| 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]]. |