Shuri Castle, a Unesco World Heritage site on the Japanese island of Okinawa, has been destroyed by a fire which broke out in the early hours of 31 October

The wooden castle, which was originally built 500 years ago, was almost completely destroyed during World War Two, so the structure that caught fire this morning was a reconstruction.

Media reports say that firefighters battled the flames and strong winds for more than 10 hours, extinguishing the blaze by early Thursday afternoon. However, all seven key buildings of the castle, including the main Seiden temple and a Hokuden structure (originally used for judicial and administrative purposes), have been burned down.

The cause of the blaze is as yet unknown. No-one is reported to have been hurt.

Shuri Castle was the seat of the Ryukyu dynasty, and sits on top of a hill overlooking the city of Naha – Okinawa's capital. The heritage site was the largest wooden building on the island, and had been scheduled as a stop on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay route.

The castle was opened to the public in 1992, having previously also served as a campus for Okinawa's largest public university until the 1970s.

It became a World Heritage site in 2000, and according to reports in Japanese media held "God-like" status for local residents, one of whom told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper: "I am so sad I don't know what to say."