1.　Prompt restoration of Seiden (main hall) and opening up to the public in stages

Seiden (main hall), which showed mastery of traditional craftsmanship

The restoration of Shuri Castle Seiden and other buildings is carried out by the national government as part of the national park facility projects. Okinawa Prefectural Government participates in the technical review board established by the national government, and is working on ways to coordinate with them.
In order to realize swift restoration of Shuri Castle Seiden, which has been part of Okinawan people’s lives and has attracted many visitors, and also to make it open to the public as soon as possible, working with Japanese government and other organizations, the following points are decided:

Establish facilities using traditional craftsmanship

The facility maintenance and repair work since the last Shuri Castle restoration, such as laying tiles and retouching lacquer paint, involved techniques by Okinawan craftsmen. A technical review board has reported that traditional techniques that have been passed down and employed should be utilized for the restoration even before the last restoration project.
Therefore, in order to use traditional techniques in the restoration of Shuri Castle Seiden and other facilities, we will work together with the national government and other related organizations to establish a framework and secure human resources, as well as train people.

2) Sourcing wooden materials and roof tiles

The technical review board established by the national government is reviewing the way to source materials for the restoration of Shuri Castle Seiden and other facilities such as wooden, lacquer, and red-roof tile materials. It has been reported that, “It is ideal to use as much as possible yew plum pine which is found in Okinawa” and also, “It is a must to source Okinawan traditional red-roof tiles materials made on the Okinawa mainland with the help of related organizations.”
Therefore, in order to pursue prompt restoration, we are working to source wooden materials locally with the help of the Japanese government and other organizations. As for red-roof tiles, we intend to research quality and specifications (such as which blend of clay and the timing of firing) at research facilities in the prefecture.

(3) Utilizing the restoration process as a tourist attraction by opening to the public

Shuri Castle is the heart of Okinawans’ identity and it is also an important facility for many people to visit, including tourists.
For this reason, we intend to strategize ways to display the architectural remains of Shuri Castle Seiden, and host events relating to the project with the cooperation of the national government and other related organizations. In addition, building temporary paths to showcase the restoration project in stages can be used as cultural, educational, and tourist resources so that many people inside and outside of the prefecture will visit the site.