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[[File:Urasoe-yodore-2.JPG|right|thumb|400px|The entrance (in white) of the tombs of Eiso and two of his successors, at [[Urasoe yodore|Urasoe yôdore]]]]
::''Not to be confused with the Eiso [[Japanese Eras|era]], which ran from [[989]]-[[990]]''
::''Not to be confused with the Eiso [[Japanese Eras|era]], which ran from [[989]]-[[990]]''
*''Born: [[1229]]''
*''Born: [[1229]]''
*''Japanese'': 英祖 ''(Eiso)''
*''Japanese'': 英祖 ''(Eiso)''
Eiso was an early king of [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], who united parts of central and southern Okinawa and established the capital at [[Urasoe castle|Urasoe]]. He is sometimes identified as the first historical king of Okinawa, with all those before him seen as legendary.<ref>Pearson, 148.</ref>
Eiso was a prominent local powerholder on [[Okinawa Island]] in the 13th century. Traditional histories describe him as an early king of Okinawa as a whole, who united parts of central and southern Okinawa and established the capital at [[Urasoe castle|Urasoe]]. He is sometimes identified as the first historical king of Okinawa, with all those before him seen as legendary.<ref>Pearson, 148.</ref> However, in recent years scholars questioning the unity of Okinawa in any period prior to around the 1550s have pointed to the rise of [[Katsuren gusuku|Katsuren]] around this time as a major economic center in the region (and the concurrent decline of [[Kikaijima]] and the northern portion of the Ryûkyûs in general as a notable center), and have suggested that Eiso could not have been more than a local or regional power-holder.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 88.</ref>
Eiso is said to have been born at [[Iso gusuku]]. His reign is traditionally said to have lasted from [[1260]] to [[1299]], marking the beginning of a new dynasty after the previous king, [[Gihon]], went into exile.
Eiso is said to have been born at [[Iso gusuku]]. His reign is traditionally said to have lasted from [[1260]] to [[1299]], marking the beginning of a new dynasty after the previous king, [[Gihon]], went into exile.
He established the royal mausoleum at [[Urasoe yodore|Urasoe yôdore]] in [[1261]], and is entombed there.
He established the royal mausoleum at [[Urasoe yodore|Urasoe yôdore]] in [[1261]], and is entombed there alongside two other medieval Okinawan rulers.
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