Ryuen-kyo Bridge is a stone arch bridge crossing the channel that runs between Enkan-chi Pond and Ryutan Pond. The body of the bridge was constructed of Ryukyu limestone and the parapets of fine-grained sandstone called “Nibinufuni.” The bridge is 9m wide with a 1.5m wide arch, and its bottom is flat. It is estimated that the bridge was constructed in 1502.

Basic information

Address

903-0812 1-2 Tonokura-cho Shuri Naha Okinawa In Shuri Castle Park

TEL

098-886-2020

Close day

None

Charge

Free

Parking

Shuri Castle Park parking available

Access information

A 2-minute walk from the Shurijo-kouen Iriguchi bus stop.

URL

http://oki-park.jp/shurijo-park/

Additional Information

Barrier-free

車イス駐車場

Academic information

Designated Date: January 29, 1959
Ryuen-kyo Bridge is a stone arch bridge crossing the channel that runs between Enkan-chi Pond and Ryutan Pond. The body of the bridge was constructed of Ryukyu limestone and the parapets of fine-grained sandstone called “Nibinufuni.” The bridge is 9m wide with a 1.5m wide arch, and its bottom is flat. It is estimated that the bridge was constructed in 1502.
The fantastic thing about the bridge as an art work has been said to be the sculpture on wainscot stones of the parapets. Lion, dragon, giraffe, flowers, crane, phoenix, peony, etc. were sculpted there. The technique of the sculpture was as excellent as that on the wainscot stones of Yomochi-bashi Bridge and Hojo-bashi Bridge at Enkaku-ji Temple. Those sculptures went missing before the war. Currently a part of the sculptures is kept in the Okinawa Prefectural Museum.
This bridge also suffered damage from the Battle of Okinawa, in 1945, and what remains now is a reconstruction done in 1950.

Quote

Naha Board of Education Cultural Heritage Division (2007) "Naha Cultural Property" Naha Board of Education