was the head of the Shō family, the former Ryūkyūan royal family. He was the great-grandson of

Shō Tai was the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom (8 June 1848 – 10 October 1872) and the head of the Ryukyu Domain (10 October 1872 – 27 March 1879). His reign saw greatly increased interactions with travelers from abroad, particularly from Europe a ...

, the last king of the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

, and was the last member of the family to hold the title of . Like most members of the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' system of peerage, and all heads of the Shō family since the abolition of the Ryukyu Kingdom, he lived in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

for his whole life.

Life

Hiroshi Shō was born the eldest son of

Shō Shō , was the head of the Second Shō dynasty, Shō family, the former Ryukyu Kingdom, Ryukyuan royal family, and upon his father's death in 1920, he became head of the family and inherited the title of Marquess. Like most members of the ''kazoku'' ...

with Momoko Ogasawara. Upon his father's death on 19 June 1923, and at the age of five, he became head of the family and inherited the family title of Marquess. He graduated from

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

earning a degree in East Asian history from the Department of Literature. He served for a time as a captain in the

Japanese Imperial Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. He was also active in the business world, working with various institutions, including Shō Enterprises, where he was representative director."Shō Hiroshi." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")
Ryūkyū Shimpō
(琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 12 February 2009. He lost his title, as did all other members of the ''kazoku'' system of peerage, with the implementation of the

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitution r ...

in 1947. Late in life, in the 1990s, Shō donated many Shō family possessions, including artworks, ritual objects, historical documents, the royal mausoleum of

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, and was built for Ryūkyūan royalty in ...

and royal gardens of

Shikina-en The gardens of are located on a small hill to the south of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa. The residence and its gardens are also known as or , as opposed to the or , laid out on a small hill east of Shuri Castle in 1677. In 1992 Hiroshi Shō ...

to the City of

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

. He also donated artworks, documents, and other family possessions to the city of

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population densi ...

and village of Izena. Shō died on 30 August 1996. His funeral was held in Tokyo, though he was entombed in

Izena Tamaudun is one of the three royal mausoleums of the Ryukyu Kingdom, along with Tamaudun at Shuri Castle and Urasoe yōdore at Urasoe Castle. It is located near Izena Castle in Izena, Okinawa. It was built in 1501 by King Shō Shin. Burials * Shō Shoku ...

on the Okinawan island of Izena. His son, Mamoru Shō (尚衞), became head of the royal Shō family afterwards.

Family

* Father: Shō Shō (1888-1923) * Mother: Momoko Ogasawara (1896-1950) * Wives: ** Tozawa Eiko (1919-1945) ** Keiko (b.1920) * Children: four daughters and one son ** Kazuko (b.1943) ** Yoshiko (b.1945) ** Keiko (b.1947) married Kabaya Nozu ** Kaoru (b.1949) ** Mamoru Shō (b. 1950)

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sho, Hiroshi Kazoku People from Naha Second Shō dynasty 1918 births 1996 deaths University of Tokyo alumni Pretenders