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*''Died: [[1476]]/7/29''
*''Died: [[1476]]/7/29''
*''Titles:'' 琉球国王 ''(Ryûkyû-kokuô, King of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]])([[1469]]-[[1476]])''
*''Titles:'' 琉球国王 ''(Ryûkyû-kokuô, King of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]])([[1469]]-[[1476]])''
*''Japanese/Chinese:'' [[尚]] 円 ''(Shou En / Shang Yuan)''
*''Other Names'': 金丸 ''(Kanemaru)''
*''Japanese/Chinese:'' [[尚]] 円 ''(Shou En / Shàng Yuán)''
Shô En was a king of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], the founder of the Second Shô Dynasty. Prior to becoming king, he was known as Kanamaru (金丸).
Shô En was a king of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], the founder of the Second Shô Dynasty. Prior to becoming king, he was known as Kanemaru (金丸).
==Early life and rise to power==
==Early life and rise to power==
Kanemaru was born into a family of peasant farmers on [[Izena, Okinawa|Izena Island]]<ref name=jiten>"Shō En." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p39.</ref><ref name=shinpo>"Shō En." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). [http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41722-storytopic-121.html Ryukyu Shimpo] (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 30 October 2008.</ref>, a tiny island which lies off the northwestern coast of [[Okinawa Island]]. It is said that he lost his parents when he was around twenty and undertook to provide for his aunt and uncle, brother and sister, and his wife, whom he married at a very young age<ref name=Kerr>Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. pp102-104.</ref>.
In one year in which the island had suffered from a particularly severe drought, the rice patties of Kanamaru's family were found to be full of water; accused of having stolen the water, Kanamaru was forced to flee his home, and ended up in Ginama, in the northern region (''[[Kunigami]]'') of Okinawa Island<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>.
In one year in which the island had suffered from a particularly severe drought, the rice patties of Kanemaru's family were found to be full of water; accused of having stolen the water, Kanemaru was forced to flee his home, and ended up in [[1438]] in Ginama, in the northern region (''[[Kunigami]]'') of Okinawa Island<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/><ref name=smits115>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 115.</ref>.
After several years living in Ginama, there too some type of dispute or disagreement between Kanamaru and his neighbors emerged<ref name=Kerr/>. Leaving Ginama, he traveled to [[Shuri]], the capital of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, in 1441, and became a servant or retainer to the prince, [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]]. After Shô Taikyû became king in 1454, Kanamaru was made royal treasurer<ref name=Kerr/>, and was in 1459<ref name=shinpo/> granted the post of ''[[Omonogusuku]] osasu no soba'', a position involving responsibility for matters regarding foreign relations and trade. He was also granted territory, and made the lord of [[Uchima udun]].<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>
After several years living in Ginama, there too some type of dispute or disagreement between Kanemaru and his neighbors emerged<ref name=Kerr/>. Leaving Ginama, he traveled to [[Shuri]], the capital of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, in 1441, and became a servant or retainer to the prince, [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]]. After Shô Taikyû became king in 1454, Kanemaru was made royal treasurer<ref name=Kerr/>, and was in 1459<ref name=shinpo/> granted the post of ''[[Omonogusuku]] osasu no soba'', a position involving responsibility for matters regarding foreign relations and trade, and oversight of [[Naha]] harbor. In traditional accounts, he was also at this time granted territory, and made the lord of [[Uchima udun]];<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/> [[Gregory Smits]] suggests, however, that Kanemaru may have already been lord of Uchima at that time, and it was by recognizing his authority there that Taikyû helped secure his loyalty and aid.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 115.</ref>
There emerged a difference of opinion between Kanamaru and [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]], who succeeded Shô Taikyû as king in 1461<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>, possibly over the king's costly military efforts on the island of [[Kikaigashima]]<ref name=Kerr/>, leading Kanamaru to leave Shuri and retire to [[Uchima udun|Uchima]]<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>. Shô Toku died shortly afterwards, however, and it is said that in the ensuing discussions among the elder bureaucrats to choose a successor, Kanamaru was selected by popular demand, and thus came to the throne, taking the royal name Shô En<ref name=shinpo/>. Historian [[George H. Kerr]], however, points out that official histories produced in the following centuries were written with the patronage of Shô En's successors; also that the circumstances surrounding Shô Toku's death remain something of a mystery, and the traditional account may simply indicate that there was a shift in allegiances among the aristocrats and bureaucrats towards Kanamaru, or that those parties in support of Kanamaru simply outnumbered those on the side of the late king<ref name=Kerr/>.
There emerged a difference of opinion between Kanemaru and [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]], who succeeded Shô Taikyû as king in 1461<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>, possibly over the king's costly military efforts on the island of [[Kikaigashima]]<ref name=Kerr/>, leading Kanemaru to leave Shuri and retire to [[Uchima udun|Uchima]]<ref name=jiten/><ref name=shinpo/>. Shô Toku died shortly afterwards, however, and it is said that in the ensuing discussions among the elder bureaucrats to choose a successor, Kanemaru was selected by popular demand, and thus came to the throne, taking the royal name Shô En<ref name=shinpo/>. Historian [[George H. Kerr]], however, points out that official histories produced in the following centuries were written with the patronage of Shô En's successors; also that the circumstances surrounding Shô Toku's death remain something of a mystery, and the traditional account may simply indicate that there was a shift in allegiances among the aristocrats and bureaucrats towards Kanemaru, or that those parties in support of Kanemaru simply outnumbered those on the side of the late king<ref name=Kerr/>.
==Reign==
==Reign==
His reign marked the beginning of an institutional shift in the royal government, away from rule by a charismatic or otherwise gifted individual leader, i.e. the king, and towards a more bureaucratic system, with the king at its center.
His reign marked the beginning of an institutional shift in the royal government, away from rule by a charismatic or otherwise gifted individual leader, i.e. the king, and towards a more bureaucratic system, with the king at its center.
Shô En's childhood wife is believed to have died, or otherwise separated from Kanamaru, before he rose to prominence at Shuri. He had his first son with his second wife, [[Yosoidon]]. Shô En died in 1476, after ruling for only a few years, and was succeeded by his brother [[Sho Seni|Shô Sen'i]], to Yosoidon's chagrin. Presently, the high priestess, daughter of the late king and Yosoidon, received a divine message indicating that Shô Sen'i should abdicate in favor of his nephew, son of Shô En, who then took the throne as [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]].
Shô En's childhood wife is believed to have died, or otherwise separated from Kanemaru, before he rose to prominence at Shuri. He had his first son with his second wife, [[Yosoidon]]. Shô En died in 1476, after ruling for only a few years, and was succeeded by his brother [[Sho Seni|Shô Sen'i]], to Yosoidon's chagrin. Presently, the high priestess, daughter of the late king and Yosoidon, received a divine message indicating that Shô Sen'i should abdicate in favor of his nephew, son of Shô En, who then took the throne as [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]].
Shô En was originally entombed at a site called Miagemori (見上森), but his remains were moved in [[1501]] to [[Tamaudun]], newly constructed in that year by Shô Shin, especially for that purpose.<ref>Shinzato Keiji 新里恵二 et al. ''Okinawa ken no rekishi'' 沖縄県の歴史. Yamakawa Shuppan, 1996. p60.</ref>
Shô En was originally entombed at a site called Miagemori (見上森), but his remains were moved in [[1501]] to [[Tamaudun]], newly constructed in that year by Shô Shin, especially for that purpose.<ref>Shinzato Keiji 新里恵二 et al. ''Okinawa ken no rekishi'' 沖縄県の歴史. Yamakawa Shuppan, 1996. p60.</ref>