Shikinaen was constructed in the end of the 17th century as the second residence of the Ryukyu kings. It features beautiful, relatively simple, wooden palace buildings with Okinawan style, red tile roofs and a spacious Japanese style landscape garden.
The pleasant garden can be viewed from a circular path, which leads through the woods, along the ponds, over the bridges and past a pretty hexagonal building on a small islet. While designed in a style seen elsewhere in Japan, the garden is given a distinct Okinawan flavor by its buildings and subtropical flora.
Shikinaen was completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa of 1945, but has been neatly restored in the postwar years. In 2000, Shikinaen was among the sites added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the collective title "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu".
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