[What Ryoma Sakamoto Means to the Japan Today] 坂本竜馬と最近の日本

Japan has been subject to the changes of the surroundings more than others. The people & the government have encountered with the changes quite passively. People feel that it is against their culture or tradition that they speak directly to someone, ask questions to someone, or express your opinions clearly. It doesn't mean they are quiet or modest. - They are aggressive people, but it is more like being “passive aggressive.” For example, they don’t look at another person and say, “Don’t sit beside me.” They would most likely ignore, be preoccupied or pretend not seeing anybody so as not to let anybody in.

They will hear or listen in order to learn things. But they are not good at debating with someone or persuading someone. Because of the group-oriented culture, it is considered well-mannered to be shy and not to say things so well.

The person I want to pick up this time is Ryoma Sakamoto (坂本竜馬), one of the popular activists in Japanese history, who lived from 1836 to 1867. He was engaged with political activities until he was assassinated a little before the shogun era came to an end.

I actually didn’t have a keen interest toward this historical person, but hearing a lot about him through media made me think I wanted to look up some information on him. I began to think it understandable why this man has been regarded as one of the heros.

Wikepedia describes as the following:
When Ryoma finished his schools, he returned to Tosa, his hometown. One of his friends, Takechi organized the Tosa Loyalist Party with a political slogan "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Foreigners." This group was not accepted by the Tosa lord, so they plotted to an assassination. Ryoma is said to have participated in name only. Ryoma thought Takechi demanded a revolution for only the Tosa clan, but not for Japan.

Due to this fact, “(h)e decided to leave Tosa and separate from Takechi. In those days, nobody was permitted to leave their clan without permission, on penalty of death. One of Ryoma’s sisters committed suicide because he left without permission.

It is incredible that nobody was permitted at that time to leave their clan without permission, on penalty of death. But similar kind of atmosphere can be observed even now today. There are many should-dos and should-not-dos that don’t stand on reason.
 
The last part of the shogun period and Ryoma are relatively described like this:
"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 persuaded Ryōma of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan’s military strength. Instead of killing Katsu Kaishū, Ryōma started working as his assistant and protégé."

I like what he did here. Once he was going to kill Katsu but he became an assistant to him after some persuasion.

Wikepedia continues:
"In 1864, as the Tokugawa shogunate started taking a hard line, Ryoma fled to Kagoshima in Satsuma domain, which was developing as a major centre for the anti-Tokugawa movement. Ryoma negotiated the secret alliance between Chōshū and Satsuma provinces. Satsuma and Chōshū historically had been absolute enemies, and Ryoma's position as a "neutral outsider" was critical in bridging the gap in trust."

I personally liked the following description most. He tries to stand out so as to make a change. He is really a Samurai. A real Samurai will not just hide yourself to be like everyone else, and follow and obey how everyone does. He or she will have to be determined and courageous.

“Ryoma 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 needed to modernize. He has also been seen as an intriguing mix of the traditional and modern, symbolized by his preference for samurai dress while favoring western footwear.”

I don’t think the same concept or idea should be followed this time today. We are in 21st century, where people and societies are connected to the internet. We will have to do more than that with more thoughts and ideas. – We need to start from stopping to wear a T-shirt with weird or wrong English, or from playing English pop music without even knowing what it‘s all about and what’s really there.