Nakamurake (Nakamura House) is located in Kitanakagusuku Village in the south-central portion of Okinawa, and was the home of the Nakamura family for eleven generations. It is considered one of the best examples of traditional Ryukyuan architecture, and the basic methods used to develop its structure date back to the Kamakura and Muromachi periods of mainland Japan (1185-1572). The edifice was constructed sometime after 1720, and while the influence of traditional Japanese architecture is present, local materials such as the limestone and coral used to construct the walls surrounding the house make it distinctively Okinawan.

Visitors enter the grounds through a main stone gate flanked by two massive slabs of limestone. This is the hinpun, which was not only used to prevent evil spirits from entering the house but also served as a windbreak from powerful typhoon gusts. Also keeping evil spirits at bay were a pair of glaring shîsâ perched atop the main edifice’s roof. Guests will also notice that the grounds are surrounded by fukugi trees, which were the home’s first line of defense against howling gales. Many of the fukugi surrounding Nakamura House are more than 250 years old.

After passing through the hinpun and under the nakamon (second gate), guests arrive in a courtyard. To the front is the ufuya, and to the right is the ashagi, a small, two-room structure that was built to house the family’s younger sons as well as visiting guests and dignitaries. The ufuya consists of eight rooms. Among those are the ichibanza (literally, “first room,” which functioned as a guest room), the nibanza (“second room”, which contained the family butsudan, or altar), and the sanbanza (“third room,” which functioned as a living room). Directly behind this triad of rooms are the two uruza, which served as the main bedrooms for the family.

In front of the sanbanza is the nakame, an open expanse where members of the family gathered and sorted vegetables and other goods for sale or consumption. Next to it are the dining room and kitchen. The kitchen, or tungwa, featured an expansive earthen hearth and plenty of large, metal pots for cooking.

The ufuya and ashagi are both surrounded by an engawa, a veranda of traditional Japanese design that helps transition in the indoor and outdoor spaces.

Food was stored in the takakura, or high storage. A building separate from the ufuya, the takakura was lifted off the ground in order to prevent moisture from ruining the products inside and also to keep rodents from nesting. The takakura of Nakamura House is a bit unusual, however; most of the island’s takakura were supported by cylindrical wooden pillars and had thatched roofs. This one has been enclosed on all sides and features a roof that is, like the rest of the buildings on the property, made of aka-gawara. These bright red tiles were made from jâgaru (weathered clay from the southern potion of the island) and nîbî (fine-grained sandstone).

Just behind the takakura is a limestone well that collected rainwater. Nearby is the menuya (also known as the kachiku), or barn, which held cows, goats, and horses on the first floor and firewood on the second floor. Pigs (vital components of the Okinawan diet and economy) were kept in the furu (also, huru), a large limestone pigpen.

Displayed throughout the property are various period items, such as metal stirrups and geta, cooking bowls and utensils, a clothing iron, fabrics, scrolls, sugarcane processing equipment, and tack for the horses.

The grounds between the structures and the outer wall are well maintained and feature a worn path and native plants and trees.

According to literature provided by Nakamura House, “The history of the Nakamura family dates back to the early part of the 15th century, when Gashi, an ancestor of the family, moved his residence to Nakagusuku from Zakimi in Yomitan. The reason for the move was because Lord Gosamaru of Zakimi had received an order from the king in Shuri to relocate his castle to Nakagusuku. Gashi served as Gosamaru’s teacher until the latter’s downfall at the hands of Lord Amawari of Katsuren Castle just across from Nakagusuku Bay.

With the Nakagusuku Castle in ruins, Gashi and his family also suffered from their lord’s adversity. It was not until 1720 that fortune came back to the Nakamura family when one of the ancestors was called upon to serve as a jitoshoku (village headman) by the royal government at Shuri. It was around this time when the first foundations of the Nakamura House were set in.”

To get to Nakamura House, exit Camp Foster’s Legion Gate and cross Highway 330. Proceed straight and turn right onto Highway 146. Follow the signs to Nakamura House.

Nakamura Photos