Sakamoto Ryoma

Sakamoto Ryōma was a samurai, swordsman, and political reformer of the late Edo period who played a crucial role in the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji
Restoration. Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain, he rejected the rigid class system and advocated for modernization and unity. He brokered the Satsuma-Chōshū
Alliance, which united former enemies against the shogunate, and promoted the idea of a parliamentary government in Japan. Unlike many samurai of his time, Ryōma embraced
Western technology, supporting the modernization of Japan’s military and economy. His progressive ideals made him a target, and he was assassinated in 1867 at the Omiya inn in
Kyoto, just before his vision of a new Japan could be fully realized. Today, he is remembered as a visionary hero who helped shape modern Japan.