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*''Born: [[1528]]''
*''Died: [[1572]]''
*''Titles: King of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]]''
*''Japanese'': [[尚]] 元 ''(Shou Gen)''

Shô Gen was king of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] from [[1556]] until his death in [[1572]]. A mute, the king required considerable support from the ''[[Sanshikan]]'' (Council of Three), the chief council of royal advisors. His reign marked the beginning of the Council's demonstration of significantly greater effectiveness and efficiency than previously.

Shô Gen received his official investiture from the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Court in [[1562]], and received emissaries from the [[Shimazu clan]] of the Japanese [[Satsuma province|province of Satsuma]] in [[1570]] and 1572. The Shimazu wished to establish some control over the Ryukyus, making them either a tributary or a vassal state. The kingdom resisted the Shimazu overtures, and a small punitive mission launched by the Shimazu created a small skirmish on the island of [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] in [[1571]].

He was the second son of King [[Sho Sei|Shô Sei]], who he succeeded, and was succeeded in turn by his second son, [[Sho Ei|Shô Ei]].

==References==
*Kerr, George (1958). ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
*Smits, Gregory (1999). "Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics." Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.

<center>
{| border="3" align="center"
|- align="center"
|width="32%"|Preceded by:<br>'''[[Sho Sei|Shô Sei]]'''
|width="35%"|'''King of [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryûkyû]]'''<br> 1556-1572
|width="32%"|Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Sho Ei|Shô Ei]]'''
|}
</center>

[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Royalty]]
[[Category:Sengoku Period]]
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