Nakamura Family Residence

Overview

The Nakamura Family Residence is a historical building located in Kitanaha City, Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, and is designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The Nakamura family's ancestor, the Ka clan, were wealthy landowners. When Gosamaru, a Ryukyu Kingdom official, relocated from Yomitan to Nakagusuku Castle in 1440 following orders from the Shuri Royal Court, the Ka clan moved with him and settled nearby. Following Gosamaru's downfall at the hands of Amawari, the family endured hardship for a time, but by around 1720, they had risen to the position of jito-dai (similar to a village headman in mainland Japan). The current residence consists of the main house (Ufuya (main house) and Tunguwa (kitchen)), Ashagi (separate sitting room), Takakura (rice storage), Furu (pigsty and privy), Meenuya (front house/livestock shed and barn), Hinpun (privacy wall), and Kar (well). The grounds are surrounded by Fukugi trees and a stone wall. Shisa, guardian lion-dog statues, sit atop the roof to ward off evil. Red tiles cover the roof, firmly secured with plaster. Before the Meiji era, bamboo tiles were used (during the Ryukyu Kingdom era, tiles were permitted only for the samurai class and above. The Nakamura family, being farmers, were only allowed to use tiles sometime in the mid-Meiji era). The Ryukyu limestone stone walls, the Fukugi trees that serve as a windbreak, and the heavy tiles secured with plaster are all ingenious adaptations to withstand typhoons. The roof features Amahaji (rain eaves), an overhanging structure that provides additional protection from the strong sun and rain. Because this precious house survived the devastation of the Battle of Okinawa, on May 15, 1972, the day Okinawa was reverted to Japan from the United States, the main house (Ufuya and Tunguwa), Ashagi, Takakura (rice storage), Meenuya (front house), and Furu were designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan—the first private residence on Okinawa Island to receive this honor. It had previously been designated as an important cultural property by the Ryukyu government in 1956.