Second Shō dynasty place of burial Tamaudun
Kings of Chūzan
The second Shō family claims Izena Island to be its ancestral home. Born on the small island lying off the northwestern coast of Okinawa Island, its founder Kanemaru traveled to Shuri in 1441, and became a retainer of Prince Shō Taikyū. He was appointed as the treasurer after Shō Taikyū became the king. After a coup d'état in 1469, Kanemaru set aside King Shō Toku's family and ascended to the throne. Assuming the family name of Shō, he pretended to be the crown prince of Shō Toku, which resulted in his reign being accepted by the Ming dynasty in 1471. The kingdom reached its peak during the reign of the third king Shō Shin.
With the approval of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Satsuma Domain conquered Ryūkyū in 1609. The Tokugawa shogunate decided to keep the small polity as a separate entity, with intent to make it work as a broker in the shogunate's failed attempt to establish diplomatic relations with China. After several twists and turns, Ryūkyū's position within the shogunate was finalized in 1634. Ryūkyū, with its kokudaka assessed as 123,700 koku, was recognized as part of the Satsuma Domain, though it was excluded from the omotedaka (表高, lit. "face value of kokudaka"). In 1635, Satsuma Domain ordered Ryūkyū's rulers to use the title of kokushi (国司, lit. "provincial governor") instead of "king". After that, the Ryukyuan ruler signed "Ryūkyū kokushi" in the diplomatic letter to Japan. However, the rulers during this period were referred to "kings" (王, ō) in their Ishizushi (石厨子) inscriptions in the family mausoleum Tamaudun. The title King of Chūzan was also remained in the diplomatic letter to China, concealing its vassalage to Satsuma. In 1712, Satsuma changed the policy and allowed the ruler to style himself King of Chūzan. In 1872, the Meiji government recognized the Ryūkyū Kingdom as a han and renamed it Ryūkyū Domain (琉球藩, Ryūkyū-han), Shō Tai was appointed as Domain King (藩王, han'ō). In 1879, the Meiji government abolished the Ryūkyū Domain, and the last king Shō Tai abdicated.
final resting place burial site last resting place grave site interment location