Shō Taikyū

Shō Taikyū (1410-1460) was a king of the first Shō dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom of the western Pacific island of Okinawa, reigning from 1454 to 1460. Although described in the official histories of Ryukyu and the Ming annals as a relative of the previous rulers, he may have been an unrelated ruler of the castle of Goeku, taking power amidst a succession crisis between two other lords which resulted in the destruction of Shuri Castle. He rebuilt the castle during his reign and saw the transformation of Shuri into the political and economic center of Okinawa. A sponsor of Zen Buddhism, he invited Japanese monks to settle in the kingdom and authorized the foundation of four Buddhist temples in his kingdom. He commissioned a number of large bronze bells, including the inscribed Bridge of Nations Bell which was displayed at Shuri. The kingdom's first domestic coinage was produced during his reign.