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The Shô family which ruled the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] was in fact two separate lineages.
The Shô family which ruled the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] was in fact two separate lineages.
After [[Sho Hashi|Hashi]], king of [[Chuzan|Chûzan]], conquered the kingdoms of [[Hokuzan]] and [[Nanzan]], uniting the island of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] and establishing the Ryûkyû Kingdom in [[1429]], he was granted the name Shô (C: ''Shang'') by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming Court]] as a royal surname, and was recognized as the legitimate ruler of Ryûkyû as a [[tribute|tributary]] state. This name was then passed down as the royal, dynastic, surname of the Kings of Ryûkyû.
After [[Sho Hashi|Hashi]], king of [[Chuzan|Chûzan]], conquered the kingdoms of [[Hokuzan]] and [[Nanzan]], uniting the island of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] and establishing the Ryûkyû Kingdom in [[1429]], he was granted the name Shô (C: ''Shang'') by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming Court]] as a royal surname, and was recognized as the legitimate ruler of Ryûkyû as a [[tribute|tributary]] state. This name, which might have a connotation of being loyally "in service of royal affairs,"<ref>Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” MA Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 29n76. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> was then passed down as the royal, dynastic, surname of the Kings of Ryûkyû.
A few decades later, in [[1469]], a high-ranking government official & court aristocrat, Kanamaru, staged a coup, overthrowing the First Shô Dynasty, and installing himself (and his descendants) as king of Ryûkyû. As part of efforts to establish his legitimacy, he took the name Shô, so as to give some impression of a continuation of a Shô family as the rulers of the kingdom, despite being of no actual blood relation. He took the name King [[Sho En|Shô En]] for himself, and passed on the name Shô to his descendants; thus began the Second Shô Dynasty.
A few decades later, in [[1469]], a high-ranking government official & court aristocrat, Kanamaru, staged a coup, overthrowing the First Shô Dynasty, and installing himself (and his descendants) as king of Ryûkyû. As part of efforts to establish his legitimacy, he took the name Shô, so as to give some impression of a continuation of a Shô family as the rulers of the kingdom, despite being of no actual blood relation. He took the name King [[Sho En|Shô En]] for himself, and passed on the name Shô to his descendants; thus began the Second Shô Dynasty.