, also known as Ukiyaka or Yosoidon (1445–1505), was Queen of the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

from 1469 until her death. She married

Shō En , previously known as , was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the founder of the Second Shō dynasty. Early life and rise to power Kanamaru was born into a family of peasant farmers on Izena Island,"Shō En." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' ( ...

before he became king, and acted as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

during the early years of

Shō Shin was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the third ruler of the second Shō dynasty. Shō Shin's long reign has been described as "the Great Days of Chūzan", a period of great peace and relative prosperity. He was the son of Shō En, the founder of ...

's reign.

Life

Ogiyaka was born in 1445, possibly in

Shuri, Okinawa is a district of the city of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Formerly a separate city in and of itself, it was once the royal capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, hence the name. A number of famous historical sites are located in Shuri, including Shuri Castle ...

. She became the second wife of Kanemaru, and gave birth to a son in 1465 at age 21. After King

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 sy ...

died, Kanemaru became King of the

in 1469 and adopted the name

, making their son,

, the heir to the throne and their eldest daughter the royal high priestess. She held the titles of and . Shō En died in 1476, however, and his brother,

Shō Sen'i Shō Sen'i (–1477) was the second ruler of the Second Shō dynasty of the kingdom of Ryukyu Kingdom, Ryukyu, based on the Pacific Ocean, western Pacific island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa. He briefly ruled for six months in 1477, succeeding his ...

, took the throne. The high priestess promptly had a vision that the King should abdicate in favor of Shō Shin, then almost 13 years old, and Shō Sen'i abdicated. It has been theorized that Ogiyaka orchestrated the abdication to maintain power. Ogiyaka acted as regent for many years until Shō Shin took control from her. During her rule, she oversaw the construction of the

Enkaku-ji , or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhism, Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountain System, Five Mountains. It is situated in the List of cities in Japan, city of Kamak ...

temple and the

Tamaudun is one of the three royal mausoleums of the Ryukyu Kingdom, along with Urasoe yōdore at Urasoe Castle and Izena Tamaudun near Izena Castle in Izena, Okinawa. The mausoleum is located in Shuri, Okinawa, Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, and wa ...

mausoleum, as well as the enlargement of the Sogen-ji temple. She died in 1505 at the age of 61 and was buried in Tamaudun. Stories of "the Queen Mother" persisted as late as the 1540s.Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1958. 146.

References

{{Reflist 1445 births 1505 deaths 15th-century Ryukyuan monarchs 16th-century Ryukyuan monarchs 15th-century women regents 15th-century regents 16th-century women regents 16th-century regents

Life

See also

References