Sakamoto Ryoma
An activist of the late Edo period who brokered the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance and conceived the restoration of imperial rule, assassinated on the eve of the Meiji Restoration.
Life
Tosa goshi
Sakamoto Ryoma was born a goshi (rural samurai of low rank) of Tosa Domain and went to Edo to study swordsmanship. After the arrival of the Black Ships he threw himself into the "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians" movement, and in 1862 he left his domain to become a ronin.
Satcho Alliance
He studied navigation under Katsu Kaishu and founded the Kameyama Shachu (later renamed the Kaientai) in Nagasaki, engaging in trade and shipping. In 1866 he mediated an alliance between the long-hostile Satsuma and Choshu domains, laying the groundwork for the overthrow of the shogunate. He also put forward the "Eight-Point Plan Aboard Ship," envisioning the shogunate returning political power to the imperial court and the establishment of parliamentary government.
Omiya
In 1867 the shogunate carried out the restoration of imperial rule, and a month later he was assassinated at the Omiya inn in Kyoto, at only thirty-one.
Legacy
Sakamoto Ryoma is one of the Japanese people's favorite historical figures, and his image was popularized by Shiba Ryotaro's novel Ryoma ga Yuku.
Major works & achievements
- "Eight-Point Plan Aboard Ship"
Did you know? The post-wedding trip he took with his wife Oryo is regarded as the first recorded honeymoon in Japanese history.
Key dates
- 1853Witnessed the Arrival of the Black Ships in Edo
- 1862Left his domain without permission
- 1865Founded the Kameyama Shachu
- 1866Brokered the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance
- 1867Proposed the Eight-Point Plan Aboard Ship; assassinated