Tamagusuku Castle and the Deigo Blossom

The bush warblers are singing sweetly, the breeze shimmers in the spring light, and here in southern Okinawa the deigo, the prefectural flower, has begun to bloom.

This time we would like to introduce a hidden gem just six minutes by car from Hyakuna Garan, especially worth a visit while the deigo is in flower.

Here in Nanjo, sacred sites linked to Amamikiyo, the creator goddess of Ryukyu, are dotted across the land.

Tamagusuku Castle is one of them. Its ruins stand on a natural fortress about 180 metres above sea level. At the top of a steep flight of steps is a striking round gate cut through the limestone, and from here you can look out over Kudaka Island and the central and southern parts of Okinawa’s main island. Tamagusuku Castle was the last place of worship on the Agari-umaai, the pilgrimage of the east, on which the kings of Ryukyu visited the sacred sites.

Having completed the pilgrimage and taken in the view from the gate, the king must surely have resolved to devote himself anew to the building of his nation.

The gate seen from inside the castle enclosure. At sunrise on the summer solstice, the morning sun shines straight through this gate into the castle.

The light streaming in through the gate even calls to mind the very moment of birth, of emerging from a mother’s womb.

It truly is the perfect place for a return to one’s origins. If you are looking for a fresh start, or simply to refresh your spirit, why not pay a visit to the ruins of Tamagusuku Castle?

And right now, at the Tamagusuku Youth Centre next door to the castle, the deigo, Okinawa’s prefectural flower, is at its finest.

The deigo blooms a brilliant red in April and May, and people say that “the finer the deigo blooms, the more typhoons will come”.

In the language of flowers, the deigo stands for “dreams, life force, vitality and harmony”.

Looking at its vivid red flowers, you feel a longing for the southern islands, and a sense of strength and life force.

And because each deigo flower is made up of many petals gathered together, it is said to have come to stand for harmony.

If you see a deigo in Okinawa, do remember its lovely meanings.