Sunuhyan Utaki Stone Gate

A Stone Gate to a Sacred Grove

The Sunuhyan Utaki Stone Gate (園比屋武御嶽石門) is a stone gate for worshipping a sacred grove of 1519 in Shuri Mawashicho, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on May 15, 1972 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a one-bay stone gate with a curved-gable form, with short stone walls either side; 12 old stones are designated alongside it; designation number 01843.

Where Kings Prayed for Safe Journeys

The Sunuhyan Utaki Stone Gate is where the king is said to have prayed for a safe journey before setting out (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was never a gate for passing through, but a place to worship an utaki, a sacred grove of the indigenous religion of Okinawa.

It takes the form of a stone gate with a gently curved gable roof, flanked by short stone walls, with wooden doors. It was designated a National Treasure before the war, badly damaged in the fighting, and restored on its original site in 1957 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Agency designates this stone gate, the place of worship of a sacred grove where kings are said to have prayed, as an Important Cultural Property in the form restored after the war.

What to Look For

Look for the curved-gable form carved in stone, the short flanking walls and the wooden doors (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Naha City (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on visiting was found.