"Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration" by Marius Johnson Publisher: Shanghai Joint Publishing Company

Introduction
The "Black Ship Arrival" incident in 1853 is often regarded as the starting point of Japan's Meiji Restoration: stimulated by foreign enemies, the Japanese actively learned advanced systems and science and technology, and embarked on the path of modernization to enrich the country and strengthen the military. However, this narrative actually conceals the complexity of history. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, the shogunate's rule had already shown a dead end, and a small number of Japanese began to use their own "Dutch learning" and Chinese Western learning to understand the West and seek ways to change. However, the reformists initially only knew how to "expel the barbarians" and tried to change the country's destiny by creating unrest, but they suffered serious setbacks; after patient study and exploration, they found the right path for the reform cause.
Among this group of patriots, Sakamoto Ryoma from Tosa Domain was particularly outstanding. He facilitated the union of the Satsuma and Choshu domains, which directly influenced the success or failure of the anti-shogunate movement. He also formulated policy slogans such as "Eight Strategies on the Ship" and "Return of Imperial Rule", establishing the basic framework of the modern Japanese state system; even the concept of "Japan" was first proposed by him.
Using the life of the legendary figure Sakamoto Ryoma as a clue, Professor Johnson of Princeton University collected documents, decrees, and letters from the Meiji Restoration period, combined with local chronicles, biographies and related research materials compiled by later generations, in an effort to restore the process of "respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians" in Tosa, Choshu, Satsuma and other feudal domains, and outlined the roles played by the five forces of patriots, feudal domains, the shogunate, the court nobles and Western powers in the overthrow of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, creatively recreating the true face of that great and turbulent era.
About the Author
Marius Jansen (1922-2000) is a PhD from Harvard University and an honorary professor at Princeton University. He is an expert in Japanese history and Sino-Japanese relations. In 1969, he founded the Department of East Asian Studies at Princeton University and served as its first director. In 1999, he became the first foreigner to be awarded the title of Japanese Cultural Meritorious Person. He is the editor-in-chief of the Cambridge History of Japan. His representative works include The Japanese and Sun Yat-sen (1954), Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration (1961), The World View of the Japanese (1975), Japan and China: From War to Peace, 1894-1972 (1975), The Tokugawa Period and Chinese Culture (1992), and The Formation of Modern Japan (2000).
Zeng Xiaochu is a freelance translator who graduated from Shanghai International Studies University. His published translations include Experimental Method, Natasha's Dance, and Emperor Meiji.