"Whether it's a foolish ruler or a wise ruler, once a man shoulders an entire country, he can't die that easily."
Tatsuma Sakamoto
Tatsuma Sakamoto (坂本 辰馬,Sakamoto Tatsuma?) is the leader of the trading fleet Kaientai. Despite being labeled a "natural idiot"[1] by everyone around him, Sakamoto was one of the samurai that fought alongside Gintoki in the Joui War.
Sakamoto has a brown natural perm (similar to Sakata Gintoki) and wears a dark red coat, tabi-less geta, and round-rim sunglasses. His eyes, when not hidden, are blue. He has a scar on his right hand that starts at his palm and goes halfway up his lower arm.
In the 2-year time skip, he grew a stubble until he eventually shaved it off in the Epilogue chapter, reverting back to his original appearance.
During the Joui War, he wore a silver kabuto helmet, a light gray suit with black armor, and a blue haori.
His weapon of choice used to be a sword, but is now a gun.
Personality[]
His overly optimistic attitude sometimes leads him into all sorts of trouble, as he tends to brush off or even flat-out ignore bad incidents and situations. He has a habit of laughing at most times, even at inappropriate times. One of Sakamoto's main traits is his empty-headed thinking. He can be very spacey, and he often doesn't notice important details, like with his unawareness that Mutsu is from the Yato tribe despite spending years together and misinterpreting Dark Vader's plans to conquer Earth. Despite all this, deep down Sakamoto is really rather smart. He shows an excellent ability in giving inspirational speeches and is also a brilliant negotiator when he needs to be, convincing the entire Renho race to turn on their leader. Because of this, it's a possibility that his lighthearted personality is a ruse, as he has a tendency to start things and then seem to not to know what he did.
He cherishes his friends and subordinates; he was enraged when the Chidori supposedly hurt Mutsu, and he stood up for Katsura back in the war when other soldiers were ragging on him for being a coward. However, he feels insecure around his friends, as he states that if they knew his deeper feelings for them, they wouldn't like him anymore.
His business tactics, such as the 50 million yen bags, can be sketchy at times, earning him the nickname "con man." However, at heart, he wants to run a business that makes people smile. More literally, his ultimate goal is peace through mutual profit – a reflection of his pacifist nature.
Despite being a pacifist, he doesn't mind a good fight on occasion. He will often aim to maim or disarm before he aims to kill. He also has a tendency to start fights and egg people on, like when he teased Gintoki about his feud with Takasugi during the war.
Sakamoto can be blunt, almost rude at times, in certain situations, like when he insulted Nobu Nobu's behavior. He also can get incredibly angry in a short amount of time, such as when Katsura got himself and the rest of his crew captured despite Sakamoto's planning and when demanding the Chidori give Mutsu back.
He loves ships, but is very vulnerable to motion sickness. Whether it's a spaceship or a boat, ships are, ironically, his weakness.[2]
Strength & Abilites[]
Swordsmanship: During the Joui War, Sakamoto was shown to have great skills in using sword, having fought along with Sakata Gintoki, Katsura Kotarou and Takasugi Shinsuke and survived until he left the Joui samurai lines. He is unable to wield a sword now due to an injury to his right hand.
Shooting: Although he was a good swordsman in the Joui War, Sakamoto uses a pistol as his weapon after leaving the war, most likely due to the injury he sustained.
Leadership: He has displayed great qualities of a leader. In dangerous situations, he is willing to sacrifice himself to save other people,[3] and he never abandoned his crew even when it seemed like they all abandoned him. His leaderships skills even convinced Tokugawa Nobu Nobu to right himself as a person.
Trading/Negotiating: It can be assumed that this is his main strength. According to Gintoki, in the Joui War, Sakamoto had supported the samurai's side by supplying weapons, raising capital and gathering money. At present, he was even able to convince the whole Renho Tribe to ally with him and fight against Dark Vader.[4]
Reading: Sakamoto is said to have superior reading skills.[5]
Much to Gintoki's annoyance, he persistently calls Gintoki "Kintoki" and often gets beaten for this, similar to how Gintoki calls Katsura "Zura". Though, it has been shown that he knows Gintoki's name perfectly well. His lighthearted behavior is also a great source of irritation to Gintoki, who, along with Kagura, has given Sakamoto a thrashing more than once. Despite their fights, Gintoki cares a great deal for his comrade, even going so far as to take revenge on the man who gave Sakamoto the injury that rendered him unable to use a sword, and encourage Sakamoto not to think that his life as a samurai was over, stating that there are other ways to fight and that his war was not a petty war that could simply be fought by swinging swords. In turn, Sakamoto evidently trusts and admires Gintoki a great deal. During the war, Gintoki was the one in whom Sakamoto chose to confide his doubts about the war and his dreams of going to space. Before he left, he even offered to take Gintoki with him, saying that Gintoki was too good a man for such a small planet. Although Gintoki declined the offer, he encouraged Sakamoto's own dreams once again. Sakamoto places his ultimate trust on Gintoki, stating that because Gintoki stayed on Earth, he felt safe enough to leave for the universe and pursue his dreams. Even if he falls from the sky, if Gintoki was there to "fish him up", he would have the courage to fly back up again.
Katsura Kotarou: Sakamoto and Katsura were comrades and friends in the Joui War. They lost touch for a time after the war ended and Katsura disappeared along with Takasugi and Gintoki, but at some point they apparently reconnected and they still seem to be on good terms, since Sakamoto gave Elizabeth to Katsura as a present. During the Renho arc, Sakamoto goes to great lengths not only to protect the Earth, but also to help Katsura retrieve his dear friend. And during the war, when their fellow men were debating over who was the strongest between Katsura, Gintoki, Takasugi, and Sakamoto, Sakamoto overheard the conversation and came to Katsura's defense when Katsura was accused of cowardice for his tendency to retreat, gently telling the men that Katsura possessed a courage and strength that he himself and the others lacked, showing an in-depth understanding and immense admiration of Katsura. They share a certain obliviousness and comedic stupidity, which hides two surprisingly sharp minds and knack for strategy. They place an extraordinary amount of trust in one another, which has not changed one bit since the war ended.
Takasugi Shinsuke: Sakamoto and Takasugi were comrades and good friends during the Joui War. Sakamoto was recovering from his injury far from the front lines at the time of Shouyou's death, and so he has stated that he doesn't know why Gintoki and Katsura have been fighting with Takasugi, but to him, it is not important. He had always taken the role of mediator whenever Takasugi and Gintoki fought, and he plans to continue that role. Even if only temporarily, Sakamoto wishes to see Takasugi return to his old self as the "little brat" that used to bicker with his old friends. Back when Sakamoto was first introduced, it is worth noting that he tells Shinpachi that he believes that Takasugi, Gintoki, and Katsura are all doing their best to protect the country, just in different ways, and he seems to bear Takasugi no ill will whatsoever, despite his actions.
Mutsu: During his imprisonment as a slave of the Chidori, Sakamoto encountered Mutsu and showed her a new, more positive perspective on the purpose of business and her value as a person. Inspired and intrigued by his outlook, she reexamined her own beliefs and actions and decided to make a change. She freed Sakamoto and the other slaves with the intention of sacrificing her life for them, but he once again stopped her and caused her to reexamine herself and the way that she valued herself. Sakamoto managed to outwit the Chidori and save the lives of Mutsu and the slaves, who became his Kaientai. Since then, she has followed him out of gratitude and respect for his ideals. In turn, Sakamoto considers her one of his greatest treasures, "a jewel called a comrade." However, his overly affable nature is less appreciated by her, as she tends to beat him with no mercy, to a point of firing cannons at him.[6] It is said that she constantly has to track down her wanderlustful leader, whose movements are totally unpredictable. As his second in command, she acts as a sensible and efficient foil to his eccentric antics and overly relaxed nature. She is highly respected by the other members of the Kaientai, perhaps even more so than Sakamoto himself, as they had no qualms about firing on their captain on Mutsu's command. But despite the bickering and over-the-top antics, when it comes down to it, the two of them place a great deal of trust in one another and form a very balanced partnership.
Tokugawa Nobu Nobu: While enemies at first, the two have become unlikely allies. Sakamoto's values as both a leader and a businessman is what influenced Nobu Nobu to change. When Nobu Nobu joined everyone to eat, instead of being horrified like the others, Sakamoto merely teased him for "finally eating Granny's cooking", not seeming upset by his presence in the slightest.
This section is a stub. Please help to expand it, thank you.
Pluto Batou: Batou purposefully injured Sakamoto in the war so that he wouldn't be able to hold a sword anymore. While Sakamoto remembers him, he has no intentions of seeking revenge, although Gintoki did that for him. No one is sure what his reaction was to learning that Batou was finally defeated by Gintoki.
Uranus Hankai: Sakamoto fought him during the events of the Rakuyo's Battle. Hankai infected all the Kaitentai fleet with a zombie-like virus, making everyone in the Kaientai to be hostile with the ones that are not infected. When Nobunobu, Mutsu and Sakamoto made it to the Control Center of the ship, they realized that Hankai actually infected Nobunobu, but in another way, and an extension of Hankai (blurting out from Nobunobu's stomach) injured Mutsu, infecting her. After some violence, Hankai shot at Sakamoto while Mutsu was hanging from him in a hostile way, whom turned out to be fighting the infection and saved Sakamoto from the bullet, giving Sakamoto the chance to shoot at Hankai, which deactivated the virus spread through the Kaientai fleet.
Sakamoto was based on Sakamoto Ryoma 坂本龍馬, who was an Imperial loyalist. Another way to pronounce the "ryou" kanji in Ryoma's name is "tatsu" (kanji means "dragon"), but Sorachi cleverly used a different kanji to achieve the same results.
At one point, Ryoma envied the Westerners for their power and technology, but he eventually became familiar with them. Despite being a samurai and proficient in kendo, he preferred guns over swords.
In Gintama, Tatsuma is the leader of the Kaientai, which is also the name of the first modern corporation in Japan that was founded by Ryoma.
Historically, Ryoma was assassinated by unknown assassins, even though the Mimawarigumi officers Sasaki Tadasaburo and Imai Noburo admitted themselves and taking their responsibility after Kondou Isami was executed for the crime. However, in Gintama, with Sasaki Isaburo's death, it can be assumed that Sakamoto's and Kondou's life was saved.
Ryoma was married to Oryo. In the manga, Tatsuma had feelings for Oryou, yet he was repeatedly rejected by her.
Sakamoto has the same voice actor is Kojirou (James) from Pocket Monsters, Kisuke Urahara from Bleach, Toshizo Hijikata from Hakuoki and Takumi Fujiwara from Initial D.
In Volume 74, a question corner revealed that Sakamoto's favorite foods are hamburg steak, curry rice, and ramen.
Battles[]
Fight
Outcome
Time it Occurred
Kaientai, Yorozuya, Katsura and Elizabeth vs. Dark Vader
Win
Episode 235
Sakamoto Tatsuma vs Pluto Batou (Joui War)
Loss
Lesson 568
Sakamoto Tatsuma vs Uranus Hankai
Win
Lesson 567
Sakamoto Tatsuma and Katsura Kotarou vs Enshou
Interupted
Lesson 645
Quotes[]
(To the Chidori's supervisor, referring to Mutsu) The ones that threw her away like a stone twice was you. I'm a merchant. If you just pay up, I'll sell you a ship or a bag or whatever with a smile on my face. But no matter how big your sacks of cash are, as customers that don't know the value of that stone...as scum that doesn't know the value of a comrade, there's no way in hell I'd give her to you. Now may I please have her back, sir?
(To Mutsu) Until merchandise are on the shelf, they're always "just" something. No different from "just" a rock that's lying on the ground. A merchant is an alchemist that changes that "just" into something with value that can be exchanged for money.
(To Mutsu) Even a rock has something it can be used for. There's a way for them to shine that even a jewel can't compare to.
References[]
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 4, Lesson 26, p. 20.
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 4, Lesson 26, p. 21.
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 4, Lesson 27, p. 12, 14.
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 41, Lesson 358, p. 7.
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Weekly Shonen Jump. Vol. 2016-02. p. 405.
↑Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 54, Lesson 478, p. 9.
