Nagasaki Kameyama Shachu Memorial Museum

In 1865, the first year of the Keio era, Ryoma Sakamoto founded Kameyama Shachu, Japan’s first trading company, with support from the Satsuma Domain and Nagasaki merchant Kozone. Its name combines Kameyama, the area where Ryoma and his associates were based, with shachu, meaning a group of colleagues or an association. Its main businesses were shipping and trade.

The museum stands on the former site of Kameyama Shachu. The deteriorating remains were renovated and restored to closely resemble their original appearance and opened to the public in 2009. A monument marking the site of Kameyama Shachu stands at the entrance.

The original floor plan has also been largely restored, including the pillar in the tatami room that Ryoma is said to have leaned against while sitting. Above the earthen-floored entrance and the three-tatami-mat room is a mezzanine said to have served as a hiding place during emergencies. The museum displays items associated with Ryoma and Kameyama Shachu, including replicas of his boots, pistol, and letters, as well as a gekkin lute and photographs of Kameyama Shachu members.

The museum also displays Kameyama ware, which was produced beginning in 1807. This blue-and-white porcelain was decorated using cobalt pigment imported from China. The kiln closed around 1865, and Kameyama Shachu is said to have been established in a building formerly associated with the pottery.