Tamaudun, also known as Tama Udun or the Royal Mausoleum, is the tomb of successive kings of the Second Shō Dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It is located in Shurikinjocho, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The mausoleum was built in 1501 (the 14th year of the Ming Hongzhi era) by King Shō Shin, the third king of the dynasty (who reigned from 1477 to 1526), to reinter his father, King Shō En.
Tamaudun was designated a Historic Site by the Japanese government in 1972 and further recognized as a National Treasure in 2018. In 2000, it was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu.” Today, Tamaudun is the largest gabled tomb structure in the Ryukyu region.
The mausoleum is divided into three main chambers: the central chamber, the eastern chamber, and the western chamber. The central chamber was used to temporarily place remains before the bone-washing ceremony; the eastern chamber was for storing funerary urns containing the remains of kings and queens after the ritual; and the western chamber was used for the burials of other royal family members. The outer area of the tomb is divided by stone walls into an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard, the latter paved with coral limestone gravel, reflecting the region’s unique architectural style.
In addition to being a key component of the World Heritage Site, Tamaudun is also designated as a Historic Site by Japan, with its stone-walled burial chambers recognized as Important Cultural Properties. Furthermore, the stone lion statues and the Tamaudun stele within the tomb grounds are designated as Tangible Cultural Properties by the Okinawa Prefectural Government.
