was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the sixth ruler of the first Shō dynasty. His reign saw the construction of many Buddhist temples, the casting of the , and the battle between the lords Gosamaru and Amawari.

Life and reign

Shō Taikyū was the seventh son of Shō Hashi, the unifier of

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

and founder of the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1453, he was named Prince of Goeku, and given Goeku '' magiri'' (today part of

Okinawa City is the second-largest city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, following Naha, the capital city. It is located in the central part of the island of Okinawa, about north of Naha. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 138,431 and ...

) as his domain. When King

Shō Kinpuku was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom of the First Shō dynasty. Shō Kinpuku succeeded his nephew, Shō Shitatsu, in 1449. A one-kilometer-long dam, which known as , was built in 1451 by Kaiki, a somewhat mysterious figure from Ming China. The dam ...

died in 1453, a succession dispute erupted between the king's son and his younger brother . Shuri Castle was burned down in the conflict, which ended in the death of both Shiro and Furi, and the succession of Shō Taikyū to the throne. Having studied under Kaiin, a Zen monk from Kyoto,"Shō Taikyū." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p42. Shō Taikyū had a number of Buddhist temples founded, including the Kōgen-ji, Fumon-ji, Manju-ji, and Tenryū-ji., and the so-called "Bridge of Nations" Bell cast. The bell, with an inscription describing the kingdom's prosperity in maritime trade and diplomacy, hung in Shuri Castle for centuries and became a famous symbol of the castle and of the kingdom. Shō Taikyū's reign was, indeed, a period of prosperity in maritime trade. Historian

George H. Kerr George H. Kerr (November 7, 1911 – August 27, 1992), also known in Taiwan as 葛超智 (or 柯喬治), was a United States diplomat during World War II, and in later years he was an author and an academic. His published works and archived pap ...

writes that Okinawan merchants sometimes earned as much as a thousand-percent return on luxury goods, that Naha grew more fully into a prosperous-looking port town, and the estates of the local lords (''

anji Anji may refer to: Places * Hu Prefecture, known as Anji Prefecture between 1225 and 1276 *Anji County, in Huzhou, Zhejiang, China *Anji Bridge, or Zhaozhou Bridge, an ancient stone bridge in Hebei, China *Anji, a village in Balasore (Orissa), Ind ...

'') grew as well. However, Kerr also writes that Shō Taikyū's patronage of Buddhism and temple-building efforts far exceeded that which would have been demanded or supported by the populace, and that these activities impoverished the royal treasury. The reign of Shō Taikyū also saw one of the more famous episodes of political intrigues among the

Aji Aji or AJI may refer to: Location * Aji (town), Tieling County, Liaoning, China * Aji Island, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan *Aji, Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan * Aji River (disambiguation), rivers with the same name Other * Aji (Go), a latent t ...

in the history & legends of the kingdom. Informed by Amawari, lord of Katsuren ''

gusuku often refers to castles or fortresses in the Ryukyu Islands that feature stone walls. However, the origin and essence of ''gusuku'' remain controversial. In the archaeology of Okinawa Prefecture, the ''Gusuku period'' refers to an archaeologica ...

'' and son-in-law of the king, that Gosamaru, lord of

Nakagusuku is a ''gusuku'' in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of a number of castles built on the island of Okinawa by the Ryukyu Kingdom now in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15 ...

and father-in-law to Shō Taikyū, was plotting to overthrow the kingdom, Shō Taikyū allowed Amawari to lead a royal contingent to subjugate Nakagusuku. Following Gosamaru's defeat and subsequent death, the king discovered that it was in fact Amawari who had been plotting against him from the beginning, and whose schemes led to the destruction of a loyal retainer. Katsuren was then subsequently attacked by the Ryukyuan army led by

Uni-Ufugusuku Uni-Ufugusuku (鬼大城), or Ufugusuku Kenyu/Ufugushiku Kenyu/Ōshiro Kenyu (大城賢雄 also 大城賢勇) ( fl. 15th century), was a samurai martial arts master and Ryukyuan general who served the Ryukyu Kingdom. "Uni" is an Okinawan cognate ...

, and Amawari captured and executed.Okinawa G8 Summit Host Preparation Council. "Three Castles, Two Lords and a Ryukyuan Opera.
The Okinawa Summit 2000 Archives
. Accessed 25 July 2009."知花城跡." おきなわ物語. Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, n.d. Web. 27 Jan 2014. . Upon his death in 1460, Shō Taikyū was succeeded by his son,

Shō Toku was the son of Shō Taikyū and last king of the First Shō Dynasty. He came to power as a young man in a kingdom whose treasury had been depleted. He engaged in efforts to conquer islands between Ryukyu and Japan and took the Mitsudomoe, the symb ...

Family

* Father: Shō Hashi * Mother: daughter of Mitsuhata Iwaji * Wife: daughter of Gosamaru * Concubines: ** Miyazato Agunshitari-agomoshirare ** Lady Goekumura * Children: ** Ashitomo Kanahashi by daughter of Gosamaru ** Mitsuhata Takeyoshi by daughter of Gosamaru **

by Miyazato-dono ** Sho Takeaji ** Momoto Fumiagari married Amawari ** Shō Majikana

Notes

References

* Kerr, George H. (1965). ''Okinawa, the History of an Island People.'' Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle Co
OCLC 39242121
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sho, Taikyu 1415 births 1460 deaths Kings of Ryūkyū First Shō dynasty

Life and reign

Family

See also

Notes

References