, also known by and his Chinese style name , was a prince of

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

.Ginowan Chōshō
. ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). Prince Ginowan was the fourth son of King

Shō Boku was a king of Ryukyu. His reign began in 1752. Life Although a period of relative stability, he had to contend with a tsunami in 1771 that devastated the Miyako Islands and Yaeyama Islands. His reign also saw the Chinese envoy Chou Huang w ...

. He was also a half-brother of Crown Prince

Shō Tetsu was a Crown Prince of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the eldest son of King Shō Boku. He died in 1788 before being able to succeed to the throne of the kingdom, and was entombed in the royal mausoleum of Tamaudun. King Shō On and King Shō Kō ( ...

and Prince

Urasoe Chōō also known by his Chinese style name , was a prince of Ryukyu Kingdom. Prince Urasoe was the second son of King Shō Boku. He was a full-brother of Crown Prince Shō Tetsu, and also a half-brother of Prince Yoshimura Chōgi (prince), Yoshimura Ch ...

, and a full-brother of Prince Yoshimura Chōgi. Prince Ginowan was adopted by Gushichan Chōken (). Later, he became the tenth head of ''

Oroku Udun is a district on the southern edge of the city of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan. It was formerly a village independent from Naha, but it was incorporated into the city in 1954. The village hosted an airfield used by th ...

'' (). Rizō, Takeuchi. (1992). ''Okinawa-ken seishi kakei daijiten'' (). Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten. He was dispatched together with Kōchi Ryōtoku (, also known by Ba Kokugi ) in 1790 to celebrate

Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ienari (, 18 November 1773 – 22 March 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern Japan'', p. 21./ref> ...

accede as ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. They sailed back in the next year. Prince Ginowan had no heir, and adopted

Shō Kō (14 July 1787 – 5 July 1834) was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, who held the throne from 1804 to 1828, when he was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Shō Iku. This was only the second time in the history of the kingdom that a king abdicate ...

, the fourth son of Crown Prince Shō Tetsu, as his adopted son. After King

Shō Sei was king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1526 to 1555.Kerr, George H. (2000). He was the fifth son of King Shō Shin, who he succeeded. Life Shō Sei suppressed a rebellion on Amami Ōshima in 1537 and took steps to improve defenses against '' wak ...

died young in 1803, he gave up his fatherhood. Shō Kō was still regarded as a son of Shō Tetsu and was able to ascend the throne. King Shō Kō had a good relationship with him, and gave presents to him at every new year and birthday. Prince Gonowan served as ''

sessei was the highest government post of the Ryūkyū Kingdom below the king; the ''sessei'' served the function of royal or national advisor. In the Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyuan language at the time, the pronunciation was closer to ''shisshii'', and h ...

'' from 1817 to 1820. He was designated as a member of the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosho, Ginowan 1765 births 1827 deaths Princes of Ryūkyū Sessei 18th-century Ryukyuan people 19th-century Ryukyuan people