There are large dragons decorating the front of the Karahafu on the Shurijo Castle Seiden and the two ends of the tiled roof of the Seiden. These are referred to as the Ryuto Muna-kazari, or dragon-head ornaments, at the ends of the o-mune （main ridge） on the top of the roof. According to “Kyuyo,” a historical record of the Ryukyu Kingdom （written in 1743-1745）, when the Seiden underwent repairs in1682, a man named Hirata Tentsu went searching throughout the islands for glazes of five colors and eventually created ceramic dragon heads with which he decorated the Seiden. Hirata went to China to study techniques of applying glazes to pottery that could not be done in the Ryukyus until then, and he became a master craftsman in the Ryukyus, making achievements one after another that have gone down in the history of pottery. This pottery technique of using glazes is now referred to as “joyaki,” and it is believed that this technique has been inherited and passed down by Hirata’s apprentices.”
Initially, the dragon-head ornaments were made using a technique similar to “joyaki,” but in the course of undergoing repeated repairs, gradual changes occurred. The dragon-head ornaments on the Seiden appearing in old photographs were made with plaster.
Currently, the restored dragon-head ornaments, while emulating the scale and form of the ornaments of the time when they were made with plaster, are ceramic like those that decorated the Seiden in the past. The huge formations that measure three meters sit atop the roof as guardians of the Seiden even now. Why not try giving more than a passing thought to the fact that the skills of a master craftsman of the Ryukyu Kingdom were used on the tiled roof of the Seiden? （Atsushi Koki）

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  Shurijo Castle Seiden
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  Shurijo Castle Seiden Muna-kazari
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  Front view of Shurijo Castle Seiden Muna-kazari