Giwan Choho

Shō Yūkō Ginowan ueekata Chōho (向有恒 宜湾 親方 朝保, 1823-1876), also known more simply as Giwan Chōho (宜湾 朝保), was a Ryukyuan government official and emissary; at the time of the Meiji Restoration in Japan, he was a member of the Sanshikan, the Council of Three top government ministers in the Ryūkyū Kingdom.

Giwan was the representative of the kingdom tasked, in 1872, with conveying to the king & his fellow ministers the imperial government's orders that the kingdom be abolished, and its territory annexed by Japan.

He is also known for his waka poetry.

Giwan was born in Shuri to an aristocratic family, and inherited from his father Ginowan magiri as his domain, along with the title of Ginowan ueekata (宜野湾親方, "Lord of Ginowan") in 1835. He would have his title changed to "Giwan ueekata" in 1875 when the king's second son Shō In was named "Prince of Ginowan" (宜野湾王子, Ginowan Ōji).

He served many years in the bureaucracy, and was dispatched on missions to China and Japan on a number of occasions. He became a member of the Sanshikan in 1862, and on account of his experience, continued to lead missions overseas.

The Tokugawa shogunate fell in Japan in 1868, to be replaced by a new Imperial government. Three years later, an incident in which a number of Okinawans, shipwrecked on Taiwan, were killed by natives there developed into disputes between the Japanese Imperial government and that of Qing Dynasty China over sovereignty or suzerainty over Okinawa. After discussions in the Okinawan royal capital of Shuri with Japanese representatives of Satsuma Domain, the Japanese government summoned King Shō Tai to Tokyo to further discuss the political status of the Ryūkyū Kingdom vis-a-vis Japan. So as to not imply his subordination to the Meiji Emperor by appearing before him himself, Shō Tai feigned illness and sent a mission on his behalf, led by his uncle Prince Ie, and by Giwan Chōho.

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