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Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai
The founder of Japan’s first modern corporation was a swaggering swordsman who packed a Smith and Wesson, an outlaw who led a band of samurai to overthrow the shogun, and one of the most colorful figures in Japanese history. His name was Ryoma, which is the title of the only biographical novel of Japan's greatest samurai in English.
This is the authentic story of Ryoma's key role in Japan’s bloody revolution, by which the country was transformed from a land ruled by feudal lords and samurai, under the hegemony of the shogun, into a modern industrialized nation under the unifying rule of the Emperor.
Mid-19th-century Japan was a caldron of political upheaval and intrigue and bloody inner-fighting among samurai. This most enthralling age in the annals of Japan brought forth some of the most fascinating men in that nation’s history. Those men modernized Japan, and laid the foundation for the militarism of WWII and the economic powerhouse of today. This close look into the hearts and minds of those two-sworded men provides a deep insight into the political, cultural, and psychological roots of modern Japan.
This is the authentic story of Ryoma's key role in Japan’s bloody revolution, by which the country was transformed from a land ruled by feudal lords and samurai, under the hegemony of the shogun, into a modern industrialized nation under the unifying rule of the Emperor.
Mid-19th-century Japan was a caldron of political upheaval and intrigue and bloody inner-fighting among samurai. This most enthralling age in the annals of Japan brought forth some of the most fascinating men in that nation’s history. Those men modernized Japan, and laid the foundation for the militarism of WWII and the economic powerhouse of today. This close look into the hearts and minds of those two-sworded men provides a deep insight into the political, cultural, and psychological roots of modern Japan.
614 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1999
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About the author
Romulus Hillsborough
14 books43 followersRomulus Hillsborough is a leading Western authority on the political upheaval and samurai active in the Meiji Restoration of 19th-century Japan. His fascination with this history has spanned over four decades, including sixteen years living in Japan, where he conducted original research and interviews with descendants of samurai.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai, Samurai Revolution, and Samurai Assassins, as well as the forthcoming Samurai Swordsmen: The Definitive History of the Shinsengumi (Helion, 2026). His work has been praised for its narrative style, historical accuracy, and deep cultural insight.
Hillsborough holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Humanities. A longtime practitioner of traditional Japanese martial arts, he has trained in Shotokan karate for over five decades under Tsutomu Ohshima — founder of Shotokan Karate of America and direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate — bringing a rare, lived connection to the samurai spirit and its enduring legacy.
He also provides historical consulting on Bakumatsu–Meiji Restoration history and related samurai-era topics to authors, editors, publishers, documentarians, producers, screenwriters, translators, and other professionals seeking authoritative guidance.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai, Samurai Revolution, and Samurai Assassins, as well as the forthcoming Samurai Swordsmen: The Definitive History of the Shinsengumi (Helion, 2026). His work has been praised for its narrative style, historical accuracy, and deep cultural insight.
Hillsborough holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Humanities. A longtime practitioner of traditional Japanese martial arts, he has trained in Shotokan karate for over five decades under Tsutomu Ohshima — founder of Shotokan Karate of America and direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate — bringing a rare, lived connection to the samurai spirit and its enduring legacy.
He also provides historical consulting on Bakumatsu–Meiji Restoration history and related samurai-era topics to authors, editors, publishers, documentarians, producers, screenwriters, translators, and other professionals seeking authoritative guidance.
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October 23, 2018
ประวัติศาสตร์ญี่ปุ่นยุคปฏิรูปเมจิ สนุกไม่แพ้ยุคเซนโกคุเลยทีเดียว
ในกว่า 1,400 หน้า ของ “เรียวมะ: ซามูไรผู้นำการเปลี่ยนแปลง” ไม่ได้แค่เล่าถึงแค่ซาคาโมโตะ เรียวมะ คนเดียวเท่านั้น หนังสือเล่มนี้ยังมีเนื้อหาที่กล่าวถึงบุคคลสำคัญทางประวัติศาสตร์ญี่ปุ่นที่เข้าสู่ยุคปฏิรูปเมจิอย่างออกรส
เป็นความยอดเยี่ยมของผู้เขียน ที่เลือกเล่าเรื่องประวัติศาสตร์ที่เข้มข้นที่สุดช่วงหนึ่งของญี่ปุ่นออกมาในรูปบทนิยายประวัติศาสตร์ ภายใต้ตัวเอกอย่างเรียวมะ ไม่งั้นคงไม่สามารถตรึงคนอ่านเอาไว้จนหมดเล่มเป็นแน่
จริงอยู่ที่ได้เห็นการเทิดทูนชื่นชมบุคคลอย่างเรียวมะ และเพื่อนร่วมอุดมการณ์ที่มีสายตายาวไกลอยู่บ่อยครั้ง ตามแบบฉบับหนังสือประวัติศาสตร์ที่ถูกถ่ายทอดผ่านการตีความ และให้คุณค่าของผู้เขียน ซึ่งทำให้ผู้อ่านได้เห็นคำยกย่องเชิดชูบุคคลหลายคนอยู่เนืองๆ และถ่ายทอดออกมาในแบบนิยายที่มีพระเอกชัดเจน
แต่นั่นไม่ได้ทำให้อรรถรสในการอ่านนิยายประวัติศาสตร์เล่มนี้ลดลงไปเลย มันยิ่งทำให้สนุกน่าติดตาม แถมลุ้นไปกับพระเอก ที่เรารู้เป็นอย่างดีว่าจะต้องตายในท้ายเล่ม
เราได้เห็นวิสัยทัศน์อันน่าทึ่งของเรียวมะ ที่ก้าวพ้นกรอบของวัฒนธรรม สังคม และชนชั้น ในยุคสมัยที่คนถือดาบเดินเต็มบ้านเต็มเมือง และพร้อมจะตัดหัวคนที่ชนชั้นต่ำกว่าได้อย่างไม่ยี่หระ
เรียวมะไปเอาวิสัยทัศน์ที่ล้ำสมัยขนาดนี้มาจากไหน?
ต้องกล่าวได้ว่าคุณลักษณะอ่านมาก ฟังมาก และเปิดใจของเรียวมะ เป็นหน้าต่างวิสัยทัศน์อย่างแท้จริง
นอกจากนี้ ประโยคที่ว่า "การปฏิวัติต้องมาจากชนชั้นล่าง" ยังคงใช้ได้เสมอไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในบริบทของตะวันตกหรือตะวันออก
เวลาที่มีผู้กล่าวถึงการปฏิวัติเมจิอันโด่งดัง มักจะพ่วงตามเสมอว่าเป็น bloodless revolution ซึ่งอันที่จริงแล้วไม่ใช่เลย
ยังมีซามูไรผู้รักชาติหลายคนที่สูญเสียชีวิตไปเพื่ออุดมการณ์ปฏิวัติ
ซาคาโมโตะ เรียวมะ เป็นหนึ่งในนั้น
หนังสือเล่มนี้ ทำให้เห็นพลังความมุ่งมั่น แน่วแน่ตามแบบฉบับคนที่จะเปลี่ยนยุคสมัยได้ด้วยมือของตนเอง พอจะช่วยเติมฟืนในกองไฟภายในจิตใจของคนที่กำลังท้อได้อย่างดี
โรมูลุส ฮิลล์สโบโรห์ เขียนหนังสือเล่มนี้ได้อย่างดีเยี่ยม
วิภาดา กิตติโกวิท แปลถ่ายทอดเป็นภาษาไทยได้อย่างไม่มีที่ติ
เรียวมะ คือผู้นำการ revolution ของญี่ปุ่นที่แท้จริง และหนังสือเล่มนี้ควรค่าแก่การอ่านเป็นอย่างยิ่ง
ในกว่า 1,400 หน้า ของ “เรียวมะ: ซามูไรผู้นำการเปลี่ยนแปลง” ไม่ได้แค่เล่าถึงแค่ซาคาโมโตะ เรียวมะ คนเดียวเท่านั้น หนังสือเล่มนี้ยังมีเนื้อหาที่กล่าวถึงบุคคลสำคัญทางประวัติศาสตร์ญี่ปุ่นที่เข้าสู่ยุคปฏิรูปเมจิอย่างออกรส
เป็นความยอดเยี่ยมของผู้เขียน ที่เลือกเล่าเรื่องประวัติศาสตร์ที่เข้มข้นที่สุดช่วงหนึ่งของญี่ปุ่นออกมาในรูปบทนิยายประวัติศาสตร์ ภายใต้ตัวเอกอย่างเรียวมะ ไม่งั้นคงไม่สามารถตรึงคนอ่านเอาไว้จนหมดเล่มเป็นแน่
จริงอยู่ที่ได้เห็นการเทิดทูนชื่นชมบุคคลอย่างเรียวมะ และเพื่อนร่วมอุดมการณ์ที่มีสายตายาวไกลอยู่บ่อยครั้ง ตามแบบฉบับหนังสือประวัติศาสตร์ที่ถูกถ่ายทอดผ่านการตีความ และให้คุณค่าของผู้เขียน ซึ่งทำให้ผู้อ่านได้เห็นคำยกย่องเชิดชูบุคคลหลายคนอยู่เนืองๆ และถ่ายทอดออกมาในแบบนิยายที่มีพระเอกชัดเจน
แต่นั่นไม่ได้ทำให้อรรถรสในการอ่านนิยายประวัติศาสตร์เล่มนี้ลดลงไปเลย มันยิ่งทำให้สนุกน่าติดตาม แถมลุ้นไปกับพระเอก ที่เรารู้เป็นอย่างดีว่าจะต้องตายในท้ายเล่ม
เราได้เห็นวิสัยทัศน์อันน่าทึ่งของเรียวมะ ที่ก้าวพ้นกรอบของวัฒนธรรม สังคม และชนชั้น ในยุคสมัยที่คนถือดาบเดินเต็มบ้านเต็มเมือง และพร้อมจะตัดหัวคนที่ชนชั้นต่ำกว่าได้อย่างไม่ยี่หระ
เรียวมะไปเอาวิสัยทัศน์ที่ล้ำสมัยขนาดนี้มาจากไหน?
ต้องกล่าวได้ว่าคุณลักษณะอ่านมาก ฟังมาก และเปิดใจของเรียวมะ เป็นหน้าต่างวิสัยทัศน์อย่างแท้จริง
นอกจากนี้ ประโยคที่ว่า "การปฏิวัติต้องมาจากชนชั้นล่าง" ยังคงใช้ได้เสมอไม่ว่าจะอยู่ในบริบทของตะวันตกหรือตะวันออก
เวลาที่มีผู้กล่าวถึงการปฏิวัติเมจิอันโด่งดัง มักจะพ่วงตามเสมอว่าเป็น bloodless revolution ซึ่งอันที่จริงแล้วไม่ใช่เลย
ยังมีซามูไรผู้รักชาติหลายคนที่สูญเสียชีวิตไปเพื่ออุดมการณ์ปฏิวัติ
ซาคาโมโตะ เรียวมะ เป็นหนึ่งในนั้น
หนังสือเล่มนี้ ทำให้เห็นพลังความมุ่งมั่น แน่วแน่ตามแบบฉบับคนที่จะเปลี่ยนยุคสมัยได้ด้วยมือของตนเอง พอจะช่วยเติมฟืนในกองไฟภายในจิตใจของคนที่กำลังท้อได้อย่างดี
โรมูลุส ฮิลล์สโบโรห์ เขียนหนังสือเล่มนี้ได้อย่างดีเยี่ยม
วิภาดา กิตติโกวิท แปลถ่ายทอดเป็นภาษาไทยได้อย่างไม่มีที่ติ
เรียวมะ คือผู้นำการ revolution ของญี่ปุ่นที่แท้จริง และหนังสือเล่มนี้ควรค่าแก่การอ่านเป็นอย่างยิ่ง
January 24, 2022
The life of Sakamoto Ryoma (and the entire era he lived in, for that matter) provides ample material for a good story - one that is, alas, almost entirely unknown in the West. As it is an era I personally find absolutely fascinating, Hillsborough's various books on the Bakumatsu era have been a godsend given how little there is published about these historical figures and events in English otherwise. While his other books stick firmly to the non-fiction genre, this first work of his can't quite decide whether it's biographical fiction or straight up biography and occupies a space that is somewhere inbetween. If you're looking for a strictly fact-based history book, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a gorgeously imagined piece of historical fiction, the same. If, however, you simply want to learn about Ryoma, his life, accomplishments and violent death, you're in the right place.
February 9, 2008
Good lord, that took a long time....
Prior to this, I read about the Shinsengumi, the all-powerful police squad of Kyoto at the end of the Edo period. They fought for the Shogun, and would kill anyone they could find to protect the status quo. Unfortunately for them, they were on the losing side. So, I thought I'd take a look at the man who pissed them off oh so much....
If he hadn't been Japanese, Sakamoto Ryoma would have been an ideal model of the American Dream. He was born to a poor family that had bought its way into samurai status only a couple of generations before. When he was a kid, people thought he was kind of slow and useless, and never thought he'd amount to anything. He was terrible in school, and so his father enrolled him in a school for sword fighting, where he found his passion.
He was a damn good swordsman, and quickly became qualified to open his own dojo. By this point, it looked like Sakamoto Ryoma would have been simply another famous name in the annals of Japanese swordsmanship.
And then the Americans came, and all hell broke loose.
The shogunate, knowing it was outgunned by the Americans, agreed to let them in, a decision that sent shockwaves around Japan. A political world that had been fairly simple to live in - a hierarchical system in which the Shogun was at the top of one's loyalty chain and the Emperor was someone about whom one did not even think - became so complex that "Byzantine" doesn't even begin to describe it. Webs were spun, and within instants, there were factions who wanted a thousand different things for the future. The simplest of these, and the one that Ryoma and other lower samurai from his home region latched on to at first, was simple: Throw out the foreigners and throw down the Shogun.
Luckily for Japan, Ryoma was not stupid enough to follow that path for too long. He was a bright guy, who quickly saw what needed to be done. With the help of other progressive thinkers, both within and outside the Shogunate, Ryoma decided that the survival of Japan was more important than that of the Shogunate or any individual clan or region. And in order to save Japan, they'd have to let the barbarians in.
His plan was simple, really: learn from the West, build a navy, buy weapons, and form a western-style democracy. Only then, with Japan standing as a strong modern nation, would it be able to deal with the outsiders, to say nothing of avoiding subjugation by them. Ryoma had learned from the lessons of China and India, and knew that infighting within the various factions was a sure road to being invaded and colonized by France or Britain.
A simple plan. The only problem was that no one wanted any part of it. And so it became Ryoma's job to run across the country, cajoling, convincing and reasoning with the country's great powers, all while staying one step ahead of the law - he was a fugitive from his region, an executable offense, and he rose to the top of the Shogun's most wanted with undue haste....
It's a neat story, if really long. Hillsborough has used an interesting style, though, that I'm still not sure I really like. It's a kind of novelized biography. While I'm sure that his facts are solid - countless books have been written about Sakamoto Ryoma and he's considered one of the founding fathers of modern Japan - he tries to make the story more... story-like by dramatizing events. Writing dialogue with action and inflection that he could only have known by being there. Ryoma roars and pounds the floor with his fist a lot. In fact, pre-Meiji Japan seems like a very noisy place, what with all the yelling and roaring and pounding and high officials shouting, "Impertinence!" every time someone set a foot wrong....
Like I said, I'm sure he didn't make up anything important, but it still gives me a lingering feeling of doubt. By turning Ryoma into a character for his novel, Hillsborough displays his bias, and nothing is more deadly to history than bias. He portrays Ryoma as a kind of genius puppetmaster, twitching strings here and there until he got what he wanted, which kind of demeans the contributions of many other people without whom Sakamoto Ryoma would have died years before he was finally assassinated.
On to my third "Japan in Transition" book, which is much shorter and by a man with a less interesting name....
Prior to this, I read about the Shinsengumi, the all-powerful police squad of Kyoto at the end of the Edo period. They fought for the Shogun, and would kill anyone they could find to protect the status quo. Unfortunately for them, they were on the losing side. So, I thought I'd take a look at the man who pissed them off oh so much....
If he hadn't been Japanese, Sakamoto Ryoma would have been an ideal model of the American Dream. He was born to a poor family that had bought its way into samurai status only a couple of generations before. When he was a kid, people thought he was kind of slow and useless, and never thought he'd amount to anything. He was terrible in school, and so his father enrolled him in a school for sword fighting, where he found his passion.
He was a damn good swordsman, and quickly became qualified to open his own dojo. By this point, it looked like Sakamoto Ryoma would have been simply another famous name in the annals of Japanese swordsmanship.
And then the Americans came, and all hell broke loose.
The shogunate, knowing it was outgunned by the Americans, agreed to let them in, a decision that sent shockwaves around Japan. A political world that had been fairly simple to live in - a hierarchical system in which the Shogun was at the top of one's loyalty chain and the Emperor was someone about whom one did not even think - became so complex that "Byzantine" doesn't even begin to describe it. Webs were spun, and within instants, there were factions who wanted a thousand different things for the future. The simplest of these, and the one that Ryoma and other lower samurai from his home region latched on to at first, was simple: Throw out the foreigners and throw down the Shogun.
Luckily for Japan, Ryoma was not stupid enough to follow that path for too long. He was a bright guy, who quickly saw what needed to be done. With the help of other progressive thinkers, both within and outside the Shogunate, Ryoma decided that the survival of Japan was more important than that of the Shogunate or any individual clan or region. And in order to save Japan, they'd have to let the barbarians in.
His plan was simple, really: learn from the West, build a navy, buy weapons, and form a western-style democracy. Only then, with Japan standing as a strong modern nation, would it be able to deal with the outsiders, to say nothing of avoiding subjugation by them. Ryoma had learned from the lessons of China and India, and knew that infighting within the various factions was a sure road to being invaded and colonized by France or Britain.
A simple plan. The only problem was that no one wanted any part of it. And so it became Ryoma's job to run across the country, cajoling, convincing and reasoning with the country's great powers, all while staying one step ahead of the law - he was a fugitive from his region, an executable offense, and he rose to the top of the Shogun's most wanted with undue haste....
It's a neat story, if really long. Hillsborough has used an interesting style, though, that I'm still not sure I really like. It's a kind of novelized biography. While I'm sure that his facts are solid - countless books have been written about Sakamoto Ryoma and he's considered one of the founding fathers of modern Japan - he tries to make the story more... story-like by dramatizing events. Writing dialogue with action and inflection that he could only have known by being there. Ryoma roars and pounds the floor with his fist a lot. In fact, pre-Meiji Japan seems like a very noisy place, what with all the yelling and roaring and pounding and high officials shouting, "Impertinence!" every time someone set a foot wrong....
Like I said, I'm sure he didn't make up anything important, but it still gives me a lingering feeling of doubt. By turning Ryoma into a character for his novel, Hillsborough displays his bias, and nothing is more deadly to history than bias. He portrays Ryoma as a kind of genius puppetmaster, twitching strings here and there until he got what he wanted, which kind of demeans the contributions of many other people without whom Sakamoto Ryoma would have died years before he was finally assassinated.
On to my third "Japan in Transition" book, which is much shorter and by a man with a less interesting name....
January 12, 2019
I really enjoyed reading about Sakamoto Ryoma! He's one of those historical figures that I've heard a lot about but just have never really gotten that much of a chance to learn all that much about him which is a pity because he's such a fascinating figure. I hope to be doing a historical research project about him and his contributions to the overthrowing of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the coming months and I'm sure that I'll be coming back to reference this book a lot!
I've read some reviews from people who did not enjoy the way that the book was written, saying that the formatting felt weird and/or off to them but personally I really enjoyed it. I can understand why some people might not enjoy it, especially if they were not expecting it but I felt that it worked well and that it made it easier to read and to enjoy.
I've spent a good amount of time studying the Sengoku era of Japanese history but I think that I'll have to study some more of Japan in the 19th century now, after reading this book!
I've read some reviews from people who did not enjoy the way that the book was written, saying that the formatting felt weird and/or off to them but personally I really enjoyed it. I can understand why some people might not enjoy it, especially if they were not expecting it but I felt that it worked well and that it made it easier to read and to enjoy.
I've spent a good amount of time studying the Sengoku era of Japanese history but I think that I'll have to study some more of Japan in the 19th century now, after reading this book!
October 10, 2014
This was really disappointing. I read Hillsborough's accounts of the Shinsengumi and while his style was not particularly academic, it was engaging and offered lots of little annecdotes. This book is quite different and seems to have no idea what it wants to be: is it a history book or a novel.
The author has chosen to show all the characters conversing with each other. He has imagined the conversations that inspired the ideas behind the revolution. I wouldn't have minded were the book actually being sold as a novel, but it's sold as a non-fiction book and it doesn't even try to be aquality work of fiction. The conversations are extraordinarily dry and the characters merely exchange facts and often repeat themselves. Surely this would have been better written as a factual account?
As it is, it fails on both levels. I'm disappointed to say that i had to give up after the first few chapters.
The author has chosen to show all the characters conversing with each other. He has imagined the conversations that inspired the ideas behind the revolution. I wouldn't have minded were the book actually being sold as a novel, but it's sold as a non-fiction book and it doesn't even try to be aquality work of fiction. The conversations are extraordinarily dry and the characters merely exchange facts and often repeat themselves. Surely this would have been better written as a factual account?
As it is, it fails on both levels. I'm disappointed to say that i had to give up after the first few chapters.
August 9, 2015
This book was cataloged as non-fiction and, as far as I can tell, seems to be sold that way, too. It's really not. There are a lot of (poorly written) conversations that can't possibly come from the historical record. The book fails as a novel, too, by having long passages that fit better with a non-fiction book, discussing events the characters weren't involved in and analyzing historical trends.
It's unfortunate that Hillsborough seems to be the only person writing in detail about this particular period and these people in English.
It's unfortunate that Hillsborough seems to be the only person writing in detail about this particular period and these people in English.
September 17, 2020
The book that got me interested in the bakumatsu era some 20 years ago now .
Still great and well worth reading
Still great and well worth reading
Want to read
December 26, 2025How could the author claim that this book is not the plagiarism of Shiba Ryotaro's Ryoma ga iku (there goes Ryoma), which is a novel with a lot of Shiba's historical analyses and anecdotes thrown in. I have not yet read this book completely, but the last few pages, on how Ryoma died, is the exact copy of very famous Shiba Ryotaro's book's ending. I have to read this book along with Shiba's book to compare on page by page basis.
I didn't know that there is now an English version of Shiba's book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Isn't there somebody who did the comparison?
I didn't know that there is now an English version of Shiba's book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Isn't there somebody who did the comparison?
Read
February 24, 2014Wonderful read! Amazing historical reconstruction.
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