Shō Hō

Shō Hō (尚豊, 1590–1640) was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom.[1] He succeeded Shō Nei, whose reign saw the invasion of Ryukyu by Japanese forces in 1609 and the subjugation of the kingdom to Satsuma Domain, and ruled from 1621 until 1640.

Shō Hō 尚豊王
Official royal portrait of Shō Hō, painted by Shō Genko in 1796.
King of Ryukyu
Reign	1621–1640
Predecessor	Shō Nei
Successor	Shō Ken
sessei of Ryukyu
Tenure	1617–1621
Predecessor	Kikuin Sōi
Successor	Kin Chōtei
Born	(1590-12-09)December 9, 1590
Died	June 23, 1640(1640-06-23) (aged 49)
Burial	Tamaudun, Shuri, Okinawa
Spouse	Gaja-Uemori Aji-ganashi Kimitoyomi Aji-ganashi
Concubine	Nishi no Aji-ganashi, Ryōgetsu Mafē Aji, Ranshitsu Mafē Aji, Nangaku Yonabaru Agomo-shirare
Issue	Shō Kyō, Prince Urasoe Chōryō Shō Bun, Crown Prince Nakagusuku Chōeki Shō Ken, Prince Kume-Nakagusuku Shō Shitsu, Prince Sashiki Princess Shuri-ōkimi Aji-ganashi Princess Takushi Princess Shimajiri-Sashisaka Aji-ganashi Princess Yonashiro
House	Second Shō Dynasty
Father	Shō Kyū, Prince Kin Chōkō
Mother	Kin Ō-Aji-ganashi

Shō Hō was the fourth son of Shō Kyū, the third son of King Shō Gen. In 1616, he was appointed kokushō,[2] a high government position akin to prime minister or chief royal advisor, which would later be replaced with sessei.

Three years later, Shō Hō was named Prince of Nakagusuku and given Nakagusuku magiri as his domain. King Shō Nei died without an heir in 1621, and Shō Hō was selected to succeed him.[2] As the first king to be enthroned since Satsuma's invasion in 1609, formal permission and acknowledgment of the king's authority and legitimacy was required before performing the coronation ceremony, sending heralds to China, and assuming the responsibilities of the throne. In addition, while Shō Hō retained powers related to organization of offices and administration of punishments, along with all the ritual prestige of the throne, Shō Nei was the last king of Ryukyu to rule personally, directly, and absolutely as monarch. Much of the decisions and behavior of Shō Hō's government were subject to Satsuma's approval.[3]

Relations with China were also strained. At the start of Shō Hō's reign, Okinawan tribute ships were only welcome in Fuzhou once every ten years. The Chinese Imperial Court had reduced the tribute missions to this frequency following the Japanese invasion in 1609, claiming that it was done in consideration of the instability and poverty that the chaos of the invasion must have brought to the kingdom. In fact, these tribute missions, the only legal method of trading with Ming China, were essential to the kingdom's economic prosperity. Therefore, in 1623, when investiture missions were exchanged, the Ryukyuan officials pushed for a return to the system of sending tribute every other year; it was decided that missions would be allowed once every five years.[4]

After a twenty-year reign, Shō Hō died in 1640, and was succeeded by his son, Shō Ken.