Sakamoto Ryōma

Lore & Background

Sakamoto Ryōma was born on 3 January 1836 in Kōchi in the han of Tosa, located in Tosa Province on the island of Shikoku. By the Japanese calendar, he was born on the 15th day of the 11th month, of the sixth year of Tenpō. The Sakamoto family held the rank of country samurai or gōshi, the lowest rank in the samurai hierarchy, which previous generations had purchased by acquiring enough wealth as sake brewers. At age twelve, Sakamoto was enrolled in a private school but showed little scholarly inclination; after being bullied, his older sister enrolled him in fencing classes of the Oguri-ryū when he was 14.

By adulthood, he was by all accounts a master swordsman. In 1853, he traveled to Edo to train at the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō Chiba-Dōjō, led by Chiba Sadakichi Masamichi. Sakamoto received a scroll declaring his mastery and became a shihan at the dojo, teaching kenjutsu alongside Chiba Jūtarō Kazutane. During this time, he became engaged to Chiba Sana, Sadakichi's daughter, though they lost contact after he returned to Tosa in 1858.

Politically, Sakamoto was influenced by the Perry Expedition of 1853 and the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, which ended Japan's isolation and damaged the Shogun's legitimacy. In 1858, he returned to Tosa and became politically active in the local Sonnō jōi movement. In 1862, his friend Takechi Hanpeita organized the Tosa Loyalist Party, but Sakamoto disagreed with Takechi's focus on only the Tosa clan and left Tosa without authorization—a capital offense known as dappan.

One of his sisters committed suicide because she left without permission. He later used the alias Saitani Umetarō while working against the shōgun. That same year, he returned to the Chiba Dojo and reunited with Chiba Sana; her father encouraged a full show of commitment, and Sakamoto gifted Chiba a sleeve with his family crest, after which they were considered a married couple. In 1862, Sakamoto attempted to assassinate Katsu Kaishū but was instead persuaded to become his assistant and protégé.

First assassination attempt

In 1866, he helped negotiate the secret Satchō Alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū, though the critical role was played by Komatsu Tatewaki. He also founded the private navy and trading company Kameyama Shachū in Nagasaki City with the help of Satsuma, which later became kaientai. Sakamoto survived an assassination attempt in March 1866 at the Teradaya ryokan in Kyoto, alerted by his future wife Narasaki Ryō (Oryō), who ran from her bath to warn him; he fought off attackers with a Smith and Wesson revolver. He was assassinated at the Ōmiya Inn in Kyoto on 10 December 1867, alongside Nakaoka Shintarō, shortly before the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration.

Did You Know?

• He used the alias Saitani Umetarō while working against the shogunate, and is mentioned under that name in the diary of Ernest Satow for 30 September 1867.
• Sakamoto fought off attackers during the Teradaya incident using a Western firearm, a Smith and Wesson revolver.