Sakamoto Ryōma (坂本龍馬 or 坂本竜馬, 3 January 1836 – 10 December 1867) was a Japanese samurai, a shishi and influential figure of the Bakumatsu, and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period.

Sakamoto was a low-ranking samurai from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active opponent of the Tokugawa Shogunate after the end of Japan's sakoku isolationist policy.

Sakamoto advocated for democracy, Japanese nationalism, return of power to the Imperial Court, abolition of feudalism, and moderate modernization and industrialization of Japan.

In 1853, Sakamoto was allowed by his clan to travel to Edo, the seat of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and the de facto capital of Japan, to train and polish his skills as a swordsman.

Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the United States arrived in Japan with a fleet of ships to forcibly end the centuries-old sakoku policy of national isolationism.

The convention was signed by the rōjū Abe Masahiro, acting as regent for the young and sickly Shōgun Tokugawa Iesada, against the will of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, the de jure ruling authority.

Sakamoto and many of the samurai class supported returning state power directly to the Imperial Court in Kyoto and began agitating for the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate.

In 1858, Sakamoto returned to Tosa after completing his studies, and became politically active in the local Sonnō jōi, the anti-Tokugawa movement arose in the aftermath of the Convention of Kanagawa.

[2] Sakamoto is mentioned under this alias in the diary of Ernest Satow for 30 September 1867: "Mr. Saedani had to be sat up for laughing at the questions put by us, evidently with the object of ridiculing us out of our case, but he got a flea in his lug and shut up making the most diabolical faces.

However, Katsu Kaishū persuaded Sakamoto of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan's military strength in the face of Western influence which led to the Convention of Kanagawa.

In 1864, as the Tokugawa shogunate began taking a hard line against dissenters, Sakamoto fled to Kagoshima in Satsuma Domain, which was developing as a major centre for the anti-Tokugawa movement.

[citation needed] Sakamoto's position as a "neutral outsider" was critical in bridging the gap in trust and ending the feud, and accomplished the establishment of a significant military alliance against the Tokugawa.

[citation needed] Sakamoto founded the private navy and trading company Kameyama Shachū in Nagasaki City with the help of the Satsuma, which later became kaientai or Ocean Support Fleet.

Sakamoto again played a crucial role in the subsequent negotiations that led to the voluntary resignation of the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu in 1867, thus bringing about the Meiji Restoration.

Firstly, he was alerted just in time by his future wife Narasaki Ryō (Oryō), who was surprised in her bath by the attackers and ran across a garden and up to the second floor of the inn to warn Sakamoto.

Initial reports of Sakamoto's and Shintarō's deaths accused members of the Shinsengumi, a special police force of swordsmen from the Bakufu (Tokugawa military government) based in Kyoto.

Sakamoto wrote the "Eight Proposals While Shipboard" (『船中八策』) while discussing the future model of the Japanese government with Gotō Shōjirō on board a Tosa ship outside Nagasaki in 1867.

Sakamoto outlined the need for a democratically elected bicameral legislature, the writing of a constitution, the formation of a national army and navy, and the regulation of the exchange rates of gold and silver.

Parents Stepmother Brother Sisters Wife Child An April 2010 Japan Times article stated "Ryōma has inspired at least seven television drama series, six novels, seven manga and five films."