jcccnc / about / press / samurai history lectures

The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California will present a twopart
lecture series on samurai history by author Romulus Hillsborough.
The first lecture will focus on “Two Saviors of Modern Japan: Katsu Kaishu and
Sakamoto Ryoma,“ and it will be held on Saturday, May 29th, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. The
second lecture, “The Shinsengumi, the Shogun’s Most Dreaded Samurai Corps,” will be
on Saturday, June 5th, from 1:00 –2:30 p.m.

In 1854 the United States forced Japan to relinquish its 2-century-old policy of isolation.
Fourteen years of turmoil ensued, culminating in the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
and the restoration of power to the emperor. This event is called the Meiji Restoration,
one of the most important in Asian history.

During those years Japan was rent asunder, with samurai faction fighting samurai
faction. On one side were those who espoused, “Revere the Emperor and Expel the
Barbarians.” The other side called for “Support the Shogunate and Open the Country.”
The imperial side eventually overthrew the shogun’s 2-and-a-half-century-old military
regime.

Author Romulus Hillsborough will discuss the lives and times of Katsu Kaishu and
Sakamoto Ryoma, two of the greatest men of the Meiji Restoration. Both were samurai.
Both were expert swordsman. And both played essential roles in modernizing Japan
during those dangerous times. Kaishu was a founder of the Japanese Navy. Ryoma
created Japan’s first modern corporation – precursor to the Mitsubishi. Kaishu, the
philosopher-statesman and commissioner of the navy, was a loyal retainer of the
shogun. Ryoma, the outlaw who packed a Smith and Wesson, was one of the key
players in the revolution. While the two men stood on opposing sides, they were close
friends whose greatest concern was the survival of an independent Japanese nation
amid an Asia besieged by European colonization. Ryoma studied the naval sciences
under Kaishu and called him “the greatest man in Japan.” Before his assassination on
his 32nd birthday, Ryoma, a lower-ranking samurai who had never been in government,
forced the abdication of the shogun, wrote a draft of Japan’s first constitution and
created a list of men to fill the key governmental posts. Shortly after Ryoma’s death,
Kaishu negotiated a peace between the warring sides, thus saving modern Japan from
foreign subjugation.

Romulus Hillsborough is a native Californian who lived in Japan for over fifteen years.
Fluent in spoken and written Japanese, he has worked on the editorial staff of a
Japanese weekly magazine in Tokyo and as a U.S. correspondent for the Japanese
press. He spent seven years researching and writing his first book, RYOMA - Life of a
Renaissance Samurai (Ridgeback Press, 1999), the only biographical novel about
Sakamoto Ryoma in English. Hillsborough's second book, Samurai Sketches: From the
Bloody Final Years of the Shogun, was published in 2001. Hillsborough currently lives in
the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and son.

Romulus Hillsborough's extensive research on the history of the Meiji Restoration spans
over twenty years. For a deeper understanding of his subjects' lives, the author has
retraced the footsteps of Sakamoto Ryoma, the Shinsengumi and other heroes of the
Restoration, visiting the historical cities of Kyoto, Hino, Nagasaki, Kagoshima,
Kumamoto, Shimonoseki, Hagi, Ryoma's native Kochi, and the picturesque fishing
village of Tomo-no-Ura on the Inland Sea.

The Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California in conjunction with
Kintetsu International Travel and Mr. Romulus Hillsborough will also be organizing
Samurai History Tours of Japan, September 1st – 10th and September 9th – 18th, of this
year. Please come and find out more information on the tour. Space is limited.

These lectures are free and open to the public. They will be held at the Japanese
Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, 1840 Sutter Street, San
Francisco. To RSVP for the lecture or for more information about the tour, please call
(415) 567-5505 or visit our website at www.jcccnc.org.

About the JCCCNC

Envisioned by the Japanese American community, JCCCNC will be an everlasting foundation of our Japanese American ancestry, cultural heritage, histories and traditions. The JCCCNC strives to meet the evolving needs of the Japanese American community through programs, affordable services and facility usage. The JCCCNC is a non-profit community center based in San Francisco.

For more information, please contact:

Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC)
415.567.5505