Special Exhibition “Shurijo Castle: The Royal Castle of Ryukyu” Opens December 1 at Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum; Commemorating the Completion of the Main Hall

The museum special exhibition “Shurijo Castle: The Royal Castle of Ryukyu” will be held at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum (Naha City) from Tuesday, December 1, 2026 to Sunday, January 31, 2027. It portrays Shurijo Castle, the center of the politics, diplomacy and culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom for about 450 years, through pictorial maps, old documents, excavated artifacts, old photographs and more. It is one of the projects commemorating the completion of the Shurijo Castle Main Hall, and according to the museum, it will show the memorial tablets of the Sho royal family, the kings of Ryukyu, for the first time. Admission is 1,200 yen for adults.

As the Main Hall opens this winter: why a Shurijo Castle exhibition now?

The Shurijo Castle Main Hall was destroyed by fire on October 31, 2019. According to an announcement by the Okinawa Churashima Foundation, the restoration of the Main Hall will be completed in autumn 2026. From Monday, November 23 (national holiday), the interior of the Main Hall opens to the general public. This exhibition opens eight days later.

To prevent crowding, viewing inside the Main Hall will require advance reservations for time slots every 30 minutes. The paid areas other than the inside of the Main Hall can be entered without reservations as before. Fees will also be revised to coincide with the opening, with the individual adult fee rising to 1,000 yen for admissions from November 23 (announced by the foundation on August 14).

The completion of the Main Hall does not mark the end of the restoration. The foundation plans to restore other facilities in stages, including the North Hall, the South Hall and the Una courtyard.

The museum, too, is featuring Shurijo Castle over the course of a year. In its permanent exhibition room, the “Shurijo Castle Exhibition” is being held from Tuesday, May 19, 2026 to Sunday, February 28, 2027, changing its theme by period to introduce materials related to Shurijo Castle. Both the special exhibition and the Shurijo Castle Exhibition are part of the “Fiscal 2026 Shurijo Castle Main Hall Completion Commemorative Projects.”

What can be seen? Highlights and the five chapters

The word rendered here as “Royal Castle” is read “Ugushiku.” The museum regards Shurijo Castle as the “Ugushiku” that symbolizes the Ryukyu Kingdom itself, and the exhibition aims to portray it from many angles as a “royal castle,” not only as a building or a royal palace.

The museum cites three highlights: the gathering of pictorial maps depicting the inside and outside of Shurijo Castle, the introduction of treasures handed down in the castle, and the first public display of the memorial tablets of the Sho royal family. The content of each chapter and the main materials listed on the official website are as follows.

1. Chapter 1 “Shurijo Castle Depicted”: Bringing together pictorial maps of Shurijo Castle held in the prefecture, it shows how the castle’s appearance changes with the painter and the era. Works include “Map of the Former Shuri Castle, Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa Prefecture” by Nakasone Shinpo (Sa Hiretsu) and the Important Cultural Property “Machikata and Shimajiri West (Shuri, Tomari, Kume, Naha, Haebaru Magiri, Mawashi Magiri, Oroku Magiri and Tomigusuku Magiri)”

2. Chapter 2 “Heirlooms of Shurijo Castle”: From materials handed down at Shurijo Castle and in the Shuri royal government, it takes up objects that resulted from exchanges with China and elsewhere in East Asia and items that show the rituals and culture of the royal government. Works include the Important Cultural Property “Omoro Soshi” and the Important Cultural Property “Gilt Bronze Hairpin with Cloud and Dragon Design”

3. Chapter 3 “The Retainers Who Supported Shurijo Castle”: Drawing on official histories, the genealogies of samurai families and family documents, it focuses on the people who handled politics, diplomacy and rituals at Shurijo Castle. Works include the Important Cultural Property “Dana Family Documents”

4. Chapter 4 “Excavated Objects from Shurijo Castle”: Through roof tiles, ceramics and other objects found in excavations at the Shurijo Castle site, it introduces traces of architecture and activities that cannot be captured in pictorial maps or documents

5. Chapter 5 “The Restoration of Shurijo Castle”: It traces Shurijo Castle in the modern era after the dissolution of the Ryukyu Kingdom, its destruction in the war, the Heisei restoration, the 2019 fire and the Reiwa restoration. It also focuses on “tewaza,” the handcraft techniques of the kingdom era put to use in the restoration. Works include the “Shurijo Castle Main Hall Model” (1953) and the “Embroidered Robe of Iheya Amuganashi” (reproduction)

Some of the materials in Chapter 5 will be changed during the run. The number of exhibits was not listed on the official website as of October 19.

Related events: a symposium, a lecture and gallery talks

The symposium and lecture organized by the museum are both held in the auditorium. Participation is free, with a capacity of 200 (first come, first served on the day).

• Shurijo Castle Symposium “The Current State of Shurijo Castle Research”: Saturday, December 19, 14:00–16:00. Speakers: Masayuki Dana and Susumu Asato; moderator: Museum Director Ken Sonohara

• Museum Culture Lecture “The History of Shurijo Castle’s Restoration”: Saturday, January 16, 2027, 14:00–16:00. Speakers: Kurayoshi Takara and Kei Taira

• Gallery talks: Friday, December 18, 18:00–19:00, and Sunday, January 17, 2027, 14:00–15:00, by Naoya Oshiro and Takuro Irei, the curators in charge of the exhibition. A special exhibition ticket valid on the day is required

On Saturday, December 5, from 12:00 to 13:00, the Okinawa Prefectural Foundation for the Promotion of Culture and Arts will hold an “Okigei Outreach Concert: Ryukyuan Performing Arts Appreciation” in the entrance hall, featuring students of the Faculty of Music, Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts (free).

Tickets, prices and access

Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, 800 yen for high school and university students and 300 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Groups of 20 or more pay 960 yen (adults), 640 yen (high school and university students) and 240 yen (elementary and junior high school students). The museum’s special page advises buying tickets at the ticket counter on the day.

The “Shurijo Castle Exhibition” in the permanent exhibition room requires a separate ticket: 530 yen for adults (420 yen for groups). During the special exhibition, the history section holds “Shurijo Castle and Ryukyu-China Relations: The Background That Supported Royal Authority” (until December 20), and the arts and crafts section holds “Pictorial Maps Depicting Shuri and Naha” (November 3 – December 13). In the art museum’s collection gallery, “A Giant at the Edge of the Kumui: Kenshin Yamashiro” is on view until March 28, 2027.

From January 2027, the arts and crafts section changes to “Shurijo Castle and Facilities Associated with the Royal Family” (January 5 – February 21), and the history section to “The World of Ryukyuan Old Documents at Tenri University” (January 13 – February 28).

Opening hours are 9:00–18:00, until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays (last entry 30 minutes before closing). The museum is closed on Mondays; when a Monday is a national holiday, it is open that day and closed on the next weekday instead. It is also closed over the year-end and New Year holidays, from Monday, December 28 to Monday, January 4.

The museum is in Omoromachi, Naha City, about a 10-minute walk (about 15 minutes at a leisurely pace) from Omoromachi Station on the Yui Rail. The ride from Naha Airport Station to Omoromachi Station takes 19 minutes and costs 320 yen. It is about a 1–2 minute walk from the “Kenritsu Hakubutsukan-mae” bus stop on local routes. There is also a free parking lot (158 spaces for general visitors).

Editor’s perspective

Chapter 5 of this exhibition makes the 2019 fire and the Reiwa restoration themselves subjects of display. Seven years after the fire, the restoration process has become part of the history reviewed in a museum. Just as the Main Hall interior opens, visitors can see, through pictorial maps and the 1953 model of the Main Hall, how the castle has been depicted and how it has been restored.

Since viewing inside the Main Hall requires reservations for 30-minute time slots, it is best to fix a date for visiting Shurijo Castle Park. Visitors can learn the background at the museum before seeing the Main Hall, or see the Main Hall first and then turn to the materials; being able to choose the order and visit both is something unique to this winter.

In Kyushu, the special exhibition “Himiko’s Mirrors” at the Kyushu National Museum also runs until January 11, 2027. December events are gathered in our December 2026 art event calendar.

Overview

Name: Museum Special Exhibition “Shurijo Castle: The Royal Castle of Ryukyu” (Fiscal 2026 Shurijo Castle Main Hall Completion Commemorative Project)
Dates: Tuesday, December 1, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027
Hours: 9:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (if a Monday is a national holiday, open that day and closed the next weekday), year-end and New Year holidays (Monday, December 28 – Monday, January 4)
Venue: Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum, Museum 3rd floor, Temporary Exhibition Room and Special Exhibition Room 1
Address: 3-1-1 Omoromachi, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen, high school and university students 800 yen, elementary and junior high school students 300 yen (groups of 20 or more: adults 960 yen, high school and university students 640 yen, elementary and junior high school students 240 yen)
Organizer: Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum
Official website: https://okimu.jp/exhibition/shurijo2026/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Interior of the Shurijo Castle Main Hall before the fire [the Usasuka throne], January 2016 (photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the official website of the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum and press materials from the Okinawa Churashima Foundation (August 14 and September 14, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team