Shô Kinpuku was the fifth king of the first Shô Dynasty of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, ruling from 1450 until his death in 1453.
The sixth son of King Shô Hashi, he succeeded his nephew Shô Shitatsu.
The Chôkôtei embankment linking Naha to the "mainland" of Okinawa Island was completed during his reign. One of the earliest records of any sort of firearms in Ryûkyû also takes place during his reign, as some sort of "fire pipe" (火筒), likely a Chinese-style gunpowder weapon or firecracker, was demonstrated before a group of Korean castaways.[1]
Upon his death, a succession dispute broke out, which resulted in the destruction of many of the palace buildings at Shuri castle,[2] and the deaths of two of the chief contenders for the throne, Shô Kinpuku's son Shiro and his brother Furi (the 6th son of Shô Hashi). In the end, Shô Kinpuku's younger brother (Shô Hashi's 7th son) won out, and took the throne as King Shô Taikyû.
| Preceded by: Shô Shitatsu |
King of Ryûkyû 1450-1453 |
Succeeded by: Shô Taikyû |
References
- Okinawa bijutsu zenshû, vol 6, Okinawa Times (1989), 65.
- ↑ Uezato Takashi 上里隆史. "Ryûkyû no kaki ni tsuite" (琉球の火器, "The fireweapons in the Ryukyus"). Okinawa Bunka 沖縄文化. vol. 36:1, no. 91 (July 2000). p76.
- ↑ George Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 97.