was a 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 t ...

who held the throne from 1648 until his death in 1668. The fourth son of King Shō Hō, he was named Prince of Sashiki in 1637, at the age of eight, and was granted Sashiki '' magiri'' as his domain. In 1645, his domain was changed to that of

Nakagusuku is a ''gusuku'' in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of a number of castles built on the island of Okinawa by the Ryukyu Kingdom now in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15 ...

''magiri'', and his title to Prince of Nakagusuku."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. Shō Shitsu succeeded his brother

Shō Ken was the 9th king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, who ruled from 1641 to 1647. Shō Ken was the third son of Shō Hō. He had two elder brothers named Shō Kyō (尚恭) and Shō Bun (尚文), but both of them died before their father. So Shō Ken beca ...

as king in 1648. His reign coincided with a period of rebellion and instability in China, as factions loyal to the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, which fell in 1644, continued to fight against the new

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

order. On at least one occasion, Ryukyuan

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

ships were attacked by pirates or rebels, who killed at least one of the Ryukyuan sailors and stole various objects; the authorities of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshim ...

declared the head envoy and his deputy to be at fault and had them executed.Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p176. Another incident involved an attack on an Okinawan mission on the road to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

; the Ryukyuans defeated their attackers, and Hirata Tentsu came to be known as a national hero. 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 The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

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. 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 was the highest government post of the Ryūkyū Kingdom below the king; the ''sessei'' served the function of royal or national advisor. In the Ryukyuan language at the time, the pronunciation was closer to ''shisshii'', and has only changed relat ...

'', a position which has been compared to

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, in 1666. Shō Shōken also compiled the '' Chūzan Seikan'' ("Mirror of Chūzan"), the first history of the kingdom, at the king's orders. Upon his death in 1668, he was entombed in the royal mausoleum Tamaudun,Official plaques and gallery labels on-site at Tamaudun and was succeeded by his eldest son, Shō Tei.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sho Shitsu Second Shō dynasty Kings of Ryūkyū 1629 births 1668 deaths