A fire-fighting drill was conducted Monday at Shuri Castle, a symbol of Okinawa that is located in a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it marked the third anniversary of a major conflagration that burned much of it down.
Prior to the start of castle reconstruction work on Thursday at the Seiden main hall, local firefighters and security guards worked together to spray water onto a warehouse storing lumber for the rebuilding work on the assumption that a fire had broken out there.
The drill began at 5:30 a.m., before sunrise. The fire three years ago also broke out before dawn and was not immediately discovered.
"To prevent a fire from ever happening again, we will review our management system while conducting drills until the Seiden is rebuilt," said Yuji Hiratsuka of the Okinawa Commemorative National Government Park.
A ceremony for the start of the castle's reconstruction will be held Thursday, with the work scheduled to end in 2026. It will cost around 12 billion yen ($81 million), according to the Cabinet Office.
The Okinawa prefectural government has received over 5.5 billion yen in donations from Japan and abroad, and expects to use the funds for lumber and sculptures for the Seiden.
After the restoration, sprinklers will be installed, having been earlier excluded on aesthetic grounds.
"We have received donations and interest from many people. We will continue cooperating with the central government and related organizations," Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said Monday.
Shuri Castle was the center of politics, foreign affairs and culture in the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429 until Japan annexed Okinawa in 1879. It has burned down several times, including during World War II, but opened as a national park in 1992 with the Seiden and some other buildings restored.
Securing artisans for the decoration of Shuri Castle is an issue as 30 years have passed since its last restoration, and the artisans who knew it then are aging.
The blaze started at around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 31, 2019, and engulfed six wooden buildings on a hill overlooking the prefectural capital Naha before being extinguished around 1:30 p.m.
There were no reports of injuries, but police and firefighters could not identify the cause of the fire.
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