but ryukyuan culture hasn't always been embraced by the mainland.fter it became part ofjapan there was a crackdown on local customs. next on my tour, chiyoko takes me 30 kilometres down the road to shuri castle. it's on the top of a steep hill. so i brought along an extra set of wheels. so here we are then. that was a big entrance into an open space. what happened here? i've come through and it's just a construction site. that is the only way i can explain it. that is what i was expecting to see. and it's such a shame. when it was standing, shuri castle drew around 2 million people a year. then, in october 2019, a fire, blamed on a faulty electrical system, tore the wooden palace, destroying all the main buildings. the debris has been cleared away and the site is once again open to tourists, where they can find out about an ambitious new reconstruction that is currently under way. so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight of them they are a real solid piece. how many will you need to make? it is not the first time the castle has been des