Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum — Revolutionary Samurai

Sakamoto Ryoma (1836–1867) is one of the most celebrated figures in Japanese history — a low-ranking samurai from Tosa (Kochi) who became instrumental in overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate and opening Japan to the modern world. He brokered the alliance between the rival Satsuma and Choshu domains, founded Japan's first private navy, and drafted the 'Eight Proposals While Shipboard,' a visionary plan for a modern parliamentary government. He was assassinated at age 31, just before the Meiji Restoration he helped create.

The Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum, perched on a cliff overlooking Katsurahama Beach, is dedicated to his life and legacy. The exhibits include Ryoma's letters (many written in his own hand), his belongings, replica swords, and dioramas depicting key moments of his life. The museum's architecture is striking — a modernist glass-and-steel structure that juts out over the Pacific, symbolizing Ryoma's forward-looking vision.