Kamigoto 4: Ryoma Memorial Park

Commemorating shipwrecked Wild Wave off Kamigoto Island

Takako Sakamoto Mar 26, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>The statue of Sakamoto Ryoma I love! He joins his hands together in prayer for the lost friends he worked with at Kameyama-Shachu, the first company in Japan he founded in 1865</p>

<p>Stone monument in Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Park</p>

<p>The statue of Sakamoto Ryoma is on the hilltop overlooking the sea where he lost his friends</p>

<p>The great view from Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Park</p>

<p>The plaque explaining the shipwrecked 'Wild Wave'</p>

<p>Front view of the stone monument in Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Park</p>

<p>It's just my opinion, but I think this is one of the best statues of Sakamoto Ryoma in Japan</p>

<p>The sign explaining the park and the statue of Ryoma. This statue was created by a sculptor from Nagasaki, Mr. Kazukuni Yamazaki, who also created Ryoma's boots in Kameyama-Shachu Park and the arch gate in Glover Garden in Nagasaki</p>

<p>Rocky shoreline near Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Park</p>

<p>You can go down to the rocky shore from the park</p>

One of Japan's most famous and beloved heroes, Sakamoto Ryoma, one of the leading revolutionaries at the end of the Edo period, is my hero, too. Yes, I'm a big fan, but I didn't know that there was a statue of him on Kamigoto Island! It stands in Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Park, which was built to commemorate the 'Wild Wave', the ship Ryoma bought from the famous Scottish merchant Mr. Glover, which was shipwrecked off the coast of this island on the way to Satsuma (present day Kagoshima). Ryoma later visited the island and prayed for his lost friends. Of course, I enjoyed the unexpected meeting with my hero on this faraway island!

For more on Ryoma, see my Searching for Ryoma Sakamoto series.

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...