Book Review: "Ryoma"
A Literary Biography by Romulus Hillsborough

Review by Adrian Ko

Recently a poll was taken among two hundred financial leaders and businessmen in Japan. They were asked: if there were one man from Japan's great history who could guide you - and Japan - out of the current financial crisis, who would you have by your side? The unanimous vote surrounded a nineteenth-century outlaw-samurai. His name was Sakamoto Ryoma.

Virtually unheard of outside of Japan, the name of Sakamoto Rymoa invokes a powerful current of emotion within Japanese culture. Those of us in the West may identify with great men of humble beginnings and great achievements such as Churchill or Roosevelt. Ryoma is no less a hero, and his path to the paramount changes of Japan were not due to his lineage or political affluence but his mere strength of character and inward convictions, personal focus and ability to overcome fear of change - such are qualities graspable by even the common man and, moreover, any of us today - and this is what makes Romulous Hillsborough's literary biography not only so enjoyable but opens the opportunity for us outside of Japanese culture to identify with one of the pinnacle architects of modern Japan.

Hillsborough carries us through the pre-Meiji Restoration (1867) era, from the humble beginnings of Ryoma's youth and growth as a lower-samurai, to the tumultous times of political intrigue between the Togukawa Shogunate and the Imperial Court, and Ryoma's finest moments where his humble steps changed the course of Japanese history, guiding Japan into the modern world and becoming an effective military power. The reader is immediately immersed into a splendid environment where Japan of the mid-1800's suddenly becomes alive. The author conveys the pandemonium politics, the puissance of poetry, and the heights of drama and occasional humor in a way that there is no sense of loss to a Western readership. The characters seem alive, the situations real, and death by a blade imminent.

"Ryoma" reads like a novel. The book was simply fantastic, and dramatic enough to keep the reader on the edge of his seat, anticipating the danger, making him eager for more, or even laughing at some humorous moments. While Japanese names are sometimes difficult for those unfamiliar with Japanese culture, Hillsborough provides period photographs of key characters to allow the beginner to - at least in part - keep track of "who's who". Where the book could improve is embellishing on this valuable resource. However, "Ryoma" is a splendid intimiate tutorial of late nineteenth-century Japanese culture and history.

Many historical biographies written in a literary format are entertaining. Very few are such that you are a different person after you have read them. I cannot recommend "Ryoma" more highly.

Hardback. 639 pages.

List price: $40.00
ISBN: 0-9667401-7-3
Available online at barnesandnoble.com (discount 30%, as of May 11, 1999), Borders.com, or Amazon.com, at bookstores, or directly from Ridgeback Press (415-841-0508).

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