Photo/Illutration The Dairyu-chu pillar emerged unscathed from the Oct. 31 fire that destroyed Shuri-jo castle in Naha. This photo was taken on Nov. 4. (Jun Kaneko)

NAHA--Workers are using their hands to remove the mountains of debris from the fire at Shuri-jo castle here so as to avoid further damaging ancient underground foundations.

The laborious process means that the cause of the Oct. 31 blaze that destroyed many of the historic wooden structures and the treasures they held will not be known for some time yet.

Police and firefighters have staged an on-site investigation into the cause of the fire since Nov. 1. About 110 individuals continued with investigative work on Nov. 4.

Authorities announced Nov. 4 that almost all the debris on the northern and central sides of the Seiden main hall had been cleared.

However, debris at the adjacent Nanden south building and Hokuden north building remain untouched.

The destroyed Seiden main hall was a three-story, two-layered roof structure that stood about 18 meters tall. A huge volume of timber and about 55,000 red tiles were used in the construction. Officials said the charred timbers and broken tiles were piled up in layers.

Typically, heavy machinery is used to clear debris at sites of major fires. But this is not being done because Shuri-jo castle is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tiles are removed by hand and sorted into groups, depending on areas where tiles were collected, and stored in a central area in front of the Seiden main hall.

The Seiden main hall was rebuilt on earlier ruins of Shuri-jo castle, which served as the center of politics and culture for the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429-1879).

A part of the Seiden main hall’s floor was made of glass so visitors could view the old foundations.

Police and fire department officials discussed whether or not to use heavy machinery before the start of the inspection, and ruled out doing so for fear of further damaging the foundations.

Even shovels are being used sparingly.

“If I say I am not frustrated with it, it would be a lie," said a prefectural police executive. "But, we don’t have other options. We can only do our best under these conditions.”

REPORTERS BARRED

Seiichi Eto, the state minister in charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, visited the historic site on Nov. 4.

That allowed reporters an opportunity to enter restricted zones and confirm that at least the “Dairyu-chu" pillar remains standing among the accumulated debris at the Una central area of Shuri-jo castle.

Entry to Shuri-jo Castle Park was severely restricted after the fire as inspections continued at the Seiden main hall, where the blaze is thought to have originated. Eto's tour took him from the Hoshinmon gate, the entrance to the Seiden main hall.

Reporters were ordered to stay more than 50 meters from the Hoshinmon gate and could barely glimpse the scale of destruction inside.

However, the Dairyu-chu pillar, standing 3.1 meters tall and made of sandstone, was clearly visible beyond the Hoshinmon gate.

Fallen red tiles and charred timbers were piled up around the pillar.

After the inspection, Eto said, “As the Japanese government is responsible for the restoration work, we hope to have a plan in place as soon as possible.”

(This article was written by Shinichi Fujiwara and Kazuyuki Ito.)