Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

was . He lost that title upon the abolition of the kingdom and the forced abdication of the king, his father,

Shō Tai was the final King of Ryukyu, initially as Second Shō dynasty, hereditary king of the Tributary system of China#Ryukyu Kingdom, Qing tributary Ryukyu Kingdom from 8 June 1848 until 10 October 1872 and finally as the Empire of Japan, Japanese a ...

, in 1879, and later succeeded to the title of in the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage following his father's death in 1901.

Life

Shō Ten was born in

Shuri Shuri may refer to: People *, ring name of Syuri Kondo, a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer and kickboxer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese professional wrestler Characters * Shuri (character), a Marvel Comics superhero ** Shuri (Marv ...

and was from birth crown prince to the Ryukyu Kingdom. He underwent his coming-of-age ceremony in 1878 and was married the same year. In March 1879, his father Shō Tai formally abdicated upon the orders of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, which abolished the kingdom, transforming ''Ryukyu domain'' into

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

, with officials appointed from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to administer the islands.Kerr. p381. The former king was ordered to report to Tokyo, but feigning illness, he temporarily found shelter at his son's palace. Shō was then sent to Tokyo as a hostage and partial appeasement as Ryūkyūan officials searched for ways to delay the former king's departure. Following his father's death and his succession as Marquess and head of the Shō family in 1901, Shō and his family gave up the trappings of traditional Ryukyuan royal court life, costume, court language, and ritual, and adopted those of the Japanese peerage. As Marquess, Shō held a hereditary seat in the House of Peers in the Imperial Diet. He was joined in representing Okinawa by a Japanese resident appointed to represent the prefecture's wealthiest taxpayers for the first time in 1918. Shō died on 20 September 1920, in his mansion in

and was entombed six days later in Tamaudun, the royal mausoleum near

Shuri Castle is a Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa, Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was ...

, in accordance with traditional Ryukyuan royal funerary rites. He would be the last member of the Shō family to be honored in such a manner.Kerr. p453.

Family

The family head was succeeded by his eldest son Shō Shō, then by

Hiroshi Shō Kazoku, Marquess was the head of the Second Shō dynasty, Shō family, the former Ryukyu Kingdom, 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 t ...

and the current incumbent, Mamoru Shō. * Father:

* Mother: Omomatsurugane, Sashiki Aji-ganashi * Wife: Shoko, Nodake Aji-ganashi * Children: ** Shō Shō (b.1888) ** Nobuko (b. ?) engaged to Nakijin Chōei ** Sho Kei (b.1889) ** Sho Dan (b.1890) ** Sho Bu (b.1899)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sho, Ten 1864 births 1920 deaths People from Naha Princes of Ryūkyū Second Shō dynasty Kazoku Members of the House of Peers (Japan) People of the Meiji era Pretenders Heirs apparent who never acceded