Ryōma Sakamoto

Ryōma Sakamoto is the commonly known alias for a patriot who lived during the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Well liked for his affable charisma and sharp wits, he is best known for mediating the Satchō Alliance and founding and proposing what would later become the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the peak of his political career, however, Ryōma was suddenly assassinated; the perpetrators' identities are unknown and the reasons for the premeditated murder are still argued today.

In Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5, his name is officially spelled as "Ryouma" in English. He acts as the Seiryu of Earth (地の青龍, Chi no Seiryuu) for this continuity's setting. His starting political ideology for this game is open country.

Background Story
Ryouma was born into a family of merchants living within Tosa. Since his mother died when he was young, he was mainly raised by his elder sister, Otome. His family heirloom is the Seiryu talisman, which Ryouma believed was a good luck charm. For as long as he remembered, he had Seiryu's scale next to him and he found himself strangely attached to it. He carried the scale and the talisman with him at all times. Unlike other characters within this continuity, he has two different canonical pasts between the original game and its sequel.

In the original timeline, Ryouma lived a carefree childhood and practiced swordplay early in his youth. When he was about seventeen years old, he wanted to see the world beyond his home and decided to train in Edo at Chiba Dojo. During his stay, he met Yuki, who was introduced to him by his master as a nameless amnesic girl resting in his care. At her request, he dropped proper formalities between them and addressed her as "Princess" (お嬢, ojou). Her frank caring for him and her mysterious familiarity with his personality surprised him. As weeks of training passed, Ryouma considered her a curious oddity. His only priority in Edo was his sword training, but Yuki encouraged him to wander the city and take in the sights.

Between his training sessions, Ryouma took her advice was quickly awestruck by Western culture, particularly the "black ships" and guns. Fearing ridicule from his training partners for his beliefs, Ryouma privately confided his various fascinations to Yuki. He expected her to shun him like everyone else, but he was surprised when she warmly suggested for him to pursue his dreams. Invigorated by her kind words, Ryouma confidently sought to learn more about the foreign world and gave up on his fascination with the sword. Moments after he made this proclamation, however, a distortion of time suddenly enveloped Yuki and dragged her away from him. As she vanished, Yuki told him her name and told him to keep a mysterious shard. If he did, they would meet again.

In Kazahanaki, his first meeting with Yuki is reverted. Instead, it is Ryouma who first wandered into a distortion of time. He was seven years old when he spontaneously found the portal through space-time and lands into the modern world of the future. Alone and unaware of his surroundings, he was saved from harm by a present day Yuki and guided to another portal back to his home and time. Following his elder sister's teachings, Ryouma promised to return the favor someday. She responded they would meet again if he went to Edo when he was old enough to travel and gave him a leather armband to remember her. As they shared a pinky swear, the young Ryouma also swore to someday marry Yuki and start a family with her.

Staying true to his word, a seventeen-year old Ryouma met with Yuki multiple times in Edo. He managed to travel to the city through his sword training and patiently waited for her sporadic yet brief visits at the dojo. Each time they met with one another, Yuki would impart helpful advice to him and helped him forge his social connections in the future. Yet he particularly treasured their first reunion during the summer, amazed that she kept her end of the promise. Judging her by her looks and mannerisms, he fondly nicknamed her "Miss" and wanted to tour the town with her. Students from the dojo prevented his plans, the couple running away to the beach.

During their conversation, Yuki told him she was from another country, which caused him to remember his first encounter with the foreign ships at Edo. He wasn't surprised that the world beyond his home province had created the huge vessels. Feeling that their swords had their limits, Ryouma raised concerns to his district's community to build giant ships of their own and sail the world. Publicly mocked by the other members, he was told to focus to sword training for the glory of Tosa and dismiss the "outside world". Yuki consoled him to have faith in his personal beliefs regardless of scorn, for his dreams for the country was what truly linked them together. Her words motivated Ryouma to further study and improve himself for the future. Before she was sucked into another portal, Ryouma gave back the armband from his childhood in hopes that it would protect her in his stead.

Regardless of the timeline, Ryouma returned to his home after he completed his training and joined the Tosa Loyalist Party, an association of revolutionaries who wished to topple the shogunate. Although he agreed with their cries for change, he felt alienated by their violent and narrow-minded methodology. Through word of mouth, Ryouma learned of the scholar Katsu and was impressed by the scholar's worldly view. In order to study under him, Ryouma chose the life of an exile. Katsu eventually accepted him as his student and suggested additional tutorship under another scholar, Shouzan. Ryouma became friendly acquaintances with Takasugi, Katsura, and Komatsu during his apprenticeship to both scholars.

His brief stint as a revolutionary marked him as a wanted criminal by the government; thus he tries to avoid contact with the Shinsengumi throughout the games' timelines.

Story Events
When Yuki first arrives into the parallel world, she awakens near a forest path at Choushu. Before she can understand her new surroundings, she is assaulted by a vengeful spirit with nothing to defend herself. Ryouma happens to see her plight and defeats the spirit for her. Astonished to be reunited with "Miss" after ten years, he cheerfully greets her and briefly reminiscences about their past. His hopes are deflated when Yuki treats him as a stranger and doesn't recall anything about their past. Though hesitant to associate her as the maiden from his past, Ryouma seeks to help her by informing her of their current surroundings and escorting her to the nearby docks. She regroups with Shun and Miyako, and one of Ryouma's cohorts calls him away for business.

Ryouma arrives in the capital about a year later to visit his friend, Nagaoka. He wished to convince Nagaoka to leave the Tosa Loyalist Party, believing the cycle of bloodshed and revenge the group preaches is futile and impractical. Before meeting Nagaoka, he spots Yuki and company in the streets. He informs them of the parallel world's current events during their absence and briefly accompanies her group; he pardons himself when she goes to meet with the Shinsengumi. While Yuki purifies Suzaku, Ryouma learns of Shouzan's assassination by shogunate supporters. Yuki spots him as he grieves and Ryouma quickly asking her thoughts regarding conflict. Inspired by her pacifistic goal to save the world, he entrusts the Seiryu talisman to her —the first of the four in her possession— before excusing himself to mourn.

He returns to Choushu after the incident to continue his tutorship under Katsu. Two months later, Yuki and company arrive at the same inn he is staying. Katsu gladly permits his student's leave, thus Ryouma travels with Yuki throughout the rest of the timelines. Like the other inhabitants of the parallel world, he accompanies Yuki to the modern world after they obtain the Genbu talisman and learns of the impending doom of both worlds from Sou. Although he wants to help Yuki as her guardian, Ryouma worries for his friends back in his home world and travels back without her. During his absence, he makes peace with Nagaoka and forms a private navy coalition at Nagasaki. He hopes their boats will serve as open-minded explorers and protectors for future Japan.

By the time Yuki and her childhood friends return to the parallel world, a year has passed for Ryouma. From her, he confirms his suspicions of Amami's malevolent intentions and introduces a new place for her group to stay in the capital. He leaves them to finish an urgent errand.

In the original timeline, Ryouma is attacked at the nearby inn, Ikeda-ya, and suffers grave injuries. Otose, the inn's owner and friendly acquaintance, tries to nurse him back to health but he is incapacitated. He gives a concerned Yuki a snack he had bought for her and regretfully asks her to deliver a letter he had written for Komatsu. When Komatsu receives it, Yuki learns the two men are organizing an alliance to topple the shogunate yet a government spy threatens the chances of its success. Despite their efforts, the talks for the alliance crumbles apart. Mere moments after their failure, Katsura tells them grave news of Ryouma's death to Amami's servants.

During the original game's subsequent timelines, Yuki decides to go with Ryouma on his errand and simultaneously reunites with Ernest. Hoping to cut off the source of the agents hunting Ryouma down, Yuki insists that the group patrol the city whilst regrouping with their separated friends. With no leads in the town, she fears the worst, even hopping back to the modern world to research the event. Before the writing in the textbook disappears, she is given Ikeda-ya as a clue and rushes to Ryouma's side to prevent his death. She and her companions save him from undead warriors sent by Amami. With Ryouma safe, he agrees to be Yuki's guardian and fights by her side for the rest of the story. He helps her organize the alliance and is one of the prime figures needed for its success.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5's various timelines are canonically reverted for its sequel. Ryouma's activities for collecting the Four God talismans are the same, yet Kazahanaki diverges by having Yuki and company return to the parallel world two months after obtaining the Genbu talisman rather than a year. At this time, Ryouma is sharing information with Takasugi at Edo. They are interrupted by Yuki and her companions and immediately chosen as her guardians by the dragon gems in her possession. Accepting his new duty without protest, Ryouma convinces Takasugi to relax and join Yuki's party. He continues to organize peace talks with his friends' factions and stays within the parallel world at the end of each timeline.

Personal Routes
In one of the timelines within the original game, Yuki accompanies Ryouma as he tries to convince influential nobles to fund his naval group. He meets with an influential noble-samurai from Echizen yet fails to sell the gentleman on the deal. Dispirited, Ryouma muses he won't be able to sail without the province's funding. Yuki replies that nothing is impossible for a single person and goes on to describe the inventions that took considerable trial and error within her world. She particularly interests him as she describes airplanes, gobsmacked that a man-made vessel could ever achieve flight. With his spirits high, he promises to never give up on his dream and promises to someday fly in an airplane with her.

When Ryouma returns to Choshu, Katsura invites him to meet with an acquaintance of his. The man excuses Yuki from their presence before he admits he is Shouzan's murderer. He apologizes for failing to accept his grave misdeed until after the fact, feeling sympathetic to the revolutionaries' desire for change. When he offers death as atonement, Ryouma spares him. He feels the man has suffered enough from his guilt and takes his leave. Yuki feels he did the right thing, which cheers him up from the despondent news. Ryouma decides to repay her with a boat ride later, sharing with her his dream for seeing the world and sea sailing. He inadvertently speaks his infatuation for her but decides to not force his feelings on her.

Later, the group arrives in the capital to set the stage for the alliance peace talks. Shortly after their arrival, Katsu takes his student and Yuki for an evening meal. As they eat he warns them that the undead are wandering in greater numbers and seem to be controlled by someone. The mentor's words ring true when the group spots an undead warrior attacking innocents. She is panicked when she doesn't see Ryouma after the battle, not realizing that he left to ask Nagaoka several personal favors for the peace talks. When she finds him, she shares her fear of losing him. They both confess their intimacy to one another and promise to never part ways. He gives her the Seiryu scale to express his sincerity in the pledge.

The alliance succeeds and the group prepares to attack Amami at his base of operations, Nikkou. They are sidetracked when a young girl in distress calls for their help. She is actually a vengeful spirit placed there by the Mashira who attacks Yuki when she draws close. Ryouma takes the blow and, though they defeat the spirit and the monkeys, he is unable to recover from the deadly toxin inflicted upon him. Ryouma is brought to a nearby inn to recover and a rumor of the headhunters searching for them draws the other members away. Yuki nurses him the best she can, but Ryoum knows it's hopeless. He asks Yuki to cook shamo chicken for him so she doesn't have to witness his death.

Yuki returns moments after he perishes and contemplates using the magical hourglass in her grief. Amami appears behind her and cautions her to reconsider. The god reveals Ryouma's lifespan is destined to be short, and he will not live long even if she saves him. Sacrificing her life for Ryouma would accomplish nothing. Deciding that the risk is worth it, Yuki travels back to the past before the vengeful spirit reveals itself. This time Yuki flies into harm's way for Ryouma and is poisoned. With the couple switching places, Ryouma watches over her until headhunters find their location. Promising to protect her with his life, he faces the group alone. Weakened and frightened for him, Yuki strains herself by using the hourglass again. This time, however, it shatters and sends her ten years into the past. She then lives in Ryouma's past until a time distortion takes her away.

Before she is lost forever in the Loophole of Time, Yuki clutches the Seiryu scale and prays. It calls her back to the present Ryouma who is glad to see her back beside him. When she disappeared from his sight, Ryouma had defeated the headhunters by himself and pieced together the broken hourglass. The last piece missing is the shard Yuki had given him ten years ago. It confirms for Ryouma that the girl from the past and Yuki are the same person. Further invigorated to fight for their happy future, they defeat Amami and he gladly accompanies her to the modern world. They want to enjoy a world wide trip by air, their first flight being New York.

Kazahanaki stations Yuki and company in Edo, the place of memories for Ryouma and the girl from his past. Wanting to confirm his hunches, he asks Yuki if she remembers anything about the place or the dojo he trained. She honestly answers no, since she hasn't technically experienced any events in this timeline. He is despondent by her response but promises to keep helping her for as long as he is needed.

Chiba Dojo in either world causes Yuki to enter multiple distortions of time for brief intervals. Each time she is sent back to the past, she imparts Ryouma advice which would be helpful to his present self such as befriending Komatsu in Edo and being on friendly terms with the future Shinsengumi by participating in a sword tournament. She sees the immediate effects when she returns to the present and is pleased to be helpful to him. Thanks to her changes in the past, Ryouma is regarded as a trustworthy individual between rival factions who mediates peace and solutions for both sides. He hopes to unite the divided districts so that Japan will one day gain the power to defend itself. Unlike his attempts in previous timelines, Ryouma's proposals are largely successful with his friends' support and becomes a famous figure with the townsfolk in Edo.

Ryouma invites her on a play date the day after the disastrous fire in Edo to cheer her up. She smiles for the first time since the incident, and the couple forget their responsibilities for the day. During their trip, he purchases a pair of leather armbands. As they both strap one on each other's arms, Ryouma feels nostalgic for an event he vaguely remembers from his childhood. For Yuki, however, it happens about a day later when she returns to the modern world. She gives the child Ryouma her armband from the date.

They return to the parallel world to defeat the Four Fiends, but Ryouma is in a peculiar slump. Yuki doesn't remember meeting him in the summer ten years ago, even though she looks exactly like the girl from his past. Accepting that maybe he would never reunite with her, he broods and loses his enthusiasm. He begins to wonder if he hallucinated his first love and becomes disillusioned with his present goals. Wanting to know what Ryouma treasures, Yuki sacrifices her life force to time travel to the exact event important to him ten years ago. Returning to the present, Yuki apologizes to Ryouma for not knowing she is the person so important to him. Ryouma recognizes the worn down armband in her hands and deduces that she is truly the one from his past.

Invigorated once more to work towards his dreams, he authors eight new laws which would benefit the future of Japan. In short, these laws call for a navy, acceptance of European ideals, and tax reform for the people. He presents them to Oguri, who he believes agrees with his plans. Oguri praises Ryouma's document and agrees to give it to the new shogun. In return, Oguri will grant passage into Edo Castle for Yuki's group.

After the final battle to save the three worlds, Yuki chooses to stay in the parallel world with Ryouma. They marry soon afterwards and continue to stay at Ryouma's hideaway in Edo. He is often called away by his friends for political chats, but Ryouma decides to ditch them for the day to spend time with his wife. As he and Yuki take a walk on the beach, he states his devotion to her and promises to start a family with her.

Ishin no Arashi
The Ishin no Arashi series features Ryōma as one of the major figures of the game's setting; he is the main protagonist in both Bakumatsu Shishiden and Shippuu Ryoumaden. Each game introduces Ryōma during his training in the Bokushin-Ittō swordstyle within Edo and roughly follows his historical exploits. Unlike his other Koei appearances, he speaks with the Tosa accent commonly associated with him in fiction.

Bakumatsu Shishiden introduces Ryōma as a daydreamer who is content to spend his days in leisure until he sees the American "black ships" with his friends at Edo. The player can follow his history faithfully, but they can also choose to be an aggressive activist who uses his talents to organize an army to topple the shogunate. Within this scenario, he openly joins forces with the revolutionaries to wage war and accepts his status as an enemy to the state, rather than fleeing from the headhunters throughout the country. Ryōma changes into an apathetic warmonger who feels he is participating in a necessary evil for the land's security.

The historical version of his scenario may include minor diverging events to affect Ryōma's personality, but he is overall optimistic in his dreams for protecting Japan and often thinks before he acts. His friends and family may joke about his apparent flakiness, but they earnestly believe in him as a revolutionary hero who thinks beyond the current age. If the player fails to prevent his assassination, they remain ignorant of Ryōma and Shintarō's sudden deaths. If Ryōma wishes to leave Japan after presenting himself before the shogun, he and Shintarō's assassins will be replaced by the Shinsengumi. After he and his friend defend themselves, Ryōma reveals his plans to travel to America in hopes to better his understanding of ship-crafting and the world.

Shippuu Ryoumaden Ryōma spends the majority of his early youth feeling frustrated. Everyone he knows is leaving his home for their dreams, but he has yet to find one himself. Shintarō drags him to the Tosa Loyalist Party, and his friends believe him to be a member. Yet he protests the foolishness of the association, hoping to prevent his friends from being branded as traitors by Tosa's pro-shogunate policies. He confronts his childhood friend, Hanpeita Takechi, to stop their plot to assassinate the shogunate vassal, Tōyō Yoshida. Even if Ryōma succeeds, Hanpeita will ignore him and disassociate himself from Ryōma.

The night before the assassination takes place, Ryōma chooses exile from Tosa in the first playthrough with his older sister's blessings. He hopes to find his own dreams and change the future of Japan without bloodshed. This playthrough roughly follows his historical exploits and death, explaining that the game's namesake is actually his fond epitaph as a man who changed history.

When the player restarts other playthroughs from this key event, they may choose to try to protect Tōyō in Tosa. During the night a few days later his other childhood friend, Yatarō Ooishi, warns Ryōma to leave immediately or he shall join Tōyō's fate. Trusting Yatarō's honesty, Ryōma leaves that same night and arbitrarily flees east towards the capital. Sōji identifies him as a revolutionary and attempts to execute him on the spot. Regardless of whether Ryōma protects himself or not, he is spotted by his friend from his sword training days, Heisuke Tōdō. Heisuke stays Sōji's hand and welcomes Ryōma into the Shinsengumi.

Feeling responsible for Heisuke's wellbeing and wanting to repay the warm housing of the corps, Ryōma preaches around the country for districts to follow the shogunate. He doesn't particularly agree with the shogunate's policies, but he wishes for the governors around the country to be unified under one ideal so the country can enjoy a wide spread reform. Introducing new changes which are too radical may alienate rather than be accepted by the populace. Once the country is unified, the shogunate introduces the harmonious reform Ryōma proposed to Isami Kondō. Satisfied to see the country banded under one leadership, Ryōma boards a foreign ship to set sail for the world. The Shinsengumi bid him a fond farewell.

Nobunaga's Ambition
Ryōma is one of the many guest characters added into the Japan only Power Up Kit version of Nobunaga's Ambition Iron Triangle. He can be unlocked by finishing the challenge scenario, Saiin no Kirinji. Like other Created Officers, he will only appear if the player allows him to be enabled. He excels in both war and domestic affairs, scoring high for every troop type except archers. Ryōma has a natural affinity with Motochika as an homage of his family's ancestral roots as farmers-made-warriors for the Chōsokabe clan.

Development
Once Ruby Party decided upon the time setting for Haruka 5, Ryouma was considered one of the necessary characters to be included within the game. His wavy hair, his height, and his preference for using pistols are meant to be faithful homages to his historical persona. In their eyes, he is one of the "most manly" characters in the cast. Tohko Mizuno personally requested for him to be portrayed as a fun-loving person with astounding perceptiveness.

When the main planner was overseeing the voice actor auditions for the cast, she and the other developers directed him to not sound too overbearing or too flighty in his deliveries. With a few adjustments, they think Suzumura nailed the bouncy tempo they imagined for Ryouma. Suzumura himself is quite fond of his character and commented that Ryouma is an "awesome historical figure". He even said he would gladly romance and marry Ryouma himself.

Character Symbolism
Ryouma's symbolic color is tsuyukusa and is a light blue. It's literally named after the Asiatic dayflower and represents the shade of the flower when it's in bloom. In the Edo period, it was believed to have been an indigo shade. Contemporary media attests that it is a medium blue shade.

His symbolic item is the flowering quince. It is a Chinese native flower which blooms in the spring and often used for its pear-like fruit and as a herbal medicine. The flower is fabled in China with varying meanings. A red quince, for instance, is said to bless good fortune for finances or blessings for a healthy child. Dream of the Red Chamber refers to it as an incomplete flower since it has no scent. In Japan it was one of the argued models for several family crests, the most famous being the five petaled quince. It's due to this association that the quince signifies leaders and pioneers within the country's flower language.

"Kaien", the name of his first weapon, is a tongue-in-cheek shout out to Ryouma's historical naval forces, the Kaientai. His third weapon is a reference to his fame as a historical figure. Wind within Japan is often synonymous in literature as an invisible force that changes the times of an era. If a person is called a whirlwind or a zephyr, it's a honorific metaphor for a revolutionary person who thinks well beyond their time. These individuals are commonly short-lived yet highly influential to those around them.

Voice Actors

 * Hikaru Midorikawa - Ishin no Arashi Bakumatsu Shishiden
 * Kenichi Suzumura - Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5

Fighting Style
Unless the player willingly stops their progress in the story to level grind, he is a hard character to use during the first playthrough of the original game. If the player desires, he can replace Miyako's spot as the fighter-healer during this timeline. When he catches up to the rest of the cast, Ryouma has the highest defense rating in the party and is above-average in every other stat. He is a sturdy character to use for bosses. Ryouma's unique weapon seal is extremely useful against Amami and other earth spirits and, if all three attacks connect, it might be the strongest attack in the game.

Kazahanaki keeps his strengths the same yet stresses his accuracy to be one of his flaws, especially on its hard setting. Try using his Aim skill to counter this weakness for him and other characters. His passive ability in battle also occurs less frequently in the sequel.

Ryouma can use Wood, Fire , and Water seals for his weapons.

Here are Ryouma's stats at level 50:
 * Attack: 79
 * Defense: 99
 * Magic: 76
 * Speed: 73

Here are his stats at level 99:
 * Attack: 124
 * Defense: 158
 * Magic: 123
 * Speed: 113

Special Abilities

 * Heal (回復, kaifuku)
 * Unlocked - Level 3
 * Cost - 2 Will
 * Restores lost health to a single ally. Can be leveled to fully cure characters.


 * Aim (必中, hicchu)
 * Unlocked - Level 15
 * Cost - 2 Will
 * Increases party's attack accuracy for the next turn only. Boosts effect with levels.


 * Search and Destroy (見敵必殺, kenteki hissatsu)
 * Unlocked - Level 18
 * Cost - 2 Will (outside battle and events only)
 * Casts a destructive barrier around Yuki on the world map. Instantly kills any spirit which comes in contact of it. Negates random encounters.


 * Feint (陽動, youdou)
 * Cost - none (passive)
 * If Ryouma is in the current fighting party, he may randomly cancel enemy attacks for one turn.

Weapons

 * Sealing events
 * Yuki's Story (any playthrough but first) - Chapter 9
 * Chofu (parallel world), Library (modern world)
 * Successfully complete his personal events. Defeat the vengeful spirit twice.


 * Yuki's Story or Ryouma's Story - Chapter 5
 * Mount Nezumi; Parallel world
 * Personal events can be skipped but do not fail his events throughout playthrough. Defeat the Four Fiends in the parallel world. Before heading to Edo Castle, go to the mountain and select Ryouma's name. Defeat Chi You. If the player chooses to quit fighting the beast once the party is defeated, it will not return. The player will need to restart the entire chapter for it to reemerge.

Personal Info
He had one wife, but they had no children together. He had one elder brother and three elder sisters, the most famous sibling being his elder sister, Otome. His nephew, Nao, inherited his legacy after his death.

Other Names
"Ryōma" was his alias. Similar to Chinese courtesy names, a person could write their real name but it was considered extremely rude to call someone by their given name. Therefore, it was rare for anyone outside of family to refer to him by anything but Ryōma. Allegedly, the name's origins comes from either his mother or his father who had a dream of a dragon rising to the heavens before his birth. The spelling and pronunciation featured throughout this page is the commonly accepted version of his name since it was what he personally used in his signatures. However, his name has also been argued to be "Ryuma" (竜馬) or "Ryōfu" (良馬) due to inconsistencies from Ryōma himself.

Like many other revolutionaries, Ryōma was known under various pseudonyms to avoid detection from the shogunate's spies. A majority of these names can be found in the letters he wrote to Otome, his friends and his acquaintances. The one he used the most was Saitani Umetarō. In his letters to Otome, he occasionally signed his letters as Saigō Isaburō (西郷 伊三郎). Takasaka Ryūjiro (高坂 龍次郎) and Oohama Tōjirō (大浜 涛次郎) were the name he used to address his samurai cohorts. Ryōma gave himself the self-imposed title, Jinendō (自然堂), in a letter to Mutsu Munemitsu. Following the assault at Ikeda-ya, he addressed himself as Torimaki no Nukeroku (取巻の抜六). All of these pen-names are code for his identity, many of which are derived from obscure references of his heritage, his origins, or an inside reference only his addressee would know. In the case of the last name, it is literally a wordplay informing his friends that he survived the harrowing experience at Ikeda-ya and will expect to live past several more. There are many other names believed to have been attributed to Ryōma, but they are difficult to clarify and open to interpretation.

Naokage (直陰) or Naonari (直柔) was his given name in family records, though it's difficult for historians to discern at present which is the "correct" name.

Relations with Women
Ryōma's wife was Narasaki Ryō who is often called Oryō in contemporary fiction. Oryō came from poor origins as her father was a ronin and perished soon after he rebelled against the shogunate. Running from death threats from his family, she and her mother worked at an inn in the capital sympathetic to revolutionaries. Ryōma happened to stay at the inn and her mother introduced him to Oryō. Folklore often claims he was amused by the coincidence of their names –which are both written with the character for "dragon"– and felt attached to her. According to his letters, they married at her mother's request a year later. She then accompanied him on his travels across the land. Ryōma felt sympathetic to her family as they were "miserably poor, owning nothing save the clothes they wore". He was fond of his wife's humor and reportedly doted on her with random trinkets and gifts.

Four months later, Ryōma met with Satsuma supporter and acquaintance, Miyoshi Shinzō, to negotiate their plans for toppling the shogunate. Ryōma and his wife had booked a room at Terada-ya and Oryō was taking a bath. She overheard a dozen or so men assembling outside her bath and quickly realized they were headhunters for the shogunate. Barely dressing her nude figure, she hurried away from her bath and warned her husband and Shinzō of the incoming attack. Her warning made them aware of the attack and the trio narrowly escaped death. Though they were homeless during Ryōma's wandering, Oryō remained devoted to him and waited for his return with her sister in Nagasaki, learning of Ryōma's death a month after it occurred. Oryō tried to enter the Sakamoto clan to honor her husband but was considered an outcast in Tosa. She later remarried to a street peddler, Nishimura Matsubei, and succumbed to alcoholism during her elder years. Ignorant of Ryōma's political activities until after his death, she slumped into depression and was said to have fondly rambled about her departed husband in her drunken stupors. She passed away when she was 66 years old.

Before he met his wife, Ryōma was said to have been intimate with two other women. The other famous maiden with romantic ties to him was Chiba Sana, often named Sanako in fiction. She was the daughter of Ryōma's sword instructor in Edo. By Ryōma's own account, Sana was a stunning beauty who was an exceptionally trained equestrian, polearm user, and swordsman. She could overpower any man with her strength and was said to have even sparred with him. Before he finished his training, his master planned to have Ryōma as his successor for the Bokushin-Ittō style dojo and arranged an engagement with Sana. When Ryōma returned to Tosa, he was estranged from Edo and either forgot or declined the offer. Although they kept out of touch, Sana learned of his death and decided to treasure the wooden shelves he used at their dojo as a memento of their time together. Since she never married, Sana is often romanticized in fiction to have had an unrequited love for Ryōma. Other interpretations state they did have affections for one another, but he drew away from her since she treated him coldly.

Nakayama Kao –the other aforementioned woman– is considered Ryōma's first love in fiction. She was four years younger than him and his childhood friend. Historically, he compared Sana to be a replacement for Kao in Edo, which suggests he considered Kao to be beautiful if nothing else. Once he finished his training in Edo and returned to Tosa, she was ordered to become a servant maiden for Sanjo Kinmutsu's wife in the capital. When Kao's elder brother refused for Ryōma to see her or protest the decision, Ryōma expressed his laments to his older sister in a letter. He called her brother cruel and accused him of being uncaring to Kao's feelings over the forced servitude. Most observers tend to emphasize that Ryōma didn't accept or consider his marriage to Oryō until after he knew he would never see Kao again, although it's debatable if his affections for Kao were romantic or not.

Early Life
Ryōma was the fourth child of Yamamoto Hachihei (also called Naotari), the eldest of a family of wealthy merchants who excelled in brewing liquor and was adopted into the Sakamoto clan. His mother –known as either Kō or Yuki– was the eldest daughter of the lower class samurai, Sakamoto Naozumi. His parents' marriage was approved largely due to the Sakamoto clan lacking a male heir to ensure its longevity. It was a controversial yet growing reality for a merchant to marry into the samurai caste, which was a hot topic of debate between lower and richer samurai of the Edo period.

When Ryōma was twelve, his mother lost her life to illness and his father quickly remarried to Kitadai Iyo, a daughter of another lower samurai class who taught the maids in her household to wield naginata. By Ryōma's own account, he considered her to be a fond and loving mother figure for their short time together. Her cooing and consideration didn't help his frail constitution, however, and he struggled to keep up with his father's strict discipline and his mentor's lessons. He took to book quicker than a sword and was bullied by his schoolmates constantly for it, reportedly failing to keep with his studies due to low self-esteem.

To prevent him from losing face, his elder sister by three years, Otome, reared him as though he were her own child and taught him poetry and sword fencing. Her large figure and imposing character were said to have driven away her younger brother's bullies. In 1848, he was enrolled into Hineno Benji's dojo and was taught the Oguri-ryu sword style. By this time, Ryōma was intent on rigorously training himself and stayed at the dojo during his teenage years.

People are largely divided on who influenced Ryōma to mature during his childhood. Otome is a popular candidate due to her close age and familiarity with Ryōma. Others propose Iyo since she favored him and encouraged him to have pride of his position within their patriarchal society. A few argue that his elder brother, Gonpei, was the one who drove Ryōma to improve himself due to the age difference between them. Gonpei also acted as a father figure for Ryōma. Hachihei was considerably strict and allegedly disfavored his son after his first wife's death. There are several stories which claim he was inspired to change by a boat ride with his mother or stories of Nagasaki, which helped broaden his horizons towards the sea.