noun
imperial loyalist samurai of the Bakumatsu era
Historical term for samurai who actively worked to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and restore imperial rule in the late Edo period.
坂本龍馬は幕末の志士として知られている。
Sakamoto Ryōma is known as a loyalist samurai of the Bakumatsu era.
noun
patriot; self-sacrificing idealist
Broader use for anyone with strong patriotic ideals and a willingness to sacrifice for the nation; can be applied to modern figures, but retains a somewhat elevated, historical flavor.
彼は国のために命を捧げた真の志士だった。
He was a true patriot who gave his life for his country.