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Shô Kô was the younger brother of [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]], king of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. As such, he was Crown Prince; he was a prominent political advisor and held the title "Prince [of] Gushichan." His Chinese-style name was Chôsei.

Shô Kô was the younger brother of [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]], king of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. As such, he was Crown Prince; he was a prominent political advisor and held the title "Prince [of] Gushichan." His Chinese-style name was Chôsei.

Following the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by samurai forces from [[Satsuma han]], Shô Kô was taken hostage along with the king and a number of other senior officials and advisors, and brought to Japan as a prisoner in 1609/5. Unlike the king, the prince was permitted to return to Ryûkyû in the 9th month that same year along with Ikegusuku ''ueekata'' [[Mo Hogi|Mô Hôgi]], in order to perform the necessary preparations for the following year's [[tribute]] mission to [[Ming Dynasty]] China. Once the preparations were complete, Prince Shô Kô returned to [[Kagoshima]] in 1610/3. The following month, he joined the royal entourage in departing for [[Sunpu]]. While there, he fell ill, and on 1610/8/24, he died in Sunpu.

Following the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by samurai forces from [[Satsuma han]], Shô Kô was taken hostage along with the king and a number of other senior officials and advisors, and brought to Japan as a prisoner in 1609/5. Unlike the king, the prince was permitted to return to Ryûkyû in the 9th month that same year along with Ikegusuku ''ueekata'' [[Mo Hogi|Mô Hôgi]], in order to perform the necessary preparations for the following year's [[tribute]] mission to [[Ming Dynasty]] China. Once the preparations were complete, Prince Shô Kô returned to [[Kagoshima]] in 1610/3. The following month, he joined the royal entourage in departing for [[Sunpu]]. While there, he fell ill, and while the king departed for [[Edo]], the ill prince remained behind, dying in Sunpu on 1610/8/24. The king heard of his brother's death some weeks later, but was unable to stop at Sunpu to see his brother's grave, or to pay respects, on his return trip.

The prince was buried at the temple of [[Seiken-ji]] at [[Okitsu]] (a [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] [[post-station]] in modern-day [[Shizuoka City]]). His grave became a customary stop made by [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]] during the remainder of the [[Edo period]].

Prince Shô Kô was buried at the temple of [[Seiken-ji]] at [[Okitsu]] (a [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] [[post-station]] in modern-day [[Shizuoka City]]). His grave became a customary stop made by [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo]] during the remainder of the [[Edo period]].

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