Japanese Historical Figures: Tomb of Sakamoto Ryoma

There is a Restoration Road at Ninenzaka near Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, and also near Kodai-ji Temple. Going up further, you will find the Reiyama Gokoku Shrine, where the tomb of Sakamoto Ryoma is located. I don't know much about Sakamoto Ryoma's story. I only know that he was one of the historical figures who promoted the so-called "Restoration of Imperial Rule" that returned the rule of the Japanese samurai to the emperor. Because of historical novels and TV dramas, in recent years people have been promoting the tourism industry by using scenes of events involving historical figures. The Japanese are very good at marketing strategies. That day, I walked on the path of reform again. I had been here before and saw the sign for the Dragon Horse Tomb, and I wanted to go and see it that day. But as it was getting close to dusk that day, I messaged my colleague at Kyoto-Tong and she told me that it was completely cloudy there! In fact, she had never been there. That day, it was around 1pm in the afternoon and I decided to go to the Longma Tomb. When you enter Lingshan Gokoku Shrine, you will find a tomb where soldiers who died for their country are buried. To visit the Ryoma Tomb, you need to pay an entrance fee of 300 yen. At that time, I was the only one who went in. I walked along the stairs and found that there were many Japanese cemeteries. To be honest, it was quite eerie. There were some monuments next to them that should have been from World War II, but I didn’t look at them much and went straight to Ryoma’s Tomb. I didn't know I had arrived until I saw the sign for Longma Tomb. I don’t know if it’s because it’s been too long, but the words on the tombstone are a little unclear. I need to look at the signboard next to it to know which Ryoma Tomb it is. There are also bronze statues of Ryoma and Shintaro Nakaoka next to the tomb. Standing in front of Ryoma's tomb and looking at the scenery of Kyoto I remembered a passage from Ryotaro Shiba's "Ryoma Journey" in the book "The Journey of Ryoma" by Ken Koto. "In order to clean up the historical chaos of this country, the heavens sent this young man to the earth. When his mission was completed, he was summoned back to heaven without regret. That night, the sky of Kyoto was covered with rain clouds and the stars were hidden. However, the times have changed. The young man used his hands to open the door of history and open the future." After the worship, I returned to the entrance gate and bought an amulet with the image of Ryoma and the words "Shishou" printed on it as a commemoration of Ryoma's tomb. That’s right! That day I told my friend that I went to see Sakamoto Ryoma's tomb, and she replied to me, "Didn't he just pass away, so how could there be a tomb?" I said it was Sakamoto Ryoma, not Sakamoto Ryuichi😂 #JapanWanderingTravel #TravelMemories #SakamotoRyoma #100 Ways to Travel #100 Ways to Travel