Asia Images / John Lander Photography

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58. Seifa Utaki 斎場御嶽 was once the highest-ranking sacred place in the Ryukyu Kingdom. Forest and bare rocks were admired as objects presented as God made them. These rites mixed animism with ancestor worship in a uniquely Okiwawan form. Men were once prohibited from entering and even Kings were supposed to dress as women before entering. It is considered one of the seven sacred places built by Amamikiyo, the god for ancient spirits of the Ryukyu people. Its diety is Ikoe-no-Okimi the highest goddess. The forest around Seifa-utaki was undamaged during World War II and is full of rare ferns, trees and orchids. Even today people worship at Seifa Utaki as a sacred site.

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58. Seifa Utaki 斎場御嶽 was once the highest-ranking sacred place in the Ryukyu Kingdom. Forest and bare rocks were admired as objects presented as God made them. These rites mixed animism with ancestor worship in a uniquely Okiwawan form. Men were once prohibited from entering and even Kings were supposed to dress as women before entering. It is considered one of the seven sacred places built by Amamikiyo, the god for ancient spirits of the Ryukyu people. Its diety is Ikoe-no-Okimi the highest goddess. The forest around Seifa-utaki was undamaged during World War II and is full of rare ferns, trees and orchids. Even today people worship at Seifa Utaki as a sacred site.