For centuries, Shuri Castle has stood as the pride and joy of the Ryukyu Islands. The home of Ryukyuan royalty, its vermillion buildings shone in the tropical sun, glimmers of gold emanating regal light from the pillars and gates. Destroyed on several occasions by fire, this wooden structure has seen many incarnations, the most recent of which was completed in 1992 after nearly four decades of researchand reconstruction following the building's demise during World War II.

If the walls of Shuri could talk, what would they say? Undoubtedly they'd recount tales of opulent court parties held to entertain visiting Chinese envoys, of moon-viewing and autumnal banquets, of the tense arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853. Perhaps they'd reveal the dark times that transpired in the maze of tunnels and rooms that exist below the expansive halls.

During World War II, the Japanese Army's 32nd Division made Shuri their power post. Lieuntenant General Mitsuru Ushijima gathered residents and junior high and normal school students from the area to aid the Army in tunneling under the castle. The task took only a few days, with the rag-tag crew boasting construction of nearly 1,000 meters of tunnels. Their depth of 15 to 35 meters below the castle ensured safety from incoming artillery and 2,000-pound bombs launched from U.S. battleships off the coast. According to a May 1945 issue of TIME, one battleship scored 25 direct hits on the castle grounds, "but the shells bounced off, said an observer, like ‘rubber balls'."

Eventually, the bombs and artillery managed to take their toll, leveling the once resplendent structure to the ground not long after Ushijima abandoned the castle and retreated to the south. Today, though the tunnels and underground chambers are closed to the public, their entrances can still be seen on the grounds of Shuri Castle, slowly caving in under the weight of the earth. But their presence reminds us of the past, of the citadel's story. And perhaps, if we listen closely, we can hear the walls delivering a message as important as the castle's history.