Sakamoto Ryoma in Osaka

Strolling through Osaka, in front of a restaurant, I found myself face to face with... Sakamoto Ryōma, one of the most beloved characters from the history of Japan, samurai and politician, leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during Japan's Bakumatsu period.

Sakamoto Ryōma was a very interesting personality, a man who understood the sense of history, realizing that the modernization of Japan was absolutely necessary. He understood the western way of thinking but he was also a preserver of old traditions. He was wearing traditional samurai clothing (as this statue represents him) and katana, but he was also armed with a Smith & Wesson 32 revolver, a gun that saved his life during an assassination attempt.

Unfortunately, Sakamoto Ryōma was killed in Kyoto before seeing his dream fulfilled, just a little before the Meiji Restoration...