“Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Nietzsche quoted the “secretum” of “the invincible order of Assassins” of the “Orient” (On the Genealogy of Morals, Third Essay, sec. 24, published 1887; trans. Walter Kaufmann), with the caveat that under such circumstances there could no longer be “faith in truth.” Well, “faith in truth” in our government is out the window for We the People of the United States of America, on this first day after the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Because it was on this day that FBI director James Comey had the audacity, the hubris, to announce that he would not recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton despite “extreme carelessness” in her use of private email while secretary of state, even after making clear that her actions were indeed worthy of indictment. One set of laws for the likes of Clinton, another for the other “99 percent.” A very sad day in American history.

Yesterday I attended Bernie Sanders’ rally in Oakland. One of the highlights of his speech for me was his mention of the price of his suit, about $99, he said. Bernie has famously rejected super packs. Nor does he hold fund-raisers that cost thousands of dollars to attend. Not so Clinton, as is well publicized. On the same day that Gov. Brown announced his endorsement of Clinton, the Boston Herald reported, “Hillary Clinton will tap big-name celebrities to finance a critical last push to knock progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic primary, including an appearance tonight with rock star Jon Bon Jovi at a Seaport fundraiser.” At the Sanders rally in Oakland yesterday, I saw a young woman holding up a signboard: “Unf*uck the country: Feel the BERN.”

Governor Brown, how could you endorse Clinton over Sanders?

Sakamoto Ryoma, founder of Japan’s first trading company, was a swaggering swordsman who packed a Smith & Wesson, an outlaw, and leader in the “samurai revolution” at the dawn of modern Japan. And now, in the 21^st century, he’s a superstar.

Ryoma’s 180^th birthday is being celebrated this year through a series of events at his hometown of Kochi, including the annual gathering of “Ryoma fans” from around the country to be held November 14 and 15.

Ryoma’s grave is in the old cemetery at Ryozen Gokoku Shrine, in the hills of Higashiyama on the east side of Kyoto, where he was assassinated on his 32^nd birthday in 1867. The narrow, well-trodden pathway leading up to the grave is always lined with tiles inscribed with handwritten messages to Ryoma; and his grave is adorned with fresh flowers, incense, cups of sake, sweets and more handwritten notes. Each time I have visited the gravesite I’ve been struck with awe at the testimony of reverence and adoration—even love—by people of all ages come from all parts of Japan to pay their respects.

With the geopolitical and economic challenges facing Japan today, many people express their wish that a leader of Ryoma’s caliber would emerge. “Who from the past millennium of world history would be most useful in overcoming Japan’s current financial crisis?” a national newspaper once asked executives of 200 Japanese corporations. Ryoma received more mention than any other historical figure, topping such giants as Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Saigo Takamori, Oda Nobunaga and the founders of NEC and Honda.

So why does Ryoma command such respect and adoration? I think the answer lies, in part, in his charismatic personality, his love of freedom, and the ways he lived and died. Read about his life in my Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai, the only biographical novel about him in English.

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The mokuroku is the only extant certificate that Ryoma received from Chiba. But notably it was for the halberd (naginata) and not the sword. Nor was it for the rank of kaiden, awarded to a swordsman who had mastered the style. And so, some argue, Ryoma wasn’t such a skilled swordsman after all. But as reported by Yomiuri Shinbun on October 14, 2015, a recently revealed handwritten list of certificates in the Hokushin-Itto style that Ryoma had supposedly received includes certificates of heiho kaiden (“expert in the art of warfare”) for the halberd and the sword, along with a mokuroku for the sword. The scrolled certificates were reportedly kept at the Hokkaido home of a Sakamoto family descendent, which was destroyed in a fire in the early part of the 20^th century.

Meiji Restoration historian Mamoru Matsuoka takes a cautious view of the above. While the list includes the mokuroku certificate for the sword, it does not include certificates for the subsequent ranks he would have received before kaiden. And so, Mr. Matsuoka suggests on Facebook, the “kaiden” in the list must have been a mistake for “mokuroku.”

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