Sakamoto Ryōma

nihongo|Sakamoto Ryōma|坂本 龍馬|Sakamoto Ryōma; (15 November 1835– 10 December 1867) was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryōma used the alias nihongo|Saitani Umetarō|才谷梅太郎|Saitani Umetarō as a cover name during his work as a loyalist in the creation of a modern government.

Early life

Ryōma was born in Kochi, of Tosa han (present day Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku). By the Japanese calendar, this was the 6th year of "Tempo." His family in previous generations had acquired enough wealth as "sake" brewers to purchase the rank of merchant "samurai," which was the lowest rank in the "samurai" social hierarchy. After he was bullied at school, his older sister enrolled him in fencing school. By the time he reached adulthood he was a master swordsman. In 1853, he was in Edo as a disciple of Chiba Sadakichi, a master swordsman of the "Hokushin Itto-ryu" style of fencing when Commodore Perry of the United States arrived with a fleet of ships to force Japan out of its centuries-old national isolation policy. Ryōma was drawn to extremist elements within the "samurai"-class who supported the Sonnō jōi (‘revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians’) political philosophy. He was recruited into an anti-Tokugawa, pro-Emperor party within the Tosa domain by Takechi Hanpeita, but was forced to flee into exile as a "ronin" when their plot to seize control of the domain was revealed.

Bakumatsu period

While a "ronin", Ryōma decided to assassinate Katsu Kaishu, a high-ranking official within the Tokugawa bakufu, and a supporter of modernization and westernization. However, Katsu Kaishu managed to persuade Ryōma of the futility of fighting the western powers given Japan’s present state, and of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan’s military strength. Instead of killing Katsu Kaishu, Ryōma ended up working as his assistant and protégé.

In 1864, as the Tokugawa "bakufu" started taking a hard line, Ryōma fled to Kagoshima in Satsuma domain, which was developing as a major centre for the anti-Tokugawa movement. Ryōma negotiated the secret alliance between Chōshū and Satsuma Provinces. Satsuma and Chōshū historically had been absolute enemies, and Ryōma's position as a ‘neutral outsider’ was critical in bridging the gap in trust.

Ryōma is often regarded as the ‘father of the Imperial Japanese Navy, as he worked towards creating a modern naval force (with the aid of western powers) to enable Satsuma and Chōshū to hold their own against the naval forces of the Tokugawa "bakufu".

Chōshū’s subsequent victory over the Tokugawa army in 1866 and the impending collapse of the Tokugawa "bakufu" made Ryōma a valuable commodity to his former masters in Tosa. Ryōma was recalled to Kochi with honours. Tosa domain was anxious to obtain a negotiated settlement between the Shogun and the Emperor, which would prevent the powerful Satcho Alliance from overthrowing the Tokugawa by force and thus emerging as a new dominant force in ruling Japan. Ryōma played a crucial role in the subsequent negotiations which led to the voluntary resignation of "Shogun" Tokugawa Yoshinobu in 1867, thus bringing about the Meiji Restoration.

Ryōma was assassinated at the age of 33 (according to the old lunar calendar he was born on 15 November 1835 and killed on his birthday in 1867) at the Omiya inn in Kyoto, not long before the Meiji Restoration took place. Initial reports accused members of the Shinsengumi for Ryōma and Nakaoka Shintarō's death (and Shinsengumi leader Kondō Isami was allegedly excuted on that pretense), but another pro-Bakufu group, the Mimawarigumi's Imai Nobuo confessed to the murder in 1870. Although Sasaki Tadasaburō and Imai Nobuo carry the blame, the true assassin has never been proven in a court of law.

Legacy

Ryōma was a visionary who envisioned a Japan without any feudal trappings. He read about and was inspired by the example of the United States where "all men are created equal." He realized that in order to compete with an industrially and technologically advanced outside world, the Japanese people must modernize to avoid being colonized or carved up into "spheres of influence" like China.

Honors in modern times

On 15 November 2003, the Kochi Airport was renamed to the Kochi Ryōma Airport in his honour. There is a [http://www.kochi-bunkazaidan.or.jp/~ryoma/english1.htm Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum] (坂本龍馬記念館) in Kochi.

References

* Beasley, W. G. (1972). "The Meiji Restoration." Stanford: Stanford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-8047-0815-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-8047-0815-9 (cloth)
* Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. (1986). "Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji." Princeton: Princeton University Press. 10-ISBN 0-6910-5459-2; 13-ISBN 978-0-6910-5459-9 (cloth) ... 10-ISBN 0-6911-0245-7; 13-ISBN 978-0-6911-0245-0 (paper)
* Jansen, Marius B. (1995). "Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration." New York: Columbia University Press, 10-ISBN 0-2311-0173-2; 13-ISBN 978-0-2311-0173-8 (paper)
** _____. (1972). "Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration." Stanford: Stanford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-8047-0785-5
** _____. (1961). "Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration." Princeton: Princeton University Press.

External links

* [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/89.html?c=0 National Diet Library biography & photo]
* Japan Mint: [http://www.mint.go.jp/eng/coin/international/coinset/page31.html Sakamoto Ryoma 2007 Proof Coin Set]