Companies, politicians find reform-minded samurai sells

OSAKA (Bloomberg) From Prime Minister Naoto Kan to Sapporo Beer, lawmakers and companies are invoking the image and legacy of Sakamoto Ryoma, the 19th century samurai who helped overhaul Japan's government and economy.

Kan mentioned Ryoma in a speech June 8, the day he became prime minister, drawing comparisons between his new Cabinet and the militia groups of the samurai era. Facing an economy saddled with falling consumer prices, rising debt and an aging population, Kan pledged to break Japan's "stasis."

"Ryoma has been exploited over and over again in society, for Japan's militarism, and his ghost still remains," said Masaaki Noda, a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University. "Japan is suffering from many problems, such as an aging society. We need to seriously think about how to fix the current problems."

Visitors to Ryoma's birthplace in what is now Kochi Prefecture rose 71 percent to 2.4 million in the first half of this year from a year earlier after NHK started airing the "Ryoma Den" drama in January. Interest in the samurai has added around ¥40 billion to Kochi's economy, or about 1.8 percent of the surrounding region's gross regional product, the Bank of Japan said in June.

Sapporo Holdings, Japan's fourth-biggest brewer, started nationwide sales last month of a beer called Oi! Ryoma, and Daihatsu Motor Co. has used an actor playing Ryoma in a commercial for its Tanto Exe car.

Born the son of a samurai in 1835, Ryoma's efforts to modernize Japan included his Eight-Point Program, which laid out plans to transform the country into a constitutional monarchy, institute a foreign policy and regulate trade.

Ryoma's program formed the basis for the Charter Oath, the framework for the Meiji Constitution, according to the Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum website.

"Almost the entire restoration program is contained within this program of Sakamoto's," writes Marius B. Jansen, author of "Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration." "Its language would be echoed in the Charter Oath of 1868."

Before he was assassinated at age 33, Ryoma established Japan's first trading company, which laid the groundwork for the creation of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, and is regarded as the father of the Imperial navy.

He is also revered for brokering an alliance between the two powerful clans of Satsuma, in Kyushu, and Kan's home region of Choshu, present day Yamaguchi Prefecture. The two regions were enemies at the time.

"I would be very pleased if you called this administration the Kiheitai Cabinet," Kan said June 8, referring to the volunteer militia from his home region that helped overthrow the shogunate and led to Japan's modernization.

"I want the Diet members of my party, the DPJ, who themselves hail from various sectors of society, to have a spirit like that of the Kiheitai and take on issues with fearless courage," he said.

Politicians from different parties have jumped on the Ryoma bandwagon. Your Party head Yoshimi Watanabe, in a February speech in the Lower House, said, "Those who want to restore Japan to prosperity, let's do so with Your Party as Ryoma."

Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa's website displays the phrase "Let's all play the role of Ryoma," a reference to the samurai's ability to unite disparate factions.

"Some people think Ryoma is relevant, so that's why the television drama is popular," said Kwansei Gakuin University's Noda.

Still, conjuring Ryoma's image because he represents youth and vigor isn't enough to fix Japan's problems, he said.

That hasn't stopped companies from benefiting from the samurai. Sapporo's beer "was extremely well received," said Katsuhito Ogawa, a company spokesman.

Sapporo sold all 480,000 cans of a limited edition of its black label beer featuring a cartoon depiction of Ryoma when it went on sale in western Japan, he said. The company hopes to sell 1.2 million cans of the beer this fall throughout Japan.

Masayoshi Son, president of Softbank Corp. and Japan's fourth-richest man, has said he strives to emulate Ryoma in his business.

"He staked his life on the dawning of Japan's tomorrow," Son wrote on his Twitter page last December. "This is such an admirable thing to do. Through my own enterprise, I strive to reach closer to Ryoma-san's mindset."

This isn't the first time Ryoma has jumped in popularity. He has inspired at least eight TV series, six novels, 11 manga and eight films. An asteroid discovered in 1982 was named after him.

The Japan Mint began a lottery in March after 600,000 coin collectors placed orders for the 100,000 commemorative coins released to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Ryoma's birth.

About 190,000 people visited the Ryoma Memorial Museum in Kochi between April and August, almost a fourfold increase from the 50,000 visitors during the same period last year, curator Kenshiro Mori said.

Daily sales at the museum's gift shop have risen to between ¥300,000 and ¥400,000 for the first six months, quadruple last year's average, Mori said. "We've had to increase our staff to 22 from 16," he said.

"Ryoma said that if Japan didn't unify as one country, it couldn't respond to the West," he said. "There are parallels between the confusion of that period and what's happening today."