, was the head of the Shō family, the former 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 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. He died in June 1923, and was succeeded by his son,

Hiroshi Shō was the head of the Shō family, the former Ryūkyūan royal family. He was the great-grandson of Shō Tai, the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and was the last member of the family to hold the title of . Like most members of the ''kazoku'' sy ...

Life

Shō Shō was the 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

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English language, English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' wa ...

. He was born to

Shō Ten was . He lost that title upon the abolition of the kingdom and the forced abdication of the king, his father, Shō Tai, in 1879, and later succeeded to the title of in the ''kazoku'' peerage following his father's death in 1901. Life Shō ...

and (Shoko) Nodake Aji-ganashi, the last Prince of Nakagusuku of the Ryukyu Kingdom. He went to Tokyo in 1896 and enrolled in Gakushuin Elementary School, and in 1909, he dropped out of Kyushu High School. At the recommendation of his father he attended Oxford University (accompanied by Masayoshi Kamiyama). After returning to Japan with his bachelor's degree in 1915, he became an archaeologist. In 1920, he became a Marquess upon the death of his father, and joined the Japanese House of Lords on 21 October. In mid-1923, during a trip to China, he developed appendicitis and died on 19 June in Tokyo.『官報』第3270号、「帝国議会」1923年06月25日。"Official Gazette" No. 3270, "Imperial Council" 25 June 1923. His tomb is located in Ueno, Taito-ward, in Tokyo.

Family

He married Momoko Ogasawara (born 3 January 1896; died 11 February 1950; marriage date unknown), the daughter of Ogasawara Tadashi. On 18 September 1918, his eldest son

was born. His eldest daughter was called Fumiko (who later married Koi Ii, a former Mayor of Hikone), and a second daughter was called Kiyoko (who later married Tadahiro Sakai, the former Obama clan family head).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sho, Sho 1888 births 1923 deaths Kazoku People from Naha Second Shō dynasty Members of the House of Peers (Japan) People of Meiji-period Japan Pretenders