Ernest Satow

Ernest Satow (, Ānesuto Satō) is a character featured in Like a Dragon: Ishin!. He is based on the real-life historical figure and he shares his in-game appearance with Bacchus. 
He is an English diplomat and amateur writer who has come to Japan on duty to try to foster better relations between the people of Japan and British merchants.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Satow is an older man, seemingly in his early 50's. He has greying blonde hair which he keeps at shoulder-length. His facial hair is a short, trimmed beard.
He wears a crimson pinstripe suit with a vest and a dark brown coat over it. He wears a dark red necktie, which he keeps loosely knotted. He also wears a brown bowler hat and a brown scarf, both of which match his coat.
=== Personality ===
Satow is a very jovial man who enjoys chatting with both friends and strangers, typically over drinks. He is very generous and enjoys buying drinks for people to get them to talk to him.
Having come to Japan as part of his work as a diplomat, he has become fascinated with the culture and history of the country and he wishes to learn as much as he can about the lives of its people. He ultimately wants to write a book about life in Japan so that he can educate people back home in Britain about this culture which he finds so interesting.
== Background ==
In the couple of years he spent in the country, Satow became fascinated with Japan's culture and has taken to visiting a bar in the Fushimi district of Kyoto to talk to the locals in an effort to learn more about the lives of average Japanese people, both as part of his work and out of genuine interest in his temporary home country.
== Involvement ==
=== Like a Dragon: Ishin!: 1867 ===
During the substory The Captain and the Curious, Sakamoto Ryoma encounters Satow at his preferred bar and is persuaded to sit and talk to him after he's offered a drink. Though initially put off by Satow's chatterbox nature, he slowly warms up to the man after realizing he's also a very attentive listener. After some time, Satow asks to go try a different bar in Rakugai, but Sakamoto cautions him against this, since the district he wants to visit is less safe for foreigners than the bustling market of Fushimi. Despite the warning, Satow's curiosity can't be dissuaded.
While walking through Rakugai, Satow and Sakamoto are confronted by Kawakami Gensai, a member of the Sonno Joui movement who wants to rid Japan of foreigners. Kawakami has heard of Satow's gallivanting around Kyoto and, angered at the idea of a foreigner moving through the city so freely, he has decided to assassinate him. The fanatic attacks Satow, but Sakamoto defends him and ultimately defeats Kawakami, driving him away. A shaken Satow thanks Sakamoto for protecting him, but laments that his quest to satisfy his thirst for knowledge about Japan is being hindered by xenophobic samurai. When Sakamoto insists that Satow needs to put his curiosity aside and be careful around town, since his death at the hands of a samurai could cause an international incident, Satow offers Sakamoto a deal: He'll stay put in Fushimi and not go to any dangerous parts of town if Sakamoto brings him memoirs about the lives of Japanese people. Though Sakamoto is initially aggrieved at being pressured to do Satow's work for him, Satow laughs and says that he's joking, since he doesn't actually intend to risk his life or the possibility of a diplomatic crisis just to sate his curiosity. Nonetheless, he asks Sakamoto to bring him memoirs if he happens to find any.
Subsequently, Sakamoto brings Satow any memoirs he finds about the lives of various different people in Japan. The samurai sits down with Satow and discusses the contents of these memoirs, giving him insight and opinion on their contents. Through their conversations, both men grow friendlier with each other.
After some time, during the substory Diplomacy in Darkness, Satow is attacked and kidnapped at his favorite Fushimi bar by a gang of Sonno Joui fanatics led by Tanaka Shinbei. The kidnappers leave behind a note for Sakamoto, telling him to come find Satow in Mukurogai, lest he be executed. Sakamoto travels to Mukurogai and finds Tanaka and his cronies holding Satow captive near the Kamo River. Upon confronting them, Tanaka says he intends to kill Satow because he is a member of the British Consular Service and he believes he's been gathering information about Japan as a spy to find weaknesses his government can exploit. Satow denies this, but Tanaka refuses to listen. The loyalist shishi also says he only kept Satow alive so that he could lure Sakamoto into a trap as well, since he believes he also deserves to die for aiding a foreigner. Sakamoto duels Tanaka and his thugs, defeating them and forcing them to flee. After Satow is rescued, he apologizes to Sakamoto for not telling him he works for the British government, but he insists that his intentions are genuine and that he would never work against the people of Japan, a country he has grown to love. Having grown close to the older man, Sakamoto believes him and escorts him back to Fushimi.
A while later, in the substory A Lasting Thirst for Peace, Satow receives word that he is being recalled back to England. The diplomat bids goodbye to his friends at the bar, including Sakamoto, telling them that he loves them all and that he intends to return to Japan as soon as he is able. However, he tells Sakamoto that, before he leaves, he needs to have a meeting with Saigo Kichinosuke of the Satsuma Domain to discuss how to maintain good relations between Japan and Britain, since Satow fears Japan's current volatility could leave it vulnerable to exploitation by his own country. 
Sakamoto takes Satow to a restaurant in Gion which Saito is known to frequent, but both men are stopped at the door by Nakamura Hanjiro, another Sonno Joui samurai who happens to be in the employ of Saigo and serving as his bodyguard. Nakamura angrily tells Satow that Saigo is in a private dinner and cannot be bothered. Satow asks Nakamura to at least deliver a letter from him to Saigo, but Nakamura decries that he is not a mailman and then tears up Satow's letter. Sakamoto tries to deescalate the situation, but Nakamura recognizes him as the man who beat Tanaka, so he decides to fight him, since Tanaka was like a younger brother to him. Nakamura and Sakamoto duel each other, with Sakamoto ending up the winner. The commotion attracts the attention of Saigo, who exits the restaurant to see what's happening. Satow takes the opportunity to request a brief audience with Saigo, but the Satsuma commander is uninterested in talking with a random foreigner. Nakamura once again orders Satow to leave, this time threatening him with his sword, but Satow refuses to budge, insisting that he wishes to advice Saigo on how to deal with Japan's current vulnerability and saying that he's willing to risk his life to help this country he's come to love. Impressed by Satow's fearlessness, Saigo agrees to the audience.
Some time later, Sakamoto runs into Satow once again at the bar in Fushimi. The two men discuss Satow's chat with Saigo and Satow expresses that he feels he's done everything he could do to help Japan, so he can now return home without regrets. The two friends share one last drink together before Satow departs to catch his boat.
== Gallery ==
Ernest-Satow.png
Category: Like a Dragon: Ishin! Characters
Category: Like a Dragon: Ishin! Substory Characters
Category: Historical Figures