About This Proposal
Okinawa is often imagined as a place of blue seas and slowly flowing time.
As symbolized by the phrase “Nankurunaisa,” there is a gentle atmosphere where relationships between people feel warm and relaxed.
Within this landscape exists a way of life shaped through coexistence with nature— facing typhoons, intense sunlight, and salty sea winds.
Villages lined with stone walls, Fukugi tree rows, and red-tiled houses represent generations of wisdom developed while adapting to the forces of nature.
This proposal seeks to reevaluate the villages of the Ryukyu Islands as a unified cultural landscape, including both their relationship with nature and the gentle social connections within island communities.
Island life shaped together with nature through the flow of gentle time
Explanation of Value
1. Structure of Ryukyu Architecture and Island Settlements
The villages of the Ryukyu Islands developed within harsh natural environments characterized by intense sunlight, typhoons, and salty sea winds. Rather than focusing on individual buildings, these settlements evolved as integrated living systems in which the entire village functions as a unified unit. The landscapes seen on Tonaki Island and Taketomi Island are representative examples of this tradition.
Architecture That Shapes Island Life
This Is the Basic Structure of Ryukyu Villages
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Ryukyu architecture consists of red-tiled houses combined with stone wall boundaries, Fukugi windbreak forests, and white-sand roads.
These elements do not function independently; instead, they form a system through which the entire settlement adapts to its environment. Houses are low-rise and arranged with moderate spacing, allowing wind to pass through the village and improve ventilation. This characteristic reflects a form of “village planning” rather than isolated architectural design.
In this way, Ryukyu architecture demonstrates a comprehensive island-settlement system in which the natural environment and everyday culture are deeply interconnected.
2. Adaptation to Typhoons and the Maritime Environment
The Ryukyu Islands lie within a region frequently affected by typhoons and are exposed to strong sunlight and salty sea winds. As a result, the settlements evolved not by resisting nature, but by coexisting with it and gently redirecting its forces.
Villages That Live with the Wind
This Is the Form of Environmental Adaptation
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Stone walls help disperse strong winds rather than directly blocking them, while rows of Fukugi trees protect the village as windbreak forests. The spatial arrangement around each residence also functions to guide and regulate airflow.
In addition, white-sand roads improve drainage during heavy rain while also reducing heat reflected from the ground. Through the combination of these elements, sustainable living environments were created even under severe climatic conditions.
In this way, Ryukyu architectural villages represent an environmentally adaptive cultural landscape formed not by excluding nature, but by accepting and harmonizing with it.
Comparison with World Heritage Sites
By comparing these villages with existing World Heritage sites known for traditional settlements and climate-adaptive architecture, the value of the “Ryukyu Architectural Villages of Tonaki and Taketomi” becomes even clearer. Click "Click""Tap" on the images below to explore the comparisons.
Similarity:Unique traditional houses adapted to local natural environments and building materials have been preserved as part of the settlement landscape
Difference:Alberobello features stone architecture adapted to a dry climate, while Ryukyu villages developed wooden and stone-wall-based settlement structures adapted to typhoons and hot, humid conditions
Similarity:Wooden architecture and townscapes designed for ventilation were developed in response to hot and humid environments
Difference:Hoi An developed as an international trading port city, whereas Ryukyu villages are island settlements with a more rural character
Similarity:Both developed within maritime environments and feature streets and architecture adapted to strong sunlight and salty sea winds
Difference:Stone Town developed stone architecture as a trading city, while Ryukyu villages are centered around low-rise wooden houses and stone-wall landscapes
Similarity:Traditional houses emphasizing ventilation and protection from sunlight remain preserved within maritime cultural regions
Difference:Lamu Old Town is an urban settlement rooted in Islamic and Swahili culture, while Ryukyu villages are island rural landscapes shaped by the culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom
Next is a comparison with Japanese World Heritage sites. Click "Click""Tap" on the image below to explore the comparison.
Similarity:Traditional houses and village landscapes adapted to severe natural environments have been preserved together with local ways of life
Difference:Shirakawa-go and Gokayama feature steeply sloped roofs designed for heavy snowfall, while Ryukyu villages are characterized by low-rise structures and stone-wall landscapes adapted to typhoons and strong winds
Existing World Heritage sites each demonstrate traditional settlement landscapes shaped through adaptation to regional climates and natural environments. In contrast, the “Ryukyu Architectural Villages of Tonaki and Taketomi” developed a unique disaster-adaptive settlement structure combining stone walls, Fukugi trees, and low-rise houses in response to the distinctive natural conditions of the Ryukyu Islands, including typhoons, strong winds, and hot, humid climates. These villages represent a remarkable achievement of environmentally adaptive settlements within maritime Asia.
Why These Villages Were Selected
At this point, let us examine the significance of the “Ryukyu Architectural Villages of Tonaki and Taketomi” within Japan. The reasons can be summarized in the following three points. Click "Click""Tap" to view the details.
The Ryukyu Islands are among the regions of Japan most heavily affected by typhoons and strong winds. On Tonaki Island and Taketomi Island, a unique settlement structure was developed by combining stone walls, Fukugi trees, and low-rise houses in order to redirect strong winds. This is not merely a scenic landscape, but a system of environmentally adaptive architecture created for coexistence with natural disasters.
This heritage group is distinguished by the fact that it continues to preserve settlement structures and lifestyles dating back to the Ryukyu Kingdom period. Red-tiled roofs, white-sand roads, stone walls, and sacred sites known as utaki together form a cultural landscape that preserves not only architecture, but also faith and community life. It is an important example demonstrating the distinctiveness of the Ryukyu cultural sphere, which differs from mainland Japan.
Japan contains many traditional settlements, but island-type villages closely connected to maritime environments, such as Ryukyu architectural villages, are relatively rare. In particular, Tonaki Island and Taketomi Island continue to preserve their historic landscapes while remaining actively inhabited, giving them exceptional rarity as preserved examples of traditional settlements within maritime Asia.
In this way, this heritage group represents one of Japan’s most important examples of environmentally adaptive architecture and the uniqueness of Ryukyu culture. It holds great value for preserving both the disaster-prevention wisdom developed in typhoon-prone regions and the living culture deeply rooted in island communities.
Components of the property
From here, we introduce the component assets that shape this proposal.
Criteria
Let us now organize the values discussed so far in relation to the World Heritage selection criteria. Through this perspective, the significance of the “Ryukyu Architectural Villages of Tonaki and Taketomi” becomes even clearer.
Testimony to Historical Tradition
Preservation of Traditional Cultural Landscapes within the Ryukyu Cultural Sphere
This heritage group preserves the living culture of island communities that has continued since the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The settlement structure formed by red-tiled roofs, stone walls, white-sand roads, and sacred utaki sites represents not merely a collection of buildings, but a cultural landscape in which community, faith, and daily life remain interconnected. It is a rare physical testimony to the unique historical traditions of the Ryukyu cultural sphere.
Development of Architectural and Technological Systems
Unique Architectural and Settlement Techniques Adapted to Island Environments
This heritage group developed a unique settlement structure combining stone walls, Fukugi trees, and low-rise wooden houses in response to the distinctive natural conditions of the Ryukyu Islands, including typhoons, strong winds, and hot, humid climates. These are not isolated architectural techniques, but an integrated environmental and architectural system through which the entire settlement achieves disaster prevention, ventilation, and sustainable living conditions. It represents a remarkable example of climate-adaptive architecture within maritime Asia.
Traditional Settlements and Land Use
Island Settlement Landscapes in Harmony with Nature
This heritage group represents traditional settlements formed within limited island spaces through coexistence with typhoons, salty sea winds, and intense sunlight. Windbreak structures using stone walls and Fukugi trees, the preservation of landscapes through white-sand roads, and the spacing of houses to avoid excessive density all demonstrate forms of land use shaped through long-term adaptation to the natural environment. It is an outstanding example of the relationship between people and nature in the Ryukyu Islands.
In Closing
Villages are not simply collections of buildings; they are shaped through the accumulation of human life itself.
On the islands of the Ryukyus, people have long lived amid typhoons, intense sunlight, and salty sea winds. Through daily life, they developed ways to redirect the wind and coexist with nature.
Building stone walls, planting Fukugi trees, and arranging houses while preserving pathways for the wind were not extraordinary technologies, but everyday wisdom developed through living in harmony with the island environment.
On these islands, where relationships between people remain close, mutual support naturally emerges as part of everyday life.
Those human connections have also become the strength that allows entire communities to face natural forces such as typhoons together.
The close and supportive relationships formed through everyday life continue to shape the landscapes of these islands.
The warmth and practical wisdom of the Shimanchu people still remain today in the stone walls, Fukugi trees, and red-tiled houses of the villages. The Ryukyu way of life, shaped through coexistence with nature, continues to live on within the landscapes of these islands.
A “World Heritage Site” like this—why not?
