Who was this person?
A Bakumatsu activist from the Tosa domain. After studying swordsmanship in Edo and leaving Tosa without permission, he became a disciple of Katsu Kaishū. He founded the Kameyama Shachū (later the Kaientai) in Nagasaki and in 1866 helped broker the alliance between the rival Satsuma and Chōshū domains. He was also involved in the return of power to the emperor, but was assassinated at the Ōmiya inn in Kyoto in 1867.
| Name | Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本龍馬) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1836 – 1867 |
| Period | Late Edo (Bakumatsu) |
| Birthplace | Kōchi castle town, Tosa Province (now Kōchi) |
| Also known as | Saitani Umetarō, Sakamoto Naonari |
| Main achievements |
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Born the second son of the Sakamoto, rural samurai of Tosa (Kōchi). A crybaby as a child, he was reportedly toughened up by his elder sister Otome.
He studied swordsmanship at the Chiba school in Edo. That year Perry's black ships arrived, and Ryōma joined the guard at Shinagawa.
He joined the Tosa Loyalist Party founded by Takechi Hanpeita, sympathizing with sonnō jōi—revere the emperor, expel the foreigners.
He left his domain without permission and became a pupil of the shogunate official Katsu Kaishū in Edo. Hearing him speak of the wider world reportedly transformed his thinking.
At the Kobe Naval Training Centre founded by Katsu Kaishū he studied navigation and helped build a navy.
In Nagasaki he and his comrades founded the Kameyama Shachū, a trading and shipping company—forerunner of the Kaientai.
He brokered the Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between the rival domains. Soon after, shogunate officers attacked him at the Teradaya inn in Kyoto, but he escaped thanks to a warning from Oryō, later his wife.
To recover from his wounds he travelled with Oryō around Kirishima in Satsuma, a trip often called Japan's first honeymoon.
He became leader of the Kaientai. He is credited with the Eight-Point Plan for a new state, which fed through Tosa into the return of power to the emperor.
At the Ōmiya in Kyoto he and Nakaoka Shintarō were attacked by assassins and he lost his life, at 31.
A. A Bakumatsu activist from the Tosa domain. After studying swordsmanship in Edo and leaving Tosa without permission, he became a disciple of Katsu Kaishū. He founded the Kameyama Shachū (later the Kaientai) in Nagasaki and in 1866 helped broker the alliance between the rival Satsuma and Chōshū domains. He was also involved in the return of power to the emperor, but was assassinated at the Ōmiya inn in Kyoto in 1867.
A. Period: Late Edo (Bakumatsu). Born in 1836, died in 1867.
A. Sakamoto Ryōma was born in Kōchi castle town, Tosa Province (now Kōchi).
A. A pact made in 1866 by the formerly hostile Satsuma and Chōshū domains to stand together against the shogunate. Saigō Takamori and Komatsu Tatewaki met Kido Takayoshi in Kyoto, with Sakamoto Ryōma acting as go-between.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Matthew C. PerryKatsu KaishūNakaoka ShintarōYokoi ShōnanSakuma ShōzanJohn ManjirōYamauchi Yōdō (Toyoshige)Saigō Takamori
Kondō IsamiHashimoto SanaiHijikata ToshizōKomatsu Tatewaki (Kiyokado)Atsuhime (Tenshō-in)Matsudaira KatamoriYamaoka TesshūTokugawa Yoshinobu
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.