Shō Kinpuku

Shō Kinpuku
尚金福
King of Ryūkyū
Reign1449–1453
PredecessorShō Shitatsu
SuccessorShō Taikyū
Born1398 (1398)
Died1453 (aged 54–55)
IssueShō Shiro
Divine nameKimishi (君志)
HouseFirst Shō dynasty
FatherShō Hashi

Shō Kinpuku (1398–1453) was a king of the First Shō dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom. He was the son of Shō Hashi, the purported unifier of Okinawa. Alongside his elder brother Shō Chū and his nephew Shō Shitatsu, he is part of group of short reigning Ryukyuan monarchs about whom very little is known. Kinpuku owned two Korean castaways as slaves before releasing them to Joseon in 1453. He may have been mentioned in the Omoro Sōshi, a collection of chants and songs. Two of these songs imply that he served as the lord of Katsuren Castle. Shō Kinpuku died in 1453, resulting in the Shiro–Furi Rebellion, a succession crisis between his son and younger brother. The throne was seized by Shō Taikyū, who may have been Kinpuku's brother or an unrelated nobleman.