History UsefulNotes / SakamotoRyoma

* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'': Ryoma's soul is among the 15 Heroic Eyecons which power Ghost's various forms. Ryoma Damashii is a JackOfAllStats which fights with a SwordAndGun and has shoulder armour themed after America's Black Ships; its transformation jingle translates roughly as "Awaken, Japan! Dawn is come!" and is accompanied by the sounds of an active port.

* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'': A Ghost Eyecon allows Takeru to channel Ryoma's soul to access Ryoma Damashii.

* ''VideoGame/LikeADragonIshin'', a Bakumatsu-era SpinOff of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series features Ryoma being played by the series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. In this story, Ryōma's character is mixed with one of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, Saito Hajime.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': The Twilight of Edo Japan chapter takes place in an age where Ryoma is active, [[spoiler:and he's held prisoner by Ode Iou so the country can degrade back to the age of civil warfare. The protagonist, [[{{Ninja}} Oboromaru]], is sent to rescue him, but can ignore him, in which case he just frees himself and join forces with Oboromaru later. After defeating Ode, Ryoma suggests that Oboromaru join him. While Oboromaru can refuse him, if he accepts, he kind of changes history by being Ryoma's bodyguard and preventing what is implied to be Ryoma's historical assassination.]]

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': The Twilight of Edo Japan chapter takes place in an age where Ryoma is active, [[spoiler:and he's held prisoner by Ode Iou so the country can degrade back to the age of civil warfare. The protagonist, Oboromaru, is sent to rescue him, but can ignore him, in which he just frees himself and join forces with Oboromaru. After defeating Ode, Ryoma offers Oboromaru to join him. While Oboromaru can refuse him, if he accepts, he kind of slightly changed history again by being Ryoma's bodyguard and preventing Ryoma's historical assassination.]]

* ''Franchise/FateSeries'': Ryoma, along with several historical Japanese figures, has been part of the franchise as a Rider-class Servant in the comical spoof Holy Grail War in ''Koha-ACE'', and later on making his debut in the ''GUDAGUDA'' miniseries of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' (on both cases, he's meeting with some of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi members that marked him a criminal, depending on the story they could be opposing each other again or working together). He's a laid back man wearing white suit and fedora, wielding pistol and sword and accompanied with Oryou, a pseudo-interpretation of his historical wife Narasaki Ryou, here as a dragon taking on human form because she was released from imprisonment by Ryoma because he's such a NiceGuy. He also has an alternate Lancer form later. His Rider form naturally appears in ''WebComic/FateTypeRedline''

Born in [[UsefulNotes/TheFortySevenPrefectures Tosa, Shikōku]] on January 3rd 1836, Sakamoto Ryoma was the youngest son of a merchant family who trained in the arts of {{Samurai}} and showed potential to be a great swordsman at the age of 19. It seemed that life would go on normally for Ryōma in the isolated country of Japan...

An enduring Japanese historical figure, said to be one of its most favorites--who changed the course of the history of Japan altogether, rivaling that of UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi. And he did it all with as minimal fighting and bloodshed as possible. A man of peace who makes the impossibility of modernizing Japan from the extremely archaic shogunate possible. That man is Sakamoto Ryōma.

Born in Tosa, Shikōku at January 3rd 1836, Sakamoto Ryoma was the youngest son of a merchant family who trained in the arts of {{Samurai}} and showed potential to be a great swordsman at the age of 19. It seemed that life would go on normally for Ryōma in the isolated country of Japan...

* ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'': A Ghost Eyecon allows Takeru to channel Ryoma's soul to access Ryoma Damashii.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': The Bakumatsu chapter takes place in an age where Ryoma is active, and he's held prisoner by Ode Iou so the country can degrade back to the age of civil warfare. The protagonist, Oboromaru, is sent to rescue him, but can ignore him, in which he just frees himself and join forces with Oboromaru. After defeating Ode, Ryoma offers Oboromaru to join him. While Oboromaru can refuse him, if he accepts, he kind of slightly changed history again by being Ryoma's bodyguard and preventing Ryoma's historical assassination.

Yet tragedy struck for such a great man, for when he was 31 years old, [[ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination Ryoma was assassinated on his day off]]. [[TooAwesomeToLive The great man died too young]]. Yet because his efforts and visions, the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration became near-inevitable. The resulting foundation of the Empire of Japan (despite so many tensions) meant Japan stood strong, preventing colonization by the Western powers (who eventually saw the merit of keeping Japan best as a trading partner--something that will persist in Japan's role in international affairs). It also westernized and modernized the country away from the past-its-prime feudalistic society. Without him, Japan wouldn't be what it is today.

[[JumpedAtTheCall Rendered restless by the changing times]], Ryōma abandoned his family and training and became a {{Ronin}}[[note]]This was not a minor thing: for essentially abandoning his house and his domain, one of his sisters (usually assumed to be the one who also gave him [[AncestralWeapon the family's ancestral sword]]) [[HeroicSacrifice was recorded as having to commit]] ''[[{{UsefulNotes/Seppuku}} jigai]]'' [[HonorBeforeReason as atonement on his behalf]][[/note]]. He later took on the job of assassinating a certain shogunate official named Katsu Kaishuu, who favored modernization and westernization. In a memorable episode of guile, Katsu allegedly presented Ryoma with a globe to emphasize to him just how big a world and complex a problem the issue is. This blew his mind and allowed Katsu to persuade him instead of learning from him. He would grow to become Katsu's teaching assistant at the Kobe Naval Training Center. After the Ikedaya Incident where UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi was involved, Katsu's naval school was closed. Ryōma and his classmates thus became targets of the Shogunate, forcing transfer to Kagoshima, Satsuma.

[[JumpedAtTheCall Rendered restless by the changing times]], Ryōma abandoned his family and training and became a {{Ronin}}[[note]]This was not a minor thing: for essentially abandoning his house and his domain, one of his sisters (usually assumed to be the one who also gave him [[AncestralWeapon the family's ancestral sword]]) [[HeroicSacrifice was recorded as having to commit]] ''[[{{UsefulNotes/Seppuku}}jigai]]'' [[HonorBeforeReason as atonement on his behalf]][[/note]]. He later took on the job of assassinating a certain shogunate official named Katsu Kaishuu, who favored modernization and westernization. In a memorable episode of guile, Katsu allegedly presented Ryoma with a globe to emphasize to him just how big a world and complex a problem the issue is. This blew his mind and allowed Katsu to persuade him instead of learning from him. He would grow to become Katsu's teaching assistant at the Kobe Naval Training Center. After the Ikedaya Incident where UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi was involved, Katsu's naval school was closed. Ryōma and his classmates thus became targets of the Shogunate, forcing transfer to Kagoshima, Satsuma.

An enduring figure amongst Japanese historical figures, said to be one of its most favorite figures that changed the course of history of Japan altogether, rivaling that of UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi. And he did it all with minimal fighting and bloodshed as possible. A man of peace who makes the impossibility of modernizing Japan from the extremely archaic shogunate possible. That man is Sakamoto Ryōma.

The Shogunate was powerless against them (not to mention suffering from the same domination of {{Upper Class Twit}}s and HeadInTheSandManagement as the Qing), and they started to lose trust of the people. Domains like Choshu and Satsuma of Southern Japan wish to rebel but lack firepower, not to mention they're trapped in endless bickering against each other--not helped by the fact that despite being both "outsider" domains (i.e. not retained or related to the Tokugawa), Satsuma chose to side with the Shogunate in putting down Chōshu's first abortive attempt. Satsuma presumably viewed Chōshu as HotBlooded {{Fearless Fool}}s, while Chōshu in turn considered Satsuma a CategoryTraitor.

[[JumpedAtTheCall Rendered restless by the changing times]], Ryōma abandoned his family and training and became a {{Ronin}}. He later took on the job of assassinating a certain shogunate official named Katsu Kaishuu, who was in favor of modernization and westernization, but changed his mind after a little persuasion from Katsu and instead began to learn from him. After the Ikedaya Incident where UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi was involved, Ryōma's training place was closed down. He became a target of the Shogunate as a dissenter and he's transferred to Kagoshima, Satsuma.

Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower and united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be a strong central executive (instead of the archaic shogun-domain BalanceOfPower setup that only resulted in NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering). Consistent with previous Imperial loyalist projects (such as the failed [[UsefulNotes/KamakuraShogunate Kenmu Restoration of 1333]]), he believed that with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt be more able of delivering the will of the united Japanese peoples. Unlike that centuries-old restoration, Ryōma was also exposed (due to Katsu's influence) to other forms of government worldwide--most notably the republican form of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the parliamentary forms of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. Ironically, the anxieties that the Americans brought also led Ryōma to learning and eventually advocating for more decentralized, populist and democratic politics. (It also helps that despite being a samurai, Ryōma's family was on the lower rung of Tosa's social stratum, which meant he had greater sympathy for his fellow village and merchant-samurai than the landed IdleRich that Edo-era samurai have tended to become.) In another bout of DramaticIrony, this growing appreciation of American meritocracy and general equality by Ryōma was simultaneously being contested in UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica itself, leading to the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. The breakout of that eventually drove the American war machine away from pursuing its interests in Japan--hence the Bakumatsu's foreign presence slowly being dominated by the British, French and Prussian/German foreign services.

To this end, being an outsider and generally a friendly but experienced young guy, Ryoma ended up brokering peace between the two clans that were against the shogunate, Satsuma and Choshu. With the help of his newly established Kameyama Shachuu company (better known as Kaientai), Ryoma engaged in arms-trafficking on behalf of Chōshu and Satsuma, while subsequently establishing business contacts in other trades with the emerging SelfMadeMan merchants of Nagasaki and even British tradesmen. This facilitated in providing the newly-minted 'Satchō Alliance' with weaponry, education, intelligence and enough financial credit. The Satchō Alliance also scored various victories against the Shogunate thanks to Ryōma's contribution. In essence, the Kaientai (depending on your view) is either one of the first successful modern Japanese lobby groups, or the NGOSuperpower that kickstarted the Restoration.

Gaining increasing momentum and renown for brokering the Satchou Alliance, Ryōma was eventually approached by his home domain of Tosa--which he abandoned and (legally) has the right to execute him for desertion. Confronted by ConflictingLoyalty between the Tokugawa and the Emperor, the Yamauchi asked for Ryōma's aid in bringing them to the fold of the Satchou--with the caveat that Tosa will be the Satchou's direct line to the Shogunate should peace talks come. Ryōma re-established links with fellow Tosa samuri Goto Shojiro (one of [[RichKidTurnedSocialActivist the few politically-minded elite samurai]] of Tosa [[OddFriendship he could work with]]) and Iwasaki Yataro (an impoverished samurai who eventually rose to being a SelfMadeMan and the top trading official of Tosa). Depending on the historian or fiction you read, they were either in TeethClenchedTeamwork due to their varying ideas of social mobility (with Ryōma obviously being the most radical), or they were VitriolicBestBuds. (On a side note, Iwasaki's work on trade and Ryōma's negotiations, together with eventually buying off the assets of Tosa domain come the Imperial period, serves as the foundation of the multinational conglomerate Mitsubishi.)

All of these influences eventually led to Ryoma drafting his longest-lasting piece of writing: the ''Eight Proposals While Shipboard (船中八策)'', a set of governance proposals (including the formation of a democratic legislature, the strengthening of army and navy, and basic economic reforms). The fact that, broadly, these policies were integrated in varying forms in what eventually became the 1868 Meiji Constitution makes Ryoma, for all intents and purposes, among the fore-running influence of the modern Japanese state.

Yet tragedy struck for such a great man, for when he was 31 years old, [[ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination Ryoma was assassinated on his day off]]. The great man died too young, yet because his efforts and visions, the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration became near-inevitable. The resulting foundation of the Empire of Japan (despite so many tensions) meant Japan stood strong, preventing colonization by the Western powers (who eventually saw the merit of keeping Japan best as a trading partner--something that will be a continued refrain in Japan's role in international affairs). It also westernized and modernized the country away from the past-its-prime feudalistic society. Without him, Japan wouldn't be what it is today.

That being said, his death also became a massive source of NostalgiaFilter and WhatCouldHaveBeen in Japanese history, politics and popular memory. Due to dying young and enjoying a reputation for incorruptibility, Ryōma inevitably became an impossible {{paragon}} to live up to for his compatriots--to the point that initially, his name and memory was even [[RetGone downplayed by]] [[UngratefulBastard the surviving leaders of Satsuma and Choshu]]. The absence of Ryōma also meant what eventually became UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan meant that instead of following American republican and British parliamentary models, it took on the centralized and aristocratic models of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire. These would serve as the foundation of the imperialistic, militarized and over-centralized nightmare it became when waging the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

However, the rediscovery of his story and the publication of the novel ''Countless Blood and Sweat'' (汗血千里の駒, ''Kanketsu senri no koma'') by Sakazaki Shiran (a native of Tosa) in 1883 reignited interest in his life and works. Goto Shōjirō and Itagaki Taisuke (fellow Tosa samurai) would later be active in spearheading the Popular Rights Movement (自由党, ''Jiyūtō''), the most direct inheritor of Ryōma's own democratic ideals. These accomplishments immortalized Sakamoto Ryoma as one of Japan's greatest heroes and given the title of 'Father of the Imperial Japanese Navy' post-mortem.

Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower and united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be a storng central executive (instead of the archaic shogun-domain BalanceOfPower setup that only resulted in NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering). Consistent with previous Imperial loyalist projects (such as the failed [[UsefulNotes/KamakuraShogunate Kenmu Restoration of 1333]]), he believed that with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt be more able of delivering the will of the united Japanese peoples. Unlike that centuries-old restoration, Ryōma was also exposed (due to Katsu's influence) to other forms of government worldwide--most notably the republican form of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the parliamentary forms of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. Ironically, the anxieties that the Americans brought also led Ryōma to learning and eventually advocating for more decentralized, populist and democratic politics. (It also helps that despite being a samurai, Ryōma's family was on the lower rung of Tosa's social stratum, which meant he had greater sympathy for his fellow village and merchant-samurai than the landed IdleRich that Edo-era samurai have tended to become.) In another bout of DramaticIrony, this growing appreciation of American meritocracy and general equality by Ryōma was simultaneously being contested in UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica itself, leading to the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. The breakout of that eventually drove the American war machine away from pursuing its interests in Japan--hence the Bakumatsu's foreign presence slowly being dominated by the British, French and Prussian/German foreign services.

* ''Anime/FuuunishiDaiShogun'' features Ryoma Sakamoto as a light-hearted but initially morally-ambiguous character who even wins the main heroine Kiruko in a game of rock-paper-scissors and kidnaps her. He's eventually revealed to be on the side of the good guys.

* ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuIshin'', a Bakumatsu-era SpinOff of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series features Ryoma being played by the series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. In this story, Ryōma's character is mixed with one of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, Saito Hajime.

Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower and united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be a storng central executive (instead of the archaic shogun-domain BalanceOfPower setup that only resulted in NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering). Consistent with previous Imperial loyalist projects (such as the failed [[UsefulNotes/KamakuraShogunate Kenmu Restoration of 1333]]), he believed that with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt be more able of delivering the will of the united Japanese peoples. Unlike that centuries-old restoration, Ryōma was also exposed (due to Katsu's influence) to other forms of government worldwide--most notably the republican form of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the parliamentary forms of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. Ironically, the anxieties that the Americans brought also led Ryōma to learning and eventually advocating for more decentralized, populist and democratic politics. (It also helps that despite being a samurai, Ryōma's family was on the lower rung of Tosa's social stratum, which meant he had greater sympathy for his fellow village and merchant-samurai than the landed IdleRich that Edo-era samurai have tended to become.)

* ''Franchise/FateSeries'': Ryoma, along with several historical Japanese figures, has been part of the franchise as a Rider-class Servant in the comical spoof Holy Grail War in ''Koha-ACE'', and later on making his debut in the ''GUDAGUDA'' miniseries of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' (on both cases, he's meeting with some of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi members that marked him a criminal, depending on the story they could be opposing each other again or working together). He's a laid back man wearing white suit and fedora, wielding pistol and sword and accompanied with Oryou, a pseudo-interpretation of his historical wife Narasaki Ryou, here as a dragon taking on human form because she was released from imprisonment by Ryoma because he's such a NiceGuy. He also has an alternate Lancer form later. His Rider form naturally appears in ''WebComic/FateTypeRedline''

That being said, his death also became a massive source of NostalgiaFilter and WhatCouldHave been in Japanese history, politics and popular memory. Due to dying young and enjoying a reputation for incorruptibility, Ryōma inevitably became an impossible {{paragon}} to live up to for his compatriots--to the point that initially, his name and memory was even [[RetGone downplayed by]] [[UngratefulBastard the surviving leaders of Satsuma and Choshu]]. The absence of Ryōma also meant what eventually became UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan meant that instead of following American republican and British parliamentary models, it took on the centralized and aristocratic models of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany and UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire. These would serve as the foundation of the imperialistic, militarized and over-centralized nightmare it became when waging the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

Gaining increasing momentum and renown for brokering the Satchou Alliance, Ryōma was eventually approached by his home domain of Tosa--which he abandoned and (legally) has the right to execute him for desertion. Confronted by ConflictingLoyalty between the Tokugawa and the Emperor, the Yamauchi asked for Ryōma's aid in bringing them to the fold of the Satchou--with the caveat that Tosa will be the Satchou's direct line to the Shogunate should peace talks come. Ryōma re-established links with fellow Tosa samuri Goto Shojiro (one of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RichKidTurnedSocialActivist the few politically-minded elite samurai]] of Tosa [[OddFriendship he could work with]]) and Iwasaki Yataro (an impoverished samurai who eventually rose to being a SelfMadeMan and the top trading official of Tosa). Depending on the historian or fiction you read, they were either in TeethClenchedTeamwork due to their varying ideas of social mobility (with Ryōma obviously being the most radical), or they were VitriolicBestBuds. (On a side note, Iwasaki's work on trade and Ryōma's negotiations, together with eventually buying off the assets of Tosa domain come the Imperial period, serves as the foundation of the multinational conglomerate Mitsubishi.)

Yet tragedy struck for such a great man, for when he was 31 years old, Ryoma was assassinated on his day off. The great man died too young, yet because his efforts and visions, the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration became near-inevitable. The resulting foundation of the Empire of Japan (despite so many tensions) meant Japan stood strong, preventing colonization by the Western powers (who eventually saw the merit of keeping Japan best as a trading partner--something that will be a continued refrain in Japan's role in international affairs). It also westernized and modernized the country away from the past-its-prime feudalistic society. Without him, Japan wouldn't be what it is today.

An enduring figure amongst Japanese historical figures, said to be one of its most favorite figures that changed the course of history of Japan altogether, rivaling that of UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi. And he did it all with minimal fighting and bloodshed as possible. A man of peace who makes the impossibility of modernizing Japan from the extremely archaic shogunate possible. That man is Sakamoto Ryoma.

Born in Tosa, Shikoku at January 3rd 1836, Sakamoto Ryoma was the youngest son of a merchant family who trained in the arts of {{Samurai}} and showed potential to be a great swordsman at the age of 19. It seemed that life would go on normally for Ryoma in the isolated country of Japan...

Until Matthew Perry bombarded the port of Japan and forced the Shogunate to sign an unequal treaty to the Americans' advantage. Ryoma witnessed the horrors of the advanced American weapons and if things go as it was, it would be sooner that Japan would end up as a colony for America. The fact that the UsefulNotes/QingDynasty's miseries against the foreigners due to the Opium Wars reached the shores of Japan meant that xenophobia and general anxiety for Japan's stability is at an all-time high, with assassinations, public vendettas and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ee_ja_nai_ka general hysteria]] becoming more and more apparent.

The Shogunate was powerless against them (not to mention suffering from the same domination of {{Upper Class Twit}}s and HeadInTheSandManagement as the Qing), and they started to lose trust of the people. Domains like Choshu and Satsuma of Southern Japan wish to rebel but lack firepower, not to mention they're trapped in endless bickering against each other--not helped by the fact that despite being both "outsider" domains (i.e. not retained or related to the Tokugawa), Satsuma chose to side with the Shogunate in putting down Choshu's first abortive attempt. Satsuma presumably viewed Choshu as HotBlooded {{Fearless Fool}}s, while Choshu in turn considered Satsuma a CategoryTraitor.

Rendered restless by the changing times, Ryoma abandoned his family and training and became a {{Ronin}}. He later took on the job of assassinating a certain shogunate official named Katsu Kaishuu, who was in favor of modernization and westernization, but changed his mind after a little persuasion from Katsu and instead began to learn from him. After the Ikedaya Incident where UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi was involved, Ryoma's training place was closed down, he became a target of the Shogunate as a dissenter and he's transferred to Kagoshima, Satsuma.

Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower and united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be a storng central executive (instead of the archaic shogun-domain BalanceOfPower setup that only resulted in NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering). Consistent with previous Imperial loyalist projects (such as the failed [[UsefulNotes/KamakuraShogunate Kenmu Restoration of 1333]]), he believed that with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt be more able of delivering the will of the united Japanese peoples. Unlike that centuries-old restoration, Ryoma was also exposed (due to Katsu's influence) to other forms of government worldwide--most notably the republican form of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the parliamentary forms of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. Ironically, the anxieties that the Americans brought also led Ryoma to learning and eventually advocating for more decentralized, populist and democratic politics. (It also helps that despite being a samurai, Ryoma's family was on the lower rung of Tosa's social stratum, which meant he had greater sympathy for his fellow village and merchant-samurai than the landed IdleRich that Edo-era samurai have tended to become.)

To this end, being an outsider and generally a friendly but experienced young guy, Ryoma ended up brokering peace between the two clans that were against the shogunate, Satsuma and Choshu. With the help of his newly established Kameyama Shachuu company (better known as Kaientai), Ryoma engaged in arms-trafficking on behalf of Choshu and Satsuma, while subsequently establishing business contacts in other trades with the emerging SelfMadeMan merchants of Nagasaki and even British tradesmen. This facilitated in providing the newly-minted 'Satchou Alliance' with weaponry, education, intelligence and enough credit. The Satchou Alliance also scored various victories against the Shogunate thanks to Ryoma's contribution. In essence, the Kaientai (depending on your view) is either one of the first successful modern Japanese lobby groups, or the NGOSuperpower that kickstarted the Restoration.

Gaining increasing momentum and renown for brokering the Satchou Alliance, Ryoma was eventually approached by his home domain of Tosa--which he abandoned and (legally) has the right to execute him for desertion. Confronted by ConflictingLoyalty between the Tokugawa and the Emperor, the Yamauchi asked for Ryoma's aid in bringing them to the fold of the Satchou--with the caveat that Tosa will be the Satchou's direct line to the Shogunate should peace talks come. Ryoma re-established links with fellow Tosa samuri Goto Shojiro (one of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RichKidTurnedSocialActivist the few politically-minded elite samurai]] of Tosa [[OddFriendship he could work with]]) and Iwasaki Yataro (an impoverished samurai who eventually rose to being a SelfMadeMan and the top trading official of Tosa). Depending on the historian or fiction you read, they were either in TeethClenchedTeamwork due to their varying ideas of social mobility (with Ryoma obviously being the most radical), or they were VitriolicBestBuds. (On a side note, Iwasaki's work on trade and Ryoma's negotiations, together with eventually buying off the assets of Tosa domain come the Imperial period, serves as the foundation of the multinational conglomerate Mitsubishi.)

That being said, his death also became a massive source of NostalgiaFilter and WhatCouldHave been in Japanese history, politics and popular memory. Due to dying young and enjoying a reputation for incorruptibility, Ryōma inevitably became an impossible {{paragon}} to live up to for his compatriots--to the point that initially, his name and memory was even [[RetGone downplayed by]] [[UngratefulBastard the surviving leaders of Satsuma and Choshu]]. The absence of Ryōma also meant what eventually became UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan meant it took on the imperialistic, militarized and over-centralized nightmare it became when waging the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

!Medias that include or reference Ryoma

* ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuIshin'', a Bakumatsu-era SpinOff of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series features Ryoma being played by the series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. In this story, Ryoma's character is mixed with one of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, Saito Hajime.

The Shogunate was powerless against them (not to mention suffering from the same domination of {{Upper-Class Twit}}s and HeadInTheSandManagement as the Qing), and they started to lose trust of the people. Domains like Choshu and Satsuma of Southern Japan wish to rebel but lack firepower, not to mention they're trapped in endless bickering against each other--not helped by the fact that despite being both "outsider" domains (i.e. not retained or related to the Tokugawa), Satsuma chose to side with the Shogunate in putting down Choshu's first abortive attempt. Satsuma presumably viewed Choshu as HotBlooded {{Fearless Fool}}s, while Choshu in turn considered Satsuma a CategoryTraitor.

Until Matthew Perry bombarded the port of Japan and forced the Shogunate to sign an unequal treaty to the Americans' advantage. Ryoma witnessed the horrors of the advanced American weapons and if things go as it was, it would be sooner that Japan would end up as a colony for America. The Shogunate was powerless against them as they started to lose trust of the people, with some clans like the Choshu and Satsuma of the South wanting to rebel but lacking firepower, not to mention they're trapped in an endless bickering against each other. But Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower, they must be united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be an actual leader of the land of Rising Sun instead of this archaic shogun that proved to be powerless against foreign forces, with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt deliver the will of the united people better.

To fulfill this goal, Ryoma abandoned his family and training and became a {{Ronin}}. He later took on the job of assassinating a certain shogunate official named Katsu Kaishuu, who was in favor of modernization and westernization, but changed his mind after a little persuasion from Katsu and instead began to learn from him. After the Ikedaya Incident where UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi was involved, Ryoma's training place was closed down, he became a target of the Shogunate as a dissenter and he's transferred to Kagoshima, Satsuma.

In there, being an outsider and generally a friendly but experienced young guy, Ryoma ended up brokering peace between the two clans that were against the shogunate, Satsuma and Choshu, previously they just couldn't stand each other. With the help of his newly established Kameyama Shachuu company (better known as Kaientai) which provided them weaponry based on the westernization ideals Ryoma learned from Katsu Kaishuu, he united the two warring clans under the 'Satchou Alliance'; and it was this union that Ryoma needed to unite the people and take back the rule of Japan from the Shogunate. The Satchou Alliance also scored various victories against the Shogunate thanks to Ryoma's contribution.

Yet tragedy struck for such a great man, when he was 31 years old and minding his own business, Ryoma was assassinated on his day off. The great man died too young, yet because his efforts and visions, the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration could happen and Japan stood strong, preventing a possible American colonization while westernizing the country to catch up with the modern times instead of sticking with the shogunate that already went past its prime; without him, Japan wouldn't be what it is today. [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Some nasty side-effects of the Restoration aside]], these accomplishments immortalized Sakamoto Ryoma as one of Japan's greatest heroes and given the title of 'Father of Imperial Japanese Navy' post-mortem.

An enduring figure amongst Japanese historical figures, said to be one of its most favorite figures that changed the course of history of Japan altogether, rivaling that of UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi. And he did it all with minimal fighting and bloodshed as possible. A man of peace who makes the impossibility of modernizing Japan from the extremely archaic shogunate possible. That man is UsefulNotes/SakamotoRyoma.

[[caption-width-right:350:Ironically, he's actually one of the first of the reverse-weeaboo.[[note]]A Japanese man highly fascinated with Western culture[[/note]]]]

* Sakamoto Ryoma becomes the namesake of the main face/character of the whole ''Manga/GetterRobo'' saga, Ryoma Nagare, as the main trio are named after famous historical figures in Japan. As a bonus point, as confirmed later in ''Getter Robo Arc'', Ryoma married a lady named Ryou, a reference to his wife Narasaki Ryou.

Until Matthew Perry bombarded the port of Japan and forced the Shogunate to sign an unequal treaty to the Americans' advantage. Ryoma witnessed the horrors of the advanced American weapons and if things go as it was, it would be sooner that Japan would end up as a colony for America. The Shogunate was powerless against them as they started to lose trust of the people, with some clans like the Choshu and Satsuma of the South wanting to rebel but lacking firepower. But Ryoma knew that for the country to change, they must not be overdependent on firepower, they must be united at heart. His solution for this would be to restore the Imperial Rule, let the Emperor of Japan be an actual leader of the land of Rising Sun instead of this archaic shogun that proved to be powerless against foreign forces, with the Emperor at helm, he will no doubt deliver the will of the united people better.