Let's go have fun seeing even "more"of Native Okinawa Village!

OMORO BOTANICALGARDEN
This exhibition features 22 plant species that appear in"Omorosaushi," Okinawa's oldest song anthology dating from the12th to the early 17th century.
The word "omoro," formerly known as "umui," means "thought."
Omoro, it is said, is not so much an internal thought as a magicalword to express one's feelings and "thoughts" to God, wishing forthe peace and prosperity of the village community.
You can feel from each plant the relationship between people
and nature from the distant "Omoro Era".

NATIVE OKINAWA
VILLAGE
Native Okinawa Village recreates a village in the Ryukyu Kingdom
period. Visitors can see andimagine people's lives in thepast, worship places suchas Utaki(Sacred Grove) andKami-asagi, which wereplaces where people felt
at peace, private houses,
Noro's House, Jitude'sHouse, raised granaries, Sataya (Sugar production place), and soforth.

Stage Performances■

Traditional local performing arts are performed on the stage
adjacent to the "Rest Place".
(Photo: "Shochikubai Tsurukame," designated as an Intangible
Folk Cultural Asset by Motobu Town)

Video Program"Ties of Life"■The Rest Place andJinbun BOX will show
animated films andOkinawan traditionalcustoms.

Native Okinawa Village
Exploration Quiz■

Take a quiz while exploring theNative Okinawa Village using yoursmartphone.

The "sacred tree" in the park
They are sacred trees that grow insanctuaries such as Utaki in Okinawa.
They are called "Kuba Utaki" or"Kupohnu Utaki". The leaves havelong been used for daily commodites,such as buckets for drawing water,round fans, and made into the "Kubahats (woven hats)" that are worn byfishermen.
The Kuba tree (Livistona chinensis)
is mentioned in the Kojiki (Recordsof Ancient Matters, Japan's oldesthistorical record) as the tree of"Ajimasa" and it is said that the treeof Ajimasa in Awa Province andAwaji-shima Island became a gift tothe court.

Jinbun BOX VR

Sea Almond(Terminalia catappa)

https://oki-park.jp/sp/kaiyohaku/en/inst/72

Family: Combretaceae
Dialect name:Kfadihsah
Kbadehsah Nmahgih■Hours of opera�onPeriod

Normal period

Family: Arecaceae
Dialect name: KubaFamily: Moraceae
Dialect name:Kwahghi, Kwah, Kongi, Nandehsih.

available on theBotanical Garden
Exploration Map.▶

At the Jinbun BOX adjacent toOmoro Botanical Garden you cansee a virtual reality (VR) imageof a poem from "Omorosaushi,"
Okinawa's oldest song anthology,
using your smartphone.

(Livistona chinensis)(Morus australis)

Information on all the22 different species is■

Chinese Fan Palm

Muleberry

Native Okinawan species (22 different species) in "Omorosaushi"▲ Click here for quiz questions

Plants that appear in"Omorosaushi," theoldest songbook inOkinawa.

(Oct - Feb)

As a sacred tree, mulberry
branches are used to makebows during the annual"Ufuyumi" ceremony to pray
for a good harvest, as it is said
to ward off evil spirits.
The mulberry tree is also
associated with the sungod, and in the event of athunderstorm, Okinawans
say, "Kwahgi nu shita (orshicha) dehbiru (I am under amulberry tree so please don'tstrike)."

Summer period(Mar - Sep)

17 : 30 18 : 00 18 : 30 19 : 00 19 : 30 20 : 00 20 : 30

8:00 8:30

Ocean Expo ParkNa�ve Okinawa Village

Ocean Expo Park

RiceNa�ve Okinawa Village*Opening hours of Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and surrounding facili�eschange between the oﬀ-season and peak season (spring vaca�on, Golden
Week, summer vaca�on, and winter vaca�on).

(Oryza sativa)

Citrus(Citrus depressa)

Taiwan Cherry

Ramie

Ryukyu Pine

Ryukyu Bamboo

Family: Urticaceae
Dialect name: Mahwuhpu

Family: Pinaceae
Dialect name: Mahchi,Machi

Family: Poaceae
Dialect name:
Yambarudaki, Yamadaki

Family: Poaceae
Dialect name: NniFamily: Rutaceae
Dialect name: Kuganih
Shikwahsah(Prunus campanulata)
Family: Rosaceae
Dialect name: Sakura

Closed on the 1st Wednesday of December and the following day
For inquires

Ocean Expo Park Management Center
424 Aza-Ishikawa, Motobu-cho,
Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 905-0206, Japan

TEL：0980-48-2741 FAX：0980-48-3339
English HP: h�p://oki-park.jp/kaiyohaku/en/

22. 12.

(Boehmeria nivea)(Pinus luchuensis)(Pleioblastus linearis)

Home of Family Patriarch

Jitude's House (Manor lords)

The main house is the head familyof the village, and is also theresidence and ritual site of thenichu (or nigami), who presideover the rituals of the village's
kinship groups.

The Jitude (manor lord) was theofficial of each municipality from1611 to 1897. The local government
was administered by the manor lord(local government head), who was
an influential peasant in the area.
The manor lord was responsible formanaging the distribution of arable
land, protecting forests and fields,collecting and paying various taxes, andother administrative matters.

Uminchu Path(Stepped Water Fountain)
This garden is based on a drylandscape motif with Ryukyu
limestone rocks and cycads.
This is a great new photo spot
overlooking the East China Sea.

Ancient times are quietly reborn.
Travel in time back to the Ryukyu
Kingdom era of Okinawa.

Ugamigah (Sacred spring)
Ancestral wellsprings,
reservoirs, and otherwater features are called"Ugamigah (Sacred springs),"
where the god of water isenshrined.
They were places of worshipand relaxation essential todaily life.

Main Entrance Gate
At the entrance to the Native
Okinawa Village stands 8
meter tall gate poles with
“Hatagashira” flags motif.
The motif is based on thePolaris(North Star) and theImpatiens balsamina flower
from the lyrics of the song
"Tinsagunu Hana".

Park Information Center (Haisai Plaza)⬆

Kuroshio stairs

Okichan (Dolphin) Theater
Noro's House (District priestess)"Noro" is the priestess who presides over thevillage rituals to pray for the villagers' health andgood harvest and give thanks for the good harvest.

Fountain Plaza
Uminchu Path（Stepped Water Fountain）

Ugamigah (Sacred spring)

StageRest Place

Jitude's House(Manor lords)

Utaki (Sacred Grove)
Kami-Asagi (Worship House)
Home of Family Patriarch

Ocean Culture Museum

Noro's House

Private House in Motobu ProvinceThis house is modeled after an early Showa
period farmhouse that existed near the park, andis the oldest example of the anaya style.
It consists of two buildings, the main house andthe kitchen (Tungwa), and the roof is thatchedwith small logs.

The first space to welcome visitors who have entered the Ryukyu
Kingdom period area.
It has a rest area, information about Native Okinawa Village, and agreen room.

(District priestess)Places to Worship Gods from Nirai-Kanai(Sacred place of paradise just beyond theEastern ocean horizon)

Private House in Motobu Province
Ryukyuan Kingdom Era
Private House

Private House in recent years
Raised Okinawan Granaries

Private House of Yonaguni

Private Housein recent years

Private House of Amami
Granaries of Amami

Tanmu Pond

Jinbun BOX (learn while taking a rest)

Omoro Botanical Garden

Raised Okinawan Granaries
Sataya(Sugar production place)

Jinbun BOX

Information

Electric Park Trolley Stop

Escalator

Coffee Shop

ToiletShop

For Ostomates

Coin Locker

Baby Care RoomObservation Deck

First-Aid Station

Waiting Room

Rental Stroller andWheelchair

Vending Machine(Wheelchair Accessible Toilet)

Riding Ground（Playground）

Tropical Dream Center➡

Private House of Amami
Private house of Amami are generally characterized bytwo buildings consisting of a main house and a kitchen(Tohgura).
The basic layout of the main house is two rooms lined up
next to each other, the front room, "omote," and the backroom, "uchi (ura)." This one was modeled after a privatehouse in Naon, Yamato Village, Oshima County, Kagoshima
Prefecture.

See the local village
exploration map for
information on otherhouses and facilities.

▲

A 50-meter-long athletic playground.
Try your hand at bouldering, suspension bridges, and many other athletic activities!

In Okinawa, former
restrictions onbuilding houses wereabolished in 1889
(Meiji 22), and sincethen red-tile roofs
have been used onhouses throughout
Okinawa.
The main house andkitchen are built asa single structure,with an amahaji(Japanese-styleawning) to preventstrong sunlight andrain from entering.

These granaries were built on stilts to improveventilation and keep out moisture and humidity.
The model is based on the existing ones in Kijoka,
Ogimi Village and Gabusoka, Nago City.

Visitors can learn about the worldview of the time
period depicted in "Omorosaushi" through therelationship between the Okinawan people andplants, all while having fun.

Riding Ground (Playground)Rest Place and Stage

Automated External
Defibrillator（AED）