An
appeal to preserve the Rippoin, the former Legislative HallINAMINE Keiichi, prefectural governor of Okinawa, is going to scrap the former legislative hall in a few days. (November 16, 1999) >Japanese Version
Link to OKINAWA Photograph by Maeda
Only a former legislative building exists today among the old Government buildings of GRI(Government of the Ryukyu Islands). The San Francisco peace treaty was signed and Okinawa came under the U.S. administration with the Amami islands from the south of north latitude 29 degrees in 1951. The following year, the U.S. government established the GRI based on the principle of the separation of three powers and the legislature.
Such legislative organ was created by the side of the Okinawan residents under U.S. Forces control, which had become the symbolic structure of achieving democracy, autonomy, and peace in post-war Okinawa. Needless to say, it became a historical stage that had made the Ryukyuan history under the U.S. administration for 18 years up to 1972 and that had determined the course of post-reversion Okinawa after 1992 when the new Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Building was completed.
Furthermore, the old legislature building continues watching us for over 7 years even after its role of legislative building was over.
The first open building design competition in Okinawa was held, and it became the first public construction that had been designed and constructed by Okinawan people in post-war Okinawa.
The legislative building transcends
its structural appearance in terms of Okinawan peoples' idealism
that expresses its enchanting scale, proportionate beauty, individuality
combining various languages of architecture. Japan Architectural
Association and the scholars inside Okinawa and outside evaluate
the structure highly as an excellent architectural product because
of its perfect unity of the ideal, the elaborate design and the
function.
At last but not least, the Okinawa people strongly desired to
attach a bronze relief "a peaceful pigeon" on the front
louver panel of the former registlative building. However, the
U.S. Civil Administration, the capital donor, had rejected the
plan, which had been remained unauthorized.
(traslated by Mr.NAKMURA Hoshin)
At last, INAMINE, prefectural governor of Okinawa, has scrapped the legislative hall by December16,1999. The photo was taken on December 26, 1999.
Go to a
removed pillar of the hall.
(December 26, 1999
)
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