Sakamoto Ryoma (3 January 1836 – 10 December 1867) was a Tosa Domain diplomat who made peace between the Satsuma Domain and the Choshu Domain and united Tosa, Satsuma, and Choshu against the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Boshin War. He was murdered by shogunate supporters on 10 December 1867 in Kyoto. Sakamoto was a great speaker and diplomat, and his famous quotes include, "A hero should go his own way," "Anything can be accomplished if you take responsibility for doing at least 80 percent to 90 percent of it yourself. Pass the remaining 10-20 percent of responsibility on to others and give them all the credit," and "The purpose of coming into the world is to accomplish one’s duty."
Biography[]
Sakamoto Ryoma was born on 3 January 1836 in Kochi, Tosa Domain, Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan. Sakamoto was friends with pro-imperial activist Takechi Hanpeita, who was forced to commit suicide in 1865 after he assassinated modernizing Tosa official Yoshida Toyo, and Sakamoto became involved in the imperial movement against the shogunate. However, he was involved in the modernization of the Japanese navy under Katsu Kaishu to fight against the Tokugawa, and he is considered to be the "father of the Imperial Japanese Navy" because of his work in modernizing the domain's ships. He was also useful in uniting the anti-shogunate factions, making peace between the Satsuma Domain and Choshu Domain in order to get them to work with Tosa in rebelling against the shogunate. Another one of his achievements was pressuring shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to resign, another victory. Sakamoto was a key figure in the revolution against the shogunate in the Boshin War due to his various important actions, and he envisioned designing Japan after the United States as a nation where "all men are created equal", while seeking to modernize Japan so that it could compete with other countries (he mixed traditional Japanese clothing with Western shoes, just as he wanted Japan to be both traditional and modernized). Sakamoto's efforts led to the success of the war against the shogun, who was overthrown in the quick Boshin War. However, on 10 December 1867 Sakamoto was killed by his own men in Kyoto as they grew jealous of his power and influence, being murdered alongside a friend at a soy sauce shop called Omiya. Multiple museums are named for him, and the airport in his home of Kochi Prefecture is named Kochi Ryoma Airport in his honor.
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