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(1415–1476, r. 1470–1476) was a king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the founder of the Second Shō Dynasty. Prior to becoming king, he was known as . ==Early life and rise to power== Kanamaru was born into a family of peasant farmers on Izena Island,〔"Shō En." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p39.〕〔"Shō En." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). (Ryukyu Shimpo ) (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 30 October 2008.〕 a tiny island which lies off the northwestern coast of Okinawa Island. It is said that his parents died when he was around twenty and undertook to provide for his aunt and uncle, brother and sister, and his wife, whom he married at a very young age.〔Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. pp102-104.〕 In one year in which the island had suffered from a particularly severe drought, the rice patties of Kanamaru's family were found to be full of water; accused of having stolen the water, Kanamaru was forced to flee his home, and ended up in Ginama, in the northern region (''Kunigami'') of Okinawa Island.〔〔 After several years living in Ginama, there too some type of dispute or disagreement between Kanamaru and his neighbors emerged.〔 Leaving Ginama, he traveled to Shuri, the capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, in 1441, and became a servant or retainer to the prince, Shō Taikyū. After Shō Taikyū became king in 1454, Kanamaru was made royal treasurer,〔 and was in 1459〔 granted the post of , a position involving responsibility for matters regarding foreign relations and trade. He was also granted territory, and made .〔〔 There emerged a difference of opinion between Kanamaru, and Shō Toku, who succeeded Shō Taikyū as king in 1461,〔〔 possibly over the king's costly military efforts on the island of Kikaigashima,〔 leading Kanamaru to leave Shuri and retire to Uchima.〔〔 Shō Toku died shortly afterwards, however, and it is said that in the ensuing discussions among the elder bureaucrats to choose a successor, Kanamaru was selected by popular demand, and thus came to the throne, taking the royal name Shō En.〔 Historian George H. Kerr, however, points out that official histories produced in the following centuries were written with the patronage of Shō En's successors; also that the circumstances surrounding Shō Toku's death remain something of a mystery, and the traditional account may simply indicate that there was a shift in allegiances among the aristocrats and bureaucrats towards Kanamaru, or that those parties in support of Kanamaru simply outnumbered those on the side of the late king.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shō En」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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