Sho-nei

Japanese: 尚寧 - しょう・ねい

Year of death: 19 September 1620 (14 October 1620)
Year of birth: 1564
The seventh king of the Second Sho Dynasty (Sho En Dynasty) of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was invaded by the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma during the establishment of the Japanese shogunate and feudal domain system. He was the son of Kanashi, Shuri Daikimi, the younger sister of the previous king, Sho Ei, and succeeded to the throne as Sho Ei had no heir, and took Sho Ei's eldest daughter, Aoriya Eanji, as his wife. He ascended to the throne in 1589 (the first year of the Sho Nei era), but that year the Shimazu Clan, who had been working to conquer Kyushu, surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, marking a turning point in the history of the Ryukyus. After that, Hideyoshi's threatening demands for visits continued through the Shimazu Clan, and Sho Nei was forced to send a monk as an envoy in the same year. In response to this, Hideyoshi mobilized the Ryukyu Kingdom to the Shimazu Clan in 1591 (Tensho 19), placing the country under the control of the Shimazu Clan's "Yoriki," but Sho Nei showed resistance by not providing all of the military rice required and reporting the movements of Hideyoshi's army to China (the Ming Dynasty). Meanwhile, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had taken power in place of Toyotomi, also urged Shōnei to visit in order to mediate the restoration of the kango (a formal relationship between Japan and China) with Ming. However, Shōnei showed no positive attitude toward Ieyasu's requests, and in April of the 21st year of Shōnei's reign (1609), the area was attacked by the Shimazu army, which mainly used firearms. From August to September of the following year, Shōnei, accompanied by Shimazu Iehisa, met with Ieyasu in Sunpu and Shogun Hidetada in Edo, and the subordination of the Ryukyu Kingdom to the feudal domain state was established in both name and reality. When Shōnei died in the 32nd year of the same year, his remains were not buried in the tombs of the successive Sho En dynasties (Tamaudun), but next to the tomb of King Eiso beneath the cliffs of Urasoe Castle, which is said to have been in accordance with Shōnei's will, as he felt ashamed of having brought national disgrace upon himself. <References> Kaneyoshi Uehara, "The energy of a tropical port city that sought peaceful diplomacy" (The progressive spirit overflowing from the port)

(Uehara Kaneyoshi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：尚寧32.9.19(1620.10.14)
生年：尚元9(1564)
日本の幕藩体制の成立期に薩摩の島津氏の侵攻を受けることになった琉球王国第二尚氏(尚円王統)7代目の国王。前国王尚永の妹首里大君加那志の子で,尚永に嗣子がなかったために王統を継ぎ,尚永の長女阿応理屋恵按司を妃とする。尚寧1(1589)年に即位したが,この年は九州制覇の業を進めていた島津氏が豊臣秀吉に降り,琉球の歴史にとっても転換点となった。以後,秀吉の恫喝に満ちた来聘要求が島津氏を通じて続くことになり,尚寧はやむなく同年に使僧を派遣した。これを受けて,秀吉は天正19(1591)年の「唐入り」の動員令で琉球国を島津氏の「与力」に付したが,尚寧は課された兵糧米をすべて供出することはせず,また秀吉軍の動向を中国(明朝)に伝えるなど,抵抗の姿勢を示した。一方,豊臣氏に替わって政権の座についた徳川家康も,尚寧に明国との勘合の復活を仲介させるべく,来聘を促した。しかし,尚寧は家康の要求にも積極的に応じる態度をみせず,ついに尚寧21(1609)年4月には鉄砲を主力とする島津軍の侵攻を蒙ることになった。翌年8月から9月にかけて,島津家久に伴われた尚寧が,駿府の家康,江戸の将軍秀忠に拝謁するにおよんで,琉球国の幕藩制国家に対する従属が名実ともに成立することになった。同32年に没したとき,その遺骸が尚円王統の歴代の墓陵(玉陵)にではなく,浦添城崖下の英祖王陵に相隣りして葬られたのは,国辱を招いたことを恥じた尚寧の遺言によると伝えられる。<参考文献>上原兼善「平和外交を希求した南国港市のエネルギー」(『港湾にみなぎる進取の気風』)

(上原兼善)

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