Work begins on replacing the roofing tiles on Hoshimmon Gate at Shuri Castle, planned completion in March
Visitors watching the roofing work being done at Shuri Castle’s Hoshimmon – January 18, at Shuri Castle Part in Naha (Photograph by Moriaki Kise)
January 19, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
Shuri Castle Park, which had many of its buildings, including the main temple, burned down in October of 2019, began replacing the roof tiles on Hoshimmon Gate January 18. The undertaking will use 13,000 concave and convex tiles, and the plan is to finish by the end of March.
Hoshimmon is located at the entrance connecting to the main temple, and part of the northern face of the gate was damaged in the fire. They began constructing the wooden frame in September 2020, before continuing on to prep-work for the roofing tiles. The red clay used to make the tiles was sourced from Uruma, and the mudstone similarly comes from Nanjo.