06/13/2026
From Marius Jansen's Pages to Kochi's Streets: Visiting the Hometown of Sakamoto Ryōma
--- by Julius Yan/Laurus Travel
Some trips are motivated by scenery, food, or business. My visit to Kochi has a different purpose: to spend time in the hometown of Sakamoto Ryōma, one of the most influential figures in the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the dawn of the Meiji Restoration.
Kochi has been on my list for years. Much of that interest stems from reading "Sakamoto Ryōma & the Meiji Restoration" by Marius B. Jansen. Jansen remains one of my favourite historians, and his account of Ryōma's life sparked a fascination that has stayed with me ever since.
I only spent one night in Kochi, but I made the most of my time there. Walking through the city, visiting historical sites, and seeing places connected to Ryōma's life gave me a much deeper appreciation for both the man and the era that shaped him. There is something uniquely satisfying about standing in locations that I have previously encountered only through books.
Among the highlights of my visit are Kochi Castle, one of Japan's few surviving original castles, and the striking statue outside Kochi Station depicting Sakamoto Ryōma flanked by two fellow patriots from Tosa: Takechi Hanpeita and Nakaoka Shintarō. Seeing Ryōma standing between them was a powerful reminder that the political transformation of nineteenth-century Japan was the work of a generation of remarkable leaders, thinkers, and activists.
Not every stop lived up to expectations. The small Memorial Museum at Ryōma's Birthplace was underwhelming and, in my view, not essential unless you have too much time. One place I unfortunately did not have time to visit was the Sakamoto Ryōma Memorial Museum near Katsurahama Beach, which many visitors describe as one of Kochi's highlights. I plan to check it out later this year.
What stayed with me most, however, was not a museum or monument but everyday life in Kochi itself. As I wandered through residential neighborhoods, I saw children playing in playgrounds and retirees gathering under trees to chat and play board games. These simple scenes gave the city a warmth and authenticity that no historical site could fully convey.
One unexpected discovery was a large stone monument beside a canal near a residential complex. Its inscription read: 「日中不再戦」—"No more war between Japan and China." Encountering such a message in an otherwise quiet neighborhood was a poignant reminder that history is not confined to books, museums, or famous landmarks. It continues to shape how communities remember the past and imagine the future.
For anyone interested in Japanese history, especially the Bakumatsu era and the events that led to the Meiji Restoration, Kochi is well worth a visit. For me, the trip was an opportunity not only to deepen my understanding of Sakamoto Ryōma, but also to see how the legacy of history lives on in the rhythms, memories, and everyday life of a modern Japanese city.
