Japan Shuri castle fire: blaze engulfs ancient world heritage site

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian and agencies

A fire has swept through a historic castle on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa , destroying much of a structure that had come to symbolise the ancient Ryukyu kingdom and the island’s recovery from the second world war.

Flames engulfed Shuri castle, a Unesco world heritage site located in the island’s capital Naha, at around 2:40 am and quickly spread to other buildings in the complex, local police said.

There were no initial reports of injuries, but nearby residents were evacuated while firefighters spent several hours attempting to bring the fire under control.

The castle, a popular tourist spot, dates back to the days of the Ryukyu kingdom, which began in 1429 and ended in the late 1800s when it was annexed by the government in Tokyo.

-snip-

Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies
Thu 31 Oct 2019 00.26 GMT
Last modified on Thu 31 Oct 2019 02.04 GMT


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/31/japan-shuri-castle-fire-blaze-engulfs-ancient-world-heritage-site

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Shuri Castle was previously destroyed during World War Two (EPA)

[2naSalit]

1. Oh dear!

[alittlelark]

3. That picture is beautiful-and so tragic

[dalton99a]

4. Before the fire:

[Judi Lynn]

5. The building was so beautiful, and so important to so many people for so very long.

It will take a long time to overcome this loss, and its meaningful place in the world.

Thank you for the before photo.

[Hekate]

6. How terribly sad

Summer grass
All that remains
Of warriors' dreams
~~~Basho

[packman]

7. You would think something so important to world culture

would have a fire-suppression system . Guess they didn't take any lessons from the Notre Dame fire or Windsor Castle fire.

[Hekate]

8. Japan's treasures are largely made of wood; the fires of the urban areas are legendary...

The landscapes of Europe and Britain/Ireland are littered with ancient castles made of stone -- but that part of the planet is not afflicted with earthquakes the way Japan is. Stone endures -- but as we in California know, it's a lethal building material in its own right when not reinforced by modern means.

Wooden structures, on the other hand, have a certain flex in their joints, and can ride out a lot of small quakes. Wood's flammable, though. The Japanese treasure their treasures, and I'm sure every modern means was in place before the fire -- altho subsequent reports may tell us more.

(Now I'm off to see if google can tell me if I'm right or if there's other historic reasons why there was overwhelming reliance on wood.)