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.
