Tourist attraction

Tamaudun mausoleum

Historic sitesHistoryWorld heritage

Tamaudun is a mausoleum for the royal families of the 2nd Shou Dynasty. Inside the mausoleum, there are 3 chambers, the east, the center and the west chambers. There is a tombstone, a front gate, a back gate, “tamaudun houen kan” as an exhibition room and a gatehouse in the east which was used by the grave keeper. Also it was a resting place for the king when he visited the tomb. It was designated as a World cultural heritage site as “Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu,” in 2000.

Basic information

Address
903-0815 1-3 Kinjo-cho Shuri Naha Okinawa
TEL
098-885-2861 (English is not supported) Tamaudun Administrative office
Business hours
Viewing time: 9:00 - 18:00
(Admission deadline 17:30)
Close day
None
Charge
Admission:
Adult 300 yen (Group 240 yen)
Children 150 yen (Group 120 yen) ※Junior high school students and under.
Elementary school students and Preschoolers accompanied by a parent or guardian are free.
Parking
None
Access information
Across the street from the Shuri-jo Park Rest Center.
About 150m west from the Shurijo-mae intersection on the left, on the Samukawa-dori street that runs through Shurijo Park.
URL
http://www.city.naha.okinawa.jp/kakuka/kyouikubunkazai/bunkazai/

Additional Information

Academic information
A World heritage (registered in 1999)
Cultural property (National designated historic site) designated in 15th May 1972

Tamaudun is a mausoleum for the royal families of the 2nd Shou dynasty. This mausoleum built for move and bury Father-king Shouen who buried at Miagemori (Miage forest) first. Tamaudun-hi (a monument) is standing at Square in front of the grave. The monument has carving about limited to who should be buried there.

It is said that Tamaudun established in 1501 (The 14th year of Kouji) in History book "Ryukyukoku Yurai-ki" (Data book of Ryukyu Kingdom). Tamaudun's total size is 2442㎡, The original structure of Tamaudun is wooden palace style and, in front of the grave room has stone column with craving bard, animal, and flowers. the stone column makes remind the main building's stone column of Shuri castle. The mausoleum has three grave rooms with gable roof and they lie east to west. The grave yard divided in two, south part and north part and high stone wall rounded there. Each grave room has stone door. The stone door had a lock and after closed it covered by ashlar and plaster. The central grave room was for corpse. Then wash the bones in a few years later and moved King, Queen, Prince and Princess to the east room and rest of the other moved to the west room. And, concubine and prince or princess who died in young were entombed at Yamakawa mausoleum in Shuri-Yamakawa-cho or, at Takaraguchi Mausoleum(destroyed by war) in Nishimui (west forest) Shuri-Gibo-cho.

When the Okinawa battle began in August 1945, Japanese Army decided to use Yamakawa mausoleum, the bone moved to the yard temporarily and, moved to the west room after the war. Tamaudun destroyed by the Okinawa battle, however it spent 3 years for repair in 1974.
Quote
Naha Board of Education Cultural Heritage Division (2007) "Naha Cultural Property" Naha Board of Education