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Sôgen-ji was a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple in [[Tomari]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], originally constructed in [[1475]].<ref>Gallery labels at [[Tamaudun]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282589387/sizes/h/]</ref> All that survives of the temple today are its thick, heavy stone gates, which were originally constructed during an expansion of the temple in [[1496]].

Sôgen-ji was a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple in [[Tomari]], [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]], originally constructed in [[1475]].<ref>Gallery labels at [[Tamaudun]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282589387/sizes/h/]</ref> All that survives of the temple today are its thick, heavy stone gates, which were originally constructed during an expansion of the temple in [[1496]].

At that same time in [[1496]], stelae were erected in honor of all the kings of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], making the temple both a shrine to each of the kings of the past, and also a shrine to the kingdom itself. [[Chinese investiture envoys]] regularly paid formal visits to Sôgen-ji, and to these stelae, performing a ritual in honor of the late former king, prior to the ceremony at [[Shuri castle]] investing the new king in his position.<ref>Plaques at former site of the [[Tenshikan]], Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21257376353/sizes/k/]</ref> These stelae were typically organized according to a system of Ryukyuan custom, with the earliest Okinawan kings, [[Shunten]], [[Eiso]], and [[Satto]], at the center, and the kings of the First Shô Dynasty on each end of the row, and the latest kings, those of the Second Shô Dynasty, between them. In short, the arrangement looked something like this:  

At that same time in [[1496]], stelae were erected in honor of all the kings of [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], making the temple both a shrine to each of the kings of the past, and also a shrine to the kingdom itself. [[Chinese investiture envoys]] regularly paid formal visits to Sôgen-ji, and to these stelae, performing a ritual in honor of the late former king, prior to the ceremony at [[Shuri castle]] [[investiture|investing]] the new king in his position.<ref>Plaques at former site of the [[Tenshikan]], Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21257376353/sizes/k/]</ref> These stelae were typically organized according to a system of Ryukyuan custom, with the earliest Okinawan kings, [[Shunten]], [[Eiso]], and [[Satto]], at the center, and the kings of the First Shô Dynasty on each end of the row, and the latest kings, those of the Second Shô Dynasty, between them. In short, the arrangement looked something like this:  

<center>1st Shô Dynasty | 2nd Shô Dynasty | Satto, Shunten, Eiso | 2nd Shô Dynasty | 1st Shô Dynasty</center>

<center>1st Shô Dynasty | 2nd Shô Dynasty | Satto, Shunten, Eiso | 2nd Shô Dynasty | 1st Shô Dynasty</center>