazetted 29 May 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber frame, tiled roof, building area 102 sq m (12.7 m by 6.4 m) |
| Owner | Takoyama Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Viewable with paid admission to Ryukyu Mura (9:30 to 17:00, last admission 16:00, open daily) |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006118
- Japan Cultural Properties Information Site: Former Oshiro Family Residence Main House
- https://onna.hiddenheritage.jp/4
- Ryukyu Mura: Former Oshiro House
- https://www.ryukyumura.co.jp/facilities/ooshiro/
- Ryukyu Mura facility information
- https://www.ryukyumura.co.jp/information/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
