Shō Kō
{{Infobox royalty
|name=Shō Kō
{{lang|ja|尚灝}}
|image=King Sho Koh.jpg
|caption=Official royal portrait of Shō Kō, painted by Mō Chōki in 1837.
| full name = Shō Kō ({{lang|ja|尚灝}})
| religion =
| birth_name = Umijirugani ({{lang|ja|思次良金}})
|birth_date={{birth date|1787|7|14|df=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1834|7|5|1787|7|14|df=y}}
|era dates=Jiaqing 嘉慶
Daoguang 道光
|succession = King of Ryūkyū|
|reign=1804–1828
|predecessor = Shō Sei
|successor = Shō Iku
|spouse = Omokametarugane, Sashiki Aji-ganashi
|spouses = {{List collapsed|title=See list|1=Mamatsugane, Gushiken Aji-ganashi
Manabetaru, Kohagura Aji-ganashi
Maushigane, Onaha Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Makadotaru, Zakimi Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Omodogane, Matayoshi Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Matsurugane, Miyagi Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Makuresegane, Uema Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Omotaketarugane, Nakanishi Agunshitari-agomoshirare
Omokametaru, Janatō Agunshitari-agomoshirare}}
|spouses-type=Concubine
|issue = {{List collapsed|title=See list|1=Shō Iku, Crown Prince Nagagusuku
Prince Shō Yō
Omonabetaru, Princess Onaga
Shō Ton, Prince Ōzato Chōkyō
Shō Ken, Prince Ie Chōchoku
Matsurugane, Kikoe-ōkimi-ganashi
Omokanegane, Princess Shikina
Prince Shō I
Makuresegane, Princess Kamida
Matsurugane, Princess Kadekaru
Omokametaru, Princess Yonaha
Shō Ken, Prince Yoshimura Chōshō
Makadotarugane, Princess Miyahira
Maushigane, Princess Amuro
Princess Omokanetarugane
Manabetaru, Princess Onaha
Maakarigane, Princess Ishimine
Princess Omodogane
Shō Shū, Prince Nago Chōmu
Omotakeuhugane, Princess Kakeboku
Omodogane, Princess Makishi
Maushigane, Princess Asato
Shō Shin, Prince Tamagawa Chōtatsu
Princess Maushi
Prince Shō Ten}}
|house = Second Shō dynasty
|father = Shō Tetsu
|mother = Manabetarugane, Kikoe-ōgimi ganashi
|native_lang1 = Yamato name
|native_lang1_name1 = Chōshō ({{lang|ja|朝相}})
}}
{{nihongo|Shō Kō|尚灝}} (14 July 1787 – 5 July 1834) was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, who held the throne from 1804 to 1828, when he was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Shō Iku. This was only the second time in the history of the kingdom that a king abdicated;Kerr, George H. Okinawa: The History of an Island People. (revised ed.) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003. p244. the 1477 abdication of Shō Sen'i was the first.Kerr. p104.
Life
It is said that towards the end of his reign, Shō Kō's "behavior became strange, unbalanced, and unpredictable." The Sanshikan (the council of the top three elder royal advisors) appealed to the government of Japan's Satsuma Domain and, with Satsuma's approval, forced Shō Kō to abdicate in 1828 and to retire to the countryside. An envoy mission was prepared to formally inform Beijing of the change in rulership, and a second royal manor was established in the countryside, to maintain the prestige and dignities appropriate to Shō Kō's status.
Historian George H. Kerr suggests the possibility that Shō Kō did not in fact suffer from any mental illness, but rather contemplated radical actions such as seeking the kingdom's full independence from Satsuma, to which it was a vassal tributary, in the hopes that this would alleviate the intense economic difficulties faced by the kingdom.Kerr. p245. If this were the case, perhaps the Sanshikan feared that such action was too radical, and too risky, and felt the need to prevent the king from going through with it.
References
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{{S-bef|before=Shō Sei}}
{{S-ttl|title=King of Ryūkyū|years=1804–1828}}
{{S-aft|after=Shō Iku}}
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{{Kings of Chūzan}}
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