Ginoza Village

Three village entrances, a lion at each.

Ishiganto, Sokei

Photo by Bérangère444 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Ginoza Hachigatsu Ashibi

The lion is revered as a dancing god,welcomed to the play and then sent off.

Every other year on the 15th day of the eighth old-calendar month, a temporary stage is built on the Hiramatsumo field of Ginoza district, and the district's young men's group leads the performances. Two kumiodori dance-dramas are handed down. In 2005 it was selected as an intangible folk cultural property for which records are to be made.

Every other year, 15th day of the 8th old-calendar month
Two kumiodori dance-dramas handed down
2005: selected as an intangible folk cultural property requiring records

02 ／ Shell Mound by the Fukuchi River

Carbonized Okinawa-urajirogashi acornshave been unearthed from the shell mound in large quantity.

At the shell mound on the north side of the Fukuchi River's mouth, a large quantity of carbonized Okinawa-urajirogashi acorns has been unearthed. The village says it offers a glimpse of the diet of the time. The photo shows a display at the village museum, taken in January 2025, with the acorns piled up.

North side of the Fukuchi River's mouth
Carbonized acorns unearthed in large quantity
Photo: village museum display, January 2025

03 ／ Yadui Settlements and Reclaimed Land

Most names of the settlements Shuri gentry moved to,and of the reclaimed land, remain as sub-district names.

From around the 1879 abolition of the domains, yadui settlements, where gentry from Shuri moved, formed in several places in the village area. From 1935 on, land reclamation and settlement began at Fukuyama and Kochiya, and Shirohara and Fukuyama became administrative districts when the village separated and became independent.

From around the 1879 abolition of the domains
From 1935: reclamation and settlement at Fukuyama and Kochiya
Shirohara and Fukuyama became districts with the village's independence

Living here

An east-coast village in northern Okinawa Island, about 90 minutes by car from Naha Airport.

about 6,000 people
Rural district town

Ginoza is a village in Kunigami District with no railway station. The village says it is about 90 minutes by car from Naha Airport, driving north on Routes 58 and 329, and that the village office is 5 minutes by car from the Ginoza Interchange. Express buses are Okinawa Bus routes 111 and 117, and route 77 is listed for onward travel.

People living here: 5,833people
Area: 31.31km²
Households: 2,239households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 2 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —3 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Ginoza Village in Japan26.482°N 127.976°E

Territory of Ginoza Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

7.2km

名護市, 金武町, 恩納村

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Ginoza Village isthis kind of town.

01At the east, west and north entrances of Sokei, lions of limestone called Ishiganto are placed, said to have been set there to turn back disasters trying to enter the village; the annual Shimakanka rite of offerings was revived in 1985
02The Hachigatsu Ashibi of Ginoza district is held every other year on the 15th day of the eighth old-calendar month at Hiramatsumo, and Kyotaro, a prefecturally designated intangible folk cultural property, is also handed down within it
03The village's history says the finds at the shell mound let us glimpse the diet of the shell-mound period, and that around the abolition of the domains, yadui settlements of Shuri gentry formed in the village area

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ginoza Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗