Makishi Chōchū

Makishi Pekumi Chōchū (牧志 親雲上 朝忠) was a scholar-bureaucrat and diplomat of Ryūkyū Kingdom. He was also known as Itarashiki Chōchū (板良敷 朝忠), and his Chinese style name, Shō Eikō (向 永功).

Life
Makishi was born in Shuri, the capital of Ryūkyū. He studied in Kokugaku (国学 the Royal Academy of Ryūkyū) in his early years. In 1838, he traveled to China to study, and stayed in Beijing for several years. When he came back to Ryūkyū, he learned English from Aniya Seiho (安仁屋 政輔). He was then appointed Ikoku Tsūji (異国通詞, the diplomat towards Western countries) in 1844.