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Shô Ten was born in [[Shuri]] and was from birth crown prince to the Kingdom of Ryûkyû. He underwent his [[gempuku|coming of age]] ceremony in [[1878]] and was married the same year to [[Sho Shoko|Shô Shôko]], a daughter of the Nodake lineage.<ref>Shôko is often referred to as Nodake ''udun'' or Nodake ''anji ganashi''. Explanatory plaques, Tamaudun.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282523017/sizes/k/]</ref>  

Shô Ten was born in [[Shuri]] and was from birth crown prince to the Kingdom of Ryûkyû. He underwent his [[gempuku|coming of age]] ceremony in [[1878]] and was married the same year to [[Sho Shoko|Shô Shôko]], a daughter of the Nodake lineage.<ref>Shôko is often referred to as Nodake ''udun'' or Nodake ''anji ganashi''. Explanatory plaques, Tamaudun.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282523017/sizes/k/]</ref>  

In March 1879, his father Shô Tai formally abdicated upon the orders of the [[Meiji government]], which abolished the kingdom, transforming ''[[Ryûkyû han]]'' into [[Okinawa Prefecture]], with officials appointed from [[Tokyo]] to administer the islands<ref>Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003. p428.</ref> The former king was ordered to report to Tokyo, but feigning illness, he temporarily found shelter at Shô Ten’s palace. Shô Ten was sent to Tokyo as a hostage and partial appeasement as Ryukyuan officials searched for ways to delay the former king’s departure.<ref>Keene, Donald. ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912'' New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. pp. 305-307.</ref>

In March 1879, his father Shô Tai formally abdicated upon the orders of the [[Meiji government]], which abolished the kingdom, transforming ''[[Ryûkyû han]]'' into [[Okinawa Prefecture]], with officials appointed from [[Tokyo]] to administer the islands<ref>Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003. p428.</ref> The former king was ordered to report to Tokyo, but feigning illness, he temporarily found shelter at Shô Ten’s palace. Shô Ten traveled to Tokyo on April 27, 1879, to partially appease the Meiji government, and to petition to delay the former king’s departure from Okinawa. In the end, however, both Shô Ten and his father were ordered to remain in Tokyo, and not to return to Okinawa.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明, "Shôke no takaramono ni tsuite" 「尚家の宝物について」, ''RYUKYU'' exhibition catalog, Tokyo National Museum (2022), 439.</ref>

Following his father's death and his succession as Marquis and head of the Shô family in 1901/8, Shô Ten 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.

Following his father's death and his succession as Marquis and head of the Shô family in 1901/8, Shô Ten 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.