the construction of nijo castle (二条城) in kyoto was ordered by tokugawa ieyasu, the founder of the tokugawa shogunate.  this world heritage site was built with the purpose of being the kyoto residence of the tokugawa shoguns, it was completed in 1626 and was in use by the shogunate until 1867.  it was on this year when tokugawa yoshinobu, the 15th shogun, returned authority to the imperial court, thus putting an end to the shogunate system.  the imperial court took control of nijo castle, but then donated it to the city of kyoto in 1939.

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unlike temples preceding it, hokki-ji temple was designed with the main hall to the west and the pagoda to the east.  a style which is now referred as hokki-ji.  built in 706, the pagoda is the oldest of its kind in the world.  just like horyu-ji, hokki-ji was founded by prince shotoku though it was not built until after his death.  this world heritage site was built on top of the okamoto palace where prince shotoku held lectures on the sutra.

this temple along with horyu-ji where the first sites inscribed into the UNESCO world heritage sites.

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the first japanese site selected as a UNESCO world heritage site was horyu-ji temple (法隆寺).  the site contains the oldest wooden structures in the world, dating back over 1,300 years to the 7th century.

horyu-ji was commissioned by prince shotoku in honor of his father who died before realizing his vision.  the temple was built and a statue of the buddha to which it was dedicated was placed on the grounds in the year 607.  the buddha statue is of yakushi nyorai, a buddha known as a healer.  most of the buildings were designed in the asuka style architecture, which show influence from china and west asian countries.

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used as the central point from which the northern reaches of okinawa island, and therefore the ryukyuan kingdom, were controlled, nakijin castle (今帰仁城) currently stands as reconstructions and ruins.  nakijin castle as seen today is what it resembled after this northern part of okinawa was unified and came under control of the king at shuri castle.  that was 1416, but it wasn’t until 1422 that an administrator was placed at nakijin castle, making it his residence.  as with the other castles on okinawa that belong to the gusuku sites and related properties of the kingdom of ryukyu, nakijin castle was situation in a place to take advantage of the terrain as a natural defense.  these include steep drop offs, gorges with streams, and its placement atop a hill.  though this castle was not heavily damaged during WWII, a fire in the early 17th century burned down most of the castle.

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