Sakamoto Ryōma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- In this Japanese name, the family name is Sakamoto.
| Sakamoto Ryōma 坂本龍馬 |
|
|---|---|
 Sakamoto Ryōma,by Ueno Hikoma |
|
| Born | January 3, 1836 Kōchi, Tosa domain |
| Died | 10 December 1867 Kyoto |
| Occupation | Samurai, politician |
Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本 龍馬 Sakamoto Ryōma, January 3, 1836–10 December 1867) was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryōma used the alias Saitani Umetarō (才谷梅太郎 Saitani Umetarō) as a cover name during his work to keep Japan united in the creation of a modern government which would allow his country to join the rest of the world which was in a colonizing mode, while keeping its own sovereignty intact.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Ryōma was born in Kōchi, of Tosa han (present day Kōchi Prefecture, Shikoku). By the Japanese calendar, this was the 6th year of Tempō. 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 Ittō-ryū 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 patriotic 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.
[edit] Bakumatsu period
While a ronin, Ryōma decided to assassinate Katsu Kaishū, a high-ranking official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a supporter of both modernization and westernization. However, Katsu Kaishū 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 Kaishū, Ryōma ended up working as his assistant and protégé.
In 1864, as the Tokugawa shogunate 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 toward 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 shogunate.[citation needed]. Ryōma founded the private navy and trading company Kameyamashachū (亀山社中) by the help of Satsuma. Later Kameyamashachū became Kaientai (海援隊).
Right image: Tomb of Sakamoto Ryoma (detail).
Chōshū’s subsequent victory over the Tokugawa army in 1866 and the impending collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate made Ryōma a valuable commodity to his former masters in Tosa. Ryōma was recalled to Kōchi with honours. The Tosa domain was anxious to obtain a negotiated settlement between the Shogun and the Emperor, which would prevent the powerful Satchō 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 that led to the voluntary resignation of the 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 Ōmiya inn in Kyoto, not long before the Meiji Restoration took place. Initial reports accused members of the Shinsengumi for Ryōma and Nakaoka Shintarō(中岡慎太郎)'s death (and Shinsengumi leader Kondō Isami was allegedly executed on that pretense), but another pro-Shogun 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.
[edit] 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. He was also seen as an interesting anomaly in his preference for traditional samurai dress, while favoring western footwear.
[edit] Honors in modern times
On 15 November 2003, the Kōchi Airport was renamed to the Kōchi Ryōma Airport in his honor. There is a Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum (坂本龍馬記念館) in Kōchi.
[edit] In popular culture
 |
This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (August 2009) |
Several images of Ryōma, including his famous statue at Katsurahama beach, appear throughout the feature film The Harimaya Bridge, which was filmed in Kochi Prefecture.
Sakamoto appears in the historical manga, Shura no Toki, which was later adapted into the anime, Mutsuen Meiryū Gaiden: Shura no Toki.
Sakamoto Ryoma is also depicted in a Japanese medical/historical fiction drama series "Jin".
Sakamoto's Kaientai is paid tribute by the Japanese professional wrestling faction Kai En Tai, in Puroresu, named in honor of Sakamoto's association. There is also a Japanese musical group named Kaientai.
In the video game Live A Live, Sakamoto Ryōma appears as a playable character.
[edit] 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.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sakamoto Ryoma |
