A row of houses featuring red clay tiles

The red clay tiles featured in old Okinawa’s houses are said to have originated from a fusion of technologies from Korea, China, and Japan.

Base of the roof is made by laying round bamboos trunks on a ridge pole and tie with mountain Kadsura japonica or with a rope of chusan palm to rafter or round bamboo trunk so that base roof bamboo (nojidake ) would fixed. Lay clay on the base and lay out clay tiles (megawara) overlapping a little so that they form 3 layers. Adding clay in between megawara and cover with a different type of clay tiles (ogawara). Ogawara is connecting seams. Wait until the roof soil has completely dried,and finish with plaster.

Shisa have featured on the tops of roofs since the late 1860s (Meiji Era), which was not a practice during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The model of the village shisa at the entrance of Native Okinawa Village is the shisa of Tomori (prefecturally designated cultural property) in Yaese Town (former Haebaru Town).