Ryoma Sakamoto

Ryoma was a visionary who envisioned a Japan without any feudal trappings. He read about and was inspired by the example of the United States where "all men are created equal." He realized that in order to compete with an industrially and technologically advanced outside world, the Japanese people must modernize to avoid being colonized or carved up into "spheres of influence" like China. He was also seen as an interesting anomaly in his preference for traditional samurai dress, while favoring western footwear.