mini bios of other influential people in the Ryoma story

[Obenjo Kusanosuke]

There were quite a few players who directly or indirectly influenced the progression of events in which Sakamoto Ryoma played a leading role. To help you all navigate through many twists and turns to Ryoma's story, here are some mini biographies of people whose names you may come across in reading about Ryoma and the Bakumatsu Period. I plan to put these on the Wiki very shortly.

Thomas Glover
Born: 1841
Died: 1911
A Scottish trader who provided arms and assistance to the anti-Tokugawa han of Choshu through his Nagasaki-based trading company. Ryoma purchased arms with funds provided by Satsuma for the venture. Glover also arranged for Japanese to study abroad in the UK.

Goto Shojiro　(後藤象二郎)
Born: 1838
Died: 1897
A Tosa samurai who became in essence, “prime minister” of the Tosa government and hence, the principal advisor to Yamauchi Yodo. After becoming acquainted with Ryoma in Nagasaki, Goto began to work with Ryoma to work for the peaceful abdication of the Shogun and return of power to the Imperial Throne. Goto was the one who submitted Sakamoto’s Eight Point Plan to Yodo for submission to the reigning Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who resigned his post in 1867.

Iwasaki　Yataro　(岩崎弥太郎)
Born: 1834
Died: 1885
A goshi from Tosa who headed the han’s trading business in Nagasaki during the waning days of the Shogunate. He became a business associate of Ryoma through the Kaientai trading operations. Iwasaki was not particularly fond of Ryoma but “business was business”. Iwasaki later formed the famous Mitsubishi Trading House and became one of Japan’s most successful businessmen of the Meiji period.

Itagaki Taisuke (板垣退助)
Other Name: Inui Taisuke (乾退助)
Born: 1837
Died: 1919
A high ranking samurai from Tosa, Itagaki was responsible for reorganizing Tosa’s forces prior to the outbreak of the Boshin War where he played a major role in leading the campaigns against the Tokugawa forces. After the Restoration, he played key roles in both the Tosa and national governments. He resigned from the Meiji government in protest of the decision not to go to war with Korea, but subsequently returned to government and held various cabinet posts until his retirement in 1900.

Katsu　Kaishu　(勝海舟）
Other name: Katsu Rintaro (勝燐太郎)
Born: 1823
Died: 1899
Born into a Tokugawa hatamoto family, young Kaishu attended classes in Western studies and then studied naval science from the Dutch naval detachment in Nagasaki. Kaishu rose in rank to become commissioner of the Tokugawa navy and captained Japan’s first cross-Pacific journey to San Francisco. Kaishu believed that Japan’s future was best served to open itself to the world and this put his life in jeopardy at the hands of Japan’s pro-Imperial, anti-foreign radicals. Originally intent on cutting down Kaishu, Ryoma became hooked on Kaishu’s vision for Japan and became his leading disciple. Kaishu protected the outlaw Ryoma and other ronin in a naval academy that Kaishu established in Kobe and installed Ryoma as its head. Kaishu also surrendered Edo to pro-Imperial forces without resistance in order to avoid catastrophic losses of life and property. Kaishu went on to serve as naval commissioner in the Meiji period until his retirement from public life.

Kido　Koin　(木戸考允）
Other Name:　Katsura　Kogoro　(桂小五郎)
Born: 1833
Died: 1877
A pro-Imperial loyalist from Choshu, he played a major role in shaping the course of the Meiji Restoration as the chief negotiator for Choshu in the military alliance that was forged with Satsuma with the help of Ryoma. Kido was one of the more prominent radicals that were targeted by the pro-Bakufu forces. Although supposed to be at the Ikedaya the night of the famous raid led by the Shinsengumi, Kido was tipped off by his geisha lover that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the loyalist meeting on that fateful night. He spent the next few days hiding incognito as a beggar. Kido went on to serve the Meiji government

Nagaoka　Kenkichi (長岡謙吉)
Other Name: (長岡洵)
Born: 1834
Died: 1872
A Tosa samurai, he was studying medicine in Nagasaki when he met Ryoma and joined the Kaientai, becoming its secretary. Nagaoka had a helping hand in drafting the Eight Point Plan. Nagaoka was also known to be very anti-Christian.

Nakaoka Shintaro　(中岡新太郎)
Born: 1838
Died: 1867
A village headman (shoya) from Tosa with the right to carry two swords, Nakaoka was very active in the loyalist movement. A friend and associate of Ryoma, Nakaoaka assisted in efforts to bring Choshu and Satsuma together in their anti-Bakufu alliance. Nakaoka sustained fatal injuries during the assassination of Ryoma, with whom he was staying, at their hideout in the storehouse of the Omiya, a soy seller’s shop in the Kawaramachi district of Kyoto. Although he lingered for two days before succumbing to his wounds, Nakaoka was unable to positively identify his and Ryoma’s assassins.

Saigo Takamori　(西郷隆盛）
Born: 1828
Died: 1877
The military leader of Satsuma during the waning days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Saigo played a pivotal role in the restoration of Imperial rule to Japan. While his daimyo, Shimazu Hisamitsu tended to vacillate on his position regarding supporting the Shogunate or not, Saigo was resolute in his hatred of the Tokugawa regime and was determined to completely crush Tokugawa power at almost any cost. Saigo was one of Ryoma’s closest allies and friends, but some historians have speculated that he may have had a hand in Ryoma’s assassination by leaking the location of Ryoma’s hideout to Bakufu officials. The logic behind this speculation is that Saigo deemed that Ryoma would be a formidable roadblock in his plan to crush the Tokugawa. Believe it or not…Saigo went on to become the commander-in-chief of the Meiji army, laying the groundwork for what became the modern Imperial Japanese Army. Saigo left the government in 1873 and died leading the Satsuma Rebellion against the government he helped to establish.

Takasugi Shinsaku　(高杉晋作)
Born: 1839
Died: 1867
A militant Choshu loyalist, Takasugi is credited with forming the first modern non-samurai fighting force in Japanese history, allowing commoners to bear arms. This militia unit was known as the Kihetai, and under Takasugi’s leadership, the unit played a pivotal role in defeating the pro-Tokugawa conservative faction with Choshu during its mini-civil war in 1865. He also successfully led this unit against the Bakufu-sponsored expedition to punish Choshu for its part in attacking the Imperial Palace’s Hamaguri Gate. Neither blade nor bullet brought Takasugi down, but rather it was illness that ended his short life before he could see his goal of the Imperial Restoration realized.

Takechi　Zuizan　(武市瑞山半平太)
Other Name: Takechi Hanpeita (武市半平太）
Born: 1829
Died: 1865
Low ranking Tosa samurai (goshi) who used his influence as a master swordsman to recruit anti-Bakufu members for his Tosa Loyalist Party. Takechi used the Tosa Loyalist Party to launch horrific assassinations of pro-Bakufu proponents, such as Tosa minister Yoshida Toyo in 1862. Takechi was a close friend of Ryoma, but after Ryoma fled Tosa in 1862, he began to distance himself from the intrigue and violence that Takechi plotted. Takechi also masterminded many of the tenchu (heaven’s revenge) attacks in Kyoto up through 1864. As the power of Takechi’s Tosa Loyalist Party grew, Yamauchi Yodo, leader of Tosa, felt compelled to give Takechi a greater say in han politics, however, unknown to Takechi, Yodo suspected him of orchestrating Yoshida’s assassination and slowly drew the increasingly arrogant Takechi into the snare. Takechi was subsequently arrested and forced to commit seppuku.

Yamauchi Toyoshige (山内豊信）
Other Name: Yamauchi Yodo (山内容堂）
Born: 1827
Died: 1872
This hard-drinking, hard-thinking Lord of Tosa was one of the most respected men during the Bakumatsu period. Although a staunch supporter of the Tokugawa, Yodo read the times correctly and shifted his allegiance to the restoration of Imperial Rule. Although forced into retirement in 1859 during the Ansei Purge, Yodo still managed to control Han politics until he retired completely from politics and fettered away his remaining days drinking heavily until his death in 1872. Although he never met Ryoma, it was Yodo who passed on Ryoma’s memorial to Shogun Yoshinobu, urging the Shogun to resign peacefully and cede political control back to the throne, which he did.

Yoshida　Toyo　(吉田東洋)
Other Name: Yoshida Genkichi (吉田元吉)
Born: 1816
Died: 1862
Yoshida was Tosa daimyo Yamauchi Yodo’s most trusted and reformed-minded minister and was quite influential on other upcoming Tosa leaders such as Goto Shojiro and Itagaki Taisuke. By remaining loyal to the Bakufu, Yoshida drew the wrath of Takechi Zuizan and his Tosa Loyalist Party, and as a result, was assassinated on his way home from Kochi castle.

==References==
Hillsborough, Romulus. RYOMA- Life of a Renaissance Samurai. Ridgeback Press, 1999
Jansen, Marius B. Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration. Columbia University Press, 1994.

[Tatsunoshi]

Very nice! Thanks for all the work!

[shikisoku]

Obenjo-san Otsukare~.

[Wave Tossed]

Thank you very much, Oben-san!

Maybe we can actually get this discussion focused once again on Sakamoto Ryoma. Or at least focused on the loyalist side.

It seems that the Shinsengumi discussion is still continuing. Perhaps the Shinsengumi topics need to be moved to the Bakumatsu forum. Shogun-san?
_________________
"Walk the thousand mile road, step by step" -- Miyamoto Musashi

[heron]

[Obenjo Kusanosuke]

Thanks everybody!!!

Please feel free to let me know by PM if you find any errors (I'll be putting this stuff on the SA Wiki later) or want any additions added and I'll take care of it.

Shikisoku- your suggestion for a mini-bio topic from a couple of weeks ago will be added- I just don't want to add it to the list *now*. You'll understand later.