The political and economic pressure of the Shimazu invasion stressed the culture of the latter period Ryukyus. However, in this new environment the Ryukyuans actively absorbed Japanese culture and harmonized it with their own. Through this process a new and original Ryukyuan culture emerged at the dawn of the early modern age. In particular, the reign of the 18th century of King Sho Kei has been called the "Golden Age of Ryukyuan Culture". Most of the Okinawan traditional culture transmitted down to the present time was cultivated during this period. However, the central cultural figures of culture of the time were mainly of samurai or aristocrat descent. It was not culture created by the common folk. This brilliant culture, created in the latter period Ryukyus, is therefore often referred to as dynastic or courts culture.