The Statue of Ryoma Sakamoto
The background to the establishment of the bronze statue of Ryoma Sakamoto
This bronze statue presents an eternal image of Ryoma Sakamoto, a man of the sea who lived a life of strength and courage.
Sakamoto founded the "Kaientai", and established the Sastuma-Choshu alliance and,
until the restoration of the monarchy with the Shogun's return to power, his life of 33 years was stained with the blood of his murderous blade.
Sakamoto's “Eight Policies for a New National System” (Senchu Hassaku) became important pillars of a new Japan.
Sakamoto's vision inspired the next generation.
In the latter years of the Taisho era (1912-1926) the youth of the prefecture promoted a plan to erect a bronze statue of Sakamoto.
Its unveiling ceremony was held on May 27, 1928.
The initial funds for the construction were raised by the young people of the prefecture.
However, the project was also supported by an old comrade of Ryoma Sakamoto, the Count Mitsuaki Tanaka, and a further donation was made by the 25 year old Prince Chichibu.
This made Sakamoto's supporters even more excited.
The statue, comprising a 5.3m body and 8m base, was made by well-known sculptor and local resident Motoyama Hakuun, for a total cost of 25,000 yen.
The warship Hamakaze layed anchor beneath the statue on the day of the unveiling to celebrate the occasion.
The statue, a symbol of youth and built with their support, will continue to inspire young people, especially on rain and windy days.
Fifty-five years after its construction, the Kochi Prefecture Youth Association undertook restoration of the badly damaged base of the statue and celebrated completion on the 20th of March 1983 at Katsurahama Beach.
The restoration was funded by individual donations of 100 yen from Sakamoto fans in and outside of the prefecture.
The 5,734,195 yen raised well exceeded the initial target.
The bronze statue of Ryoma Sakamoto was built by the youths of the Meiji era (1868-1912), then restored and revived by the youths of the Showa era (1926–1989).
With the slogan, "We want to keep Ryoma's spirit alive forever," the hope is that this will be passed on from one young generation to another.
It has been 70 years since the statue was first erected on Katsurahama beach.
On the occasion of its 70th birthday, a group of volunteers formed a committee to restore the statue, saying, "We don't want to lose Japan or Ryoma”.
As at the time of its initial erection, a large amount of money was once again raised by Ryoma lovers (this time a total of 59,414,590 yen).
And, on the 28th of March 1999, the newly restored and reinforced statue of Ryoma once again looked out over the Pacific Ocean.