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ERA

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Why Boots in the Edo Period? Ryoma's Radical Fashion Sense

Kimono with leather boots and a Smith & Wesson in his pocket. Ryoma's style was shocking for his era. We decode the philosophy behind it: fashion as self-expression, centuries before it was trendy.

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Ryoma wore Western boots with his kimono and carried a Smith & Wesson revolver. This wasn’t just fashion — it reflected his philosophy of choosing what works over tradition. He’d already been ambushed once and the pistol saved him. His style was a statement: practicality over form.

Left: typical Bakumatsu samurai vs Right: Ryoma style with boots and pistol

Sakamoto Ryoma photographed by Ueno Hikoma — the famous image of the Bakumatsu patriot

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Katsurahama beach — Ryoma's statue gazes out to the Pacific Ocean

Wikimedia Commons

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Key Figures

Sakamoto Ryoma

Architect of the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance