Hello, I’m Hidemitsu Maeshiro, your tour guide on Okinawa. Please call me Hyde. I was born in 1947 three years after the war and brought up in Shuri. I live near Shurijo Castle and my family run a small nursery school for more than 50 years. I was adapted to Maeshiro when I was about 7 years of age, my family and given name has been changed for three times. I would like to tell you the secret when you come to see me in Okinawa. My older brother who was also adopted to Maeshiro when he was young. His brother and father was killed in battle of Okinawa near the Naha Port. He has to go back to his old family to continue his family’s name Matsuyama.
Well, one out of every four people was killed in this war. Especially Shuri area was heavily damaged and completely destroyed because 32nd Imperial Army dug banker under the site of Shurijo Castle. Ancient capital of Ryukyu has disappeared.
In 1912, Japanese Government decided to rebuild of Shurijo Castle again. It was completed in the year 2019, but unfortunately Shurijo Castle was burnt down 31st of October 2019. The cause of the fire is unknow, many valuable cultural assets has gone. The castle will be rebuild
three yeas later.
After I was retired from local company in 2017, I applied on base tour guide. Guiding Okinawa is very exciting job, we have long history of Okinawa. The first trade with China is in 1372, twenty years later we have 36 family emigrant from China. Thy have been great help to trade with China for next 450 years.
