Sefa-utaki ( 斎場御嶽 , Okinawan : シェーファウタキ Seefa-utaki ) , meaning "purified place of Utaki ," is a historical sacred space, overlooking Kudaka Island , that served as one of the key locations of worship in the native religion of the Ryukyuan people for millennia. Later as a part of assimilation of Okinawa by Japan, it was shifted to serve as a Shinto Shrine . It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu in Nanjō , Okinawa .
6-460: Sefa Utaki is on the Chinen Peninsula, and has been recognized as a sacred place since the earliest period of Ryukyuan history. According to Chūzan Seikan , this was the spot where Amamikyu , goddess of creation, made landfall on Okinawa. The shrine area itself comprises a number of caves and overhanging ledges opening to the east and south among towering rock formations of a high promontory over
12-723: Is the creation goddess of the Ryukyu Islands in the Ryukyuan religion . Amamikyu's name comes from the reading of the Chinese characters 阿摩美久 or 阿摩彌姑, which were most likely written ad hoc for the Okinawan pronunciation . It is likely related to the name of the Amami Islands . There are also kanji spellings of 天御子 and 天美子. Readings can vary widely from Amamikyu, Amamikyo, Amamikiyo, Amamiko, Amamiku, Amamigu, Amamichuu, and Amanchuu. "Amamikyu"
18-564: The Heavenly Emperor sent Shinerikyu to bring her grasses, trees, and stones. She descended to Earth on Kudaka Island , and then made landfall on Okinawa Island on the spot of Sefa-utaki , and later built Tamagusuku Castle and Chinen Castle and a number of communities. She asked the Heavenly Emperor for materials to make people, but the other gods would not go down to Earth. Without sexual intercourse, she became pregnant by Shinerikyu (志仁禮久, Okinawan : シニリチュー shinirichuu ) and populated
24-415: The islands. Some generations later, a "heavenly grandchild" named Tentei was born, who split Ryukyuan society into five classes with his three sons and two daughters: the first son was Tenson , who became the first King of Ryukyu; the second son became the first feudal lord ( Aji ); the third son became the first farmer; the first daughter became the first royal noro priestess ; and the second daughter became
30-462: The sea. All buildings have been destroyed, but the outer and inner precincts can still be traced. 26°10′24″N 127°49′36″E / 26.17333°N 127.82667°E / 26.17333; 127.82667 This article about a religious building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Amamikyu Amamikyu ( 阿摩美久 or 阿摩彌姑 , Okinawan : アマミチュー Amamichuu ) , or Amekushin-otome-ōankami ( 天久臣乙女王御神 ) ,
36-522: Was used by George H. Kerr in his Ryukyu: Kingdom and Province Before 1945 in 1953. The beginning of Chūzan Seikan details the creation of the Ryukyu Islands. The Heavenly Emperor (天帝), who lived in the Heavenly Gusuku (天城), looked down on the world and saw that there were no islands, so he ordered Amamikyu (阿摩美久) to create the Ryukyu Islands. She asked for materials to build the islands, so
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