Shō Shitsu
Shō Shitsu 尚質 shoo shichi | |
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Aji-ganashi , Ryōgetsu |
Shō Shitsu (尚質, 1629–1668) was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom who held the throne from 1648 until his death in 1668.
The fourth son of King
Shō Shitsu succeeded his brother
Though there was initially some uncertainty, particularly within Japan, as to whether the kingdom should support the new dynasty, or the Ming rebels, the Tokugawa shogunate left the decision up to Satsuma. The king's eldest son, Shō Tei, who would later succeed him as king, journeyed to Beijing and submitted the formal royal seal given the kingdom by the Ming rulers, to the Qing Court, which in turn granted the prince a new royal seal for the kingdom and declared its official recognition of Shō Shitsu as king.[3]
A number of major reforms were effected in the final years of Shō Shitsu's reign, primarily at the guidance or suggestion of Shō Shōken, who was appointed sessei, a position which has been compared to prime minister, in 1666. Shō Shōken also compiled the Chūzan Seikan ("Mirror of Chūzan"), the first history of the kingdom, at the king's orders.[4]
Upon his death in 1668, he was entombed in the royal mausoleum Tamaudun,[5] and was succeeded by his eldest son, Shō Tei.
References
- ^ a b "Shō Shitsu." Okinawa konpakuto jiten (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). Ryukyu Shimpo (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 12 February 2009.
- han, Satsuma claimed the Ryūkyū Kingdom as a vassal state.
- ^ a b c Kerr, George. Okinawa: The History of an Island People. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p176.
- ^ Smits, Gregory. Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999.
- ^ Official plaques and gallery labels on-site at Tamaudun