"Saigo Takamori: The Last Samurai." Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 - Sources The division of feeling which existed in several of the clans following the Meiji Restoration was most conspicuous in Satsuma, Choshiu and Mito. In August 1786, tensions culminated in what is now known as Shays' Rebellion, an uprising in Massachusetts that lasted until the summer of 1787. Although greatly dismayed by the revolt, Saig was reluctantly persuaded to lead the rebels against the central government. A primary source of its causes and events. Primary Sources 1. This provoked open conflict, although with the elimination of samurai rice stipends in 1877, tensions were already extremely high. The rebellion was very expensive for the government, which forced it to make numerous monetary reforms including leaving the gold standard. After Saig rejected a letter dated September 1 from Yamagata drafted by a young Suematsu Kench asking him to surrender, Yamagata ordered a full frontal assault on September 24, 1877. They retreated once more to Mount Shiroyama, which stands above the city of Kagoshima, where the rebellion began seven months earlier. The coming into force in January, 1877, of the edict, issued in the previous year, prohibiting the wearing of swords, was followed by Shimadzu's resignation of the high office he held in the Ministry. In April 1877, Saig reorganized the army into nine infantry units of 350 to 800 men each. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. As a peer-reviewed international forum for researchers across the globe, it carries original scholarly contributions on premodern and modern history, literature, art history, religion, and thought; translations of important Japanese literary and historical sources; and authoritative reviews of recent books on Japan. They saw Japan as the abode of godssince the Emperor descended from the Sun Goddessand believed that the heavens would protect them from the western military and economic might. The eight-month-long Satsuma Rebellion was the last great rebellion of feudal Japan, quite literally the last stand of the disaffected samurai warriors against the new imperial government, put in place by the Meiji Restoration. In peacetime, each company had approximately 160 privates and 32 officers and non-commissioned officers. Though in Satsuma the rivalry of individual leaders had stopped short of open hostilities, the division of feeling was not less marked. Saig was a strong proponent of war with Korea in the Seikanron debate of 1873. The Satsuma Rebellion book. This was witnessed by the American sea captain John Capen Hubbard. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Meiji Restoration leader's lessons of sincerity", Names, Romanizations, and Spelling (page 1 of 2), On Saig and the establishment of a railway, "The Apocryphal Suicide of Saig Takamori: Samurai, "Seppuku", and the Politics of Legend", Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saig_Takamori&oldid=1130843774, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from January 2018, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Saig Kichijir (younger brother): Killed in action in the, Saig Kohei (younger brother): Killed in action in the, This page was last edited on 1 January 2023, at 07:05. A gripping graphic novel describing the uprising of 1887, when. After receiving reinforcements, the imperial force, now totaling 4,000 men, attacked the rear elements of the Satsuma army and drove them back. 8 Practical Tips to Maximize Efficiency in Real Estate Investing A famous bronze statue of Saig in hunting attire with his dog stands in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Publish Date: Dec 10, 2008. Imperial forces emerged victorious, but with heavy casualties on both sides. The training provided was not purely academic: although the Chinese classics were taught, all students were required to take part in weapons training and instruction in tactics. The Last Samurai chronicles the fortuitous rise and tragic fall of Saig. However, other evidence contradicts this, stating that Saig in fact died of the bullet wound and then had his head removed by Beppu in order to preserve his dignity. Satsuma Rebellion The imperial government in Tokyo expected Saigo to come to the capital by sea or to dig in and defend Satsuma. On February 19, the first shots of the war were fired as the defenders of Kumamoto castle opened fire on Satsuma units attempting to force their way into the castle. A battalion was 672 men strong and was organized as per the line battalions. Over the next several nights, they raided additional arsenals around Kagoshima, stealing weapons and ammunition, and to make matters worse, they discovered that the national police had sent a number of Satsuma natives to the Shigakko as central government spies. . Rather than risk desertions or defections, Tani decided to stand on the defensive. Legend says that one of his followers, Beppu Shinsuke, acted as kaishakunin and aided Saig in committing seppuku before he could be captured. Notwithstanding the great sacrifices it was called upon to make, the Imperial Government was fortunately able to give proof of its ability to maintain the unified rule over the nation, and was left virtually free to proceed on its way toward administrative reforms and general public improvements. Multiple legends sprang up concerning Saig, many of which denied his death. On the same day, Saig met with his lieutenants Kirino Toshiaki and Shinohara Kunimoto and announced his intention of marching to Tokyo to ask questions of the government. Complete Chronicle of the Subjugation of Kagoshima: Illustration of Government Forces Attacking Miyazaki, Illustration of the Rebels Being Suppressed at Kagoshima, October 4, 1877. Shortly thereafter, a private military academy known as the Shi-gakk was established in Kagoshima for the faithful samurai who had also resigned their posts to follow him from Tokyo. Over the next three days, more than 1000 students staged raids on the naval yards and other arsenals.[3]. Browsing subject area: Satsuma Rebellion, 1877 (Exclude extended shelves) You can also browse an alphabetical list from this subject or from: . By 1877, he sided with rebel forces and fought in what's now known as the Satsuma Rebellion. The Siege of Kumamoto Castle lasted until April 12, 1877. As commander of Satsuma's troops, Saigo led an 1864 punitive expedition against the Choshu domain, whose army in Kyoto had opened fire on the Emperor's residence. Saigo Takamori helped to usher in the modern era in Japan, serving as one of the three most powerful officials in the early Meiji government. The Satsuma advance guard, 4,000 strong, set out on February 15, marching north. Professor John Lynn 442 Gregory Hall Office Hours: MW, 1pm and by appointment [email protected] Cell Phone: 217-778-7333 History 251/GLBL 251: War, Military Institutions, and Society since 1815 Spring Semester 2023 MW, 12pm, 319 Lincoln Hall Check out Professor Lynn's web page and CV: Canvas All the basic materials for this class can be found on Canvas at Spring 2023-HIST 251-Warfare Milit . instance of. by HistoryNet Staff 6/12/2006 But in Satsuma the division of feeling remained unaltered, a circumstance which, added to separatist tendencies that stood in the way of combined action, was, in the sequel, of much benefit to the Government. Modern Asian Studies, Volume 28, Issue 3, Cambridge University Press, July 1994. Saigo and his army made a seven-day march south to Hitoyoshi, where they dug trenches and prepared for the imperial army to attack. The following day, Hayashi declared to Oyama that he could not permit Kawamura to go ashore when the situation was so unsettled, and that the attack on Takao constituted an act of lse-majest. Above all these classes were the Mikado, the secluded divinity of Ki6to, still theo- retically the source of all authority; . About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. After months of fighting the Satsuma forces had dwindled to approx 400 . French newsmagazine Le Monde Illustr / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain. Ravina, Mark. Small-scale rebellions broke out around Japan, and the shogun's troops proved shockingly unable to put down the uprisings. Although Nakahara later repudiated the confession, it was widely believed in Satsuma and was used as justification by the disaffected samurai that a rebellion was necessary in order to "protect Saig". Officially, the Meiji Emperor's government had authority over those facilities after 1871, but Satsuma officials actually retained control of them. In the end, he was killed by the imperial army he organized. [2] He had six siblings and his younger brother was Marshal-Admiral Marquis Saig Jd. Saigo's troops marched out confidently, sure that samurai in other provinces would rally to their side, but they faced an imperial army of 45,000 with access to unlimited supplies of ammunition. "The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori." Buck, James H. "The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. Following the repression of the Satsuma Rebellion, a samurai uprising in 1877, Japan again forged ahead toward political unity, but there was an increasing trend of antigovernment protest from below, which was epitomized by the Movement for Peoples Rights. After the Boshin War, Saigo retired to hunt, fish, and soak in hot springs. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions How the Samurai Ended During the Satsuma Rebellion. Forty-six other military officers from the southwest resigned as well, and government officials feared that Saigo would lead a coup. Mark Ravina, the author of The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori, argued that "Satsuma Rebellion" is not the best name for the war because the English name does not well represent the war and its Japanese name. Many native infantryman (sepoys) believed that these new cartridges introduced in early 1857 had been greased by cow and pig fat. shizoku rebellion. When an Imperial Navy landing party reached the arsenal at Somuta under cover of night, locals raised the alarm. The decision in 1938 Just four days after his return, he had an audience with the daimyo, Hisamitsu, who shocked him by appointing him commander of the Satsuma army in Kyoto. His first signature was Sanesada (). [3], Saig Takamori, one of the senior Satsuma leaders in the Meiji government who had initially supported the reforms, was especially concerned about growing political corruption - popular prints depicted the rebel army with banners bearing the words shinsei-ktoku (, new government, high morality). Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their . Since the OP might be interested, here are the pages from the above reading on the Satsuma Rebellion and its aftermath. Blog. Secretary of the British Legation in Tokyo during the rebellion, Mounsey relied on the 'most authentic sources, oral and documentary'. The surviving rebels made a stand on the slopes of Mount Enodake, and were soon surrounded. Then I introduced the leader of the rebellion. Three firsthand accounts of the condition of his deceased body exist. In addition, there were 200 artillerymen and 1,200 laborers. Augustus Henry Mounsey. Takamori's parents also had to borrow money to buy farmland in order to have enough food for the growing family. Morale was extremely low, and lacking any strategy, the Satsuma forces dug in to wait for the next Imperial Army offensive. By this time much uneasiness prevailed. Although much of his history has been lost, recent scholars have discovered clues to the true nature of this illustrious warrior and diplomat. ThoughtCo, Sep. 7, 2021, thoughtco.com/the-satsuma-rebellion-195570. The Satsuma rebellion furnishes themes for the illustrators. (2021, September 7). During war, the mountain artillery had a nominal strength of 160 men per battery and field artillery had 130 men per battery. Later, they would have said that he committed seppuku to preserve his status as a true samurai.[7]. The Tokugawa regime was falling apart, but it had not yet occurred to Saigo that a future Japanese government might not include a shogunafter all, the shoguns had ruled Japanfor 800 years. The Shigakko students heard that the Meiji ship was coming and emptied the arsenal before it arrived. The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War (Japanese: , Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit. revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Because of the Satsuma Rebellion, the government faced serious financial difficulties. opposition to the Meiji Restoration In Japan: Abolition of feudalism the greatest, revolt came in Satsuma in 1877. to undertake publication of Monumenta Nipponica despite these problems symbolized the founders' commitment to Monumenta Nipponica Satsuma's governor, Oyama Tsunayoshi, explained that the uprising was in response to the government's assassination attempt on Saig, and asked that Admiral Kawamura (Saig's cousin) come ashore to help calm the situation. The Death of the Last Samurai Saigo's troops marched out confidently, sure that samurai in other provinces would rally to their side, but they faced an imperial army of 45,000 with access to unlimited supplies of ammunition. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It is said that he was shot in the femur, then he thrust a sword into his stomach region, then had his head decapitated deliberately by a fellow citizen. [2] He wrote poetry under the name Saig Nansh ( ).[3]. As none of the eyewitness accounts mention a wound to the abdomen, or any fresh sword wound at all, it is unknown if Saig pierced his stomach with his sword. From Kagoshima Through the Siege of Kumamoto Castle", This page was last edited on 11 November 2022, at 04:04. By 1861, Saigo was well-integrated into the local community. At the same time, the shogun's government in Edo was increasingly tyrannical, trying to keep a hold on power. Fearing a rebellion, the Meiji government sent a warship to Kagoshima to remove the weapons stockpiled at the Kagoshima arsenal on January 30, 1877. Despite Yamagata's efforts over the next several days, Saig and his remaining 500 men reached Kagoshima on September 1 and seized Shiroyama, overlooking the city. Some children had pestered him into becoming their teacher, and the kind-hearted giant complied. After his retirement, however, Saigo simply wanted to play with his kids, hunt, and go fishing. Today, building on this tradition, Sophia has developed Kumamoto castle, built in 1598, was among the strongest in Japan, but Saig was confident that his forces would be more than a match for Tani's peasant conscripts, who were still demoralized by the recent Shinpren rebellion. He did not want to rebel, still feeling deep personal loyalty to the Meiji Emperor, but announced on February 7 that he would go to Tokyo to "question" the central government. The Last Samurai's Katsumoto Moritsugu is based on the iconic Japanese samurai Saig Takamori. Soon, more than 1,000 Satsuma samurai appeared and drove off the intruding sailors. As tensions increased, in January 1877, the central government sent a ship to seize munitions stores from Kagoshima. Warbox|conflict=Satsuma Rebellion caption= Saig Takamori (seated, in Western uniform), surrounded by his officers, in traditional attire. 1973 Sophia University The artillery battalion was divided into 2 batteries with 130 men per battery. Later this would turn out to be a pivotal decision since Choshu was Satsuma's major ally in the Boshin War. Then, Japan attacked forcing the Joseon king to sign an unequal treaty, which eventually led to the outright annexation of Korea in 1910. Friction among the Cabinet members over the question of Korean conquest, added to the local disturbances, made the already confused state of things worse confounded, and the result was the famous Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status obsolete. They resorted to digging up unexploded Satsuma ordinance and refiring it. The Satsuma rebellion was a resist from the Meiji government and modern changes that took place in 1877. His intransigence was one of the major causes of the subsequent Boshin War. imported from Wikimedia project. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Soon, Saigo was Daimyo Shimazu Nariakira's closest adviser, consulting other national figures on affairs including the shogunal succession. They had, they considered, paid the piper, and they wished to call the tune. The traditional explanation of the offensive rifle cartridges causing the initial outbreak of mutiny is only part of the story. The end of the Satsuma Rebellion also marked the end of the samurai era in Japan. Not long after the wedding, both of Saigo's parents died, leaving Saigo as the head of a family of twelve with little income to support them. They were armed with breech-loading Snider rifles and could fire approximately six rounds per minute. Many of the warrior Samurai during the Seinan war (Satsuma rebellion) used the tosei (modern / post 1540) style samurai armor which consisted of a ni-mai . Datasets available include LCSH, BIBFRAME, LC Name Authorities, LC Classification, MARC codes, PREMIS vocabularies, ISO language codes, and more. The samurai were armed with traditional weapons including katanas, naginata and yari polearms, yumi bows, and Sengoku era gunpowder weapons such as tanegashima, baj-zutsu, and wooden cannons. Saigo Takamori: The Last Samurai. One of the most noteworthy incidents in the history of Japan's transition from a feudal regime to a modern state was the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. The second crisis, the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, was even . Dr. Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. Monumenta Nipponica. What the disaffected clans and individuals wanted was a larger share of power. At age six, Saigo Takamori started at the local gojuor samuraielementary schooland got his first wakizashi, the short sword used by samurai warriors. Satire picture of Boshin War, diptych. While the year 1868 was crucial to the fall of the shogunate and the establishment of a new government . From humble beginnings in the capital of Satsuma, Saigo followed the path of the samurai through his brief exile and would go on to lead reform in the Meiji government, eventually dying for his causeleaving a lasting impact on the people and culture of 1800s Japan. After Oyama departed, a flotilla of small ships filled with armed men attempted to board Takao by force, but were repelled. Other imperial loyalists wrote to him for advice on politics, so despite his exile and officially dead status, he continued to have an impact in Kyoto. During the conflict, the government side expended on average 322,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,000 artillery shells per day. Although all of the rebels were killed, the imperial troops managed to locate Saigo's buried head. Instance of. Saigo's nearly bloodless victory won him national fame, eventually leading to his appointment as an elder of Satsuma in September of 1866. This provoked open conflict, although with the elimination of samurai rice stipends in 1877, tensions were already extremely high. Satsuma Rebellion The first test of the young Meiji government came with the revolt of the powerful Satsuma clan based in the southern region of the island of Kyushu. Szczepanski, Kallie. These attacks on the ramparts continued for two days, until Saigo decided to settle in for a siege. Satsuma had no reserve of extra weapons and insufficient ammunition for an extended war. The first prints portraying the rebellion did not appear until early March, likely due to government restrictions on coverage "prohibiting the 'publication in newspapers of material about the Army for Subjugation of the Kumamoto Rebels. With these deaths, the Satsuma rebellion came to an end. It is not clear what was done with Saig's head immediately after his death. There, the situation was complicated by the existence of no less than three parties two conservative groups led, respectively, by the old noble Shimadzu, the father of the young ex-daimio, and by the elder Saigo, the latter being at once the most influential and most numerous; and a thirdthe party of reformwhich looked for guidance, among other prominent men, to Okubo, Kuroda, Matsugata, Kawamura and the younger Saigo. The Korean government even went as far as having a prefect publicly state that by adopting western-style customs and clothing, Japan had become a barbarian nation. Saig Takamori Gunmusho () banknote, issued in 1877 to finance his war effort. It signaled the beginning of the Japanese Imperial Army's rise to domination in eastern Asia, which would end only with Japan's eventual defeat in World War II almost seven decades later. He initiated a military advance the following month, on February 15, intending to march on Tokyo, because of "questions I intend to press on the government." Financially, crushing the Satsuma Rebellion cost the government a total of 420,000,000 (8,400,000),[5] forcing Japan off the gold standard and causing the government to print paper currency. Rebellions by the samurai, which had broken out sporadically since 1868 (Meiji 1), including the 1869-70 conflict between irregular military units and upper rank samurai commanders in the Choshu domain, gained steam with the collapse of the "conquer Korea debate". Although kubo Toshimichi and others were more active and influential in establishing the new Meiji government, Saig retained a key role, and his cooperation was essential in the abolition of the han system and the establishment of a conscript army. He led his samurai straight up the middle of Kyushu, planning to cross the straits and march on Tokyo. By March, Saigo realized that his rebellion was doomed. Has part or parts. The Satsuma Rebellion was a samurai rebellion against the imperial government of Japan which occurred from 29 January to 24 September 1877 on the island of Kyushu. Wikipedia. This costly defeat put Saigo on the defensive for the remainder of the rebellion. [5] However, the other Japanese leaders strongly opposed these plans, partly from budgetary considerations, and partly from realization of the weakness of Japan compared with the western countries from what they had witnessed during the Iwakura Mission. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status obsolete. However, Saig was one of the most vocal and vehement opponents to the negotiated solution, demanding that the Tokugawa be stripped of their lands and special status. Saig was defeated and killed at the . [3], To help support and employ these men, in 1874 Saig established a private academy known as the Shi-gakk in Kagoshima. Imperial forces landed with few losses, then pushed north seizing the city of Miyanohara on March 19. The five government warships in Kagoshima harbor added their firepower to Yamagata's artillery, and began to systematically reduce the rebel positions. Saig initially disagreed with the modernization of Japan and the opening of commerce with the West. Japan Currency Museum. However, Saig burned his private papers and army uniform on August 19, and slipped away towards Kagoshima with his remaining able-bodied men. The rebellion of the Satsuma samurai involved about 12000 men, almost all of which were of that class and hence would have proper swords.Wikipedia states that there were about 1200 labourers. Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar II LLC, 2014 - 358 pages. Saigo, however, had no regard for the conscripted farm boys who made up the imperial army. Saig was initially confident of his ability to take Kumamoto Castle, but he had underestimated the effectiveness of the imperial conscripts defending the castle. The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History; with Maps - Primary Source Edition. When the plan was rejected, Saig resigned from all of his government positions in protest and returned to his hometown of Kagoshima, as did many other Satsuma ex-samurai in the military and police forces. By 1877, he sided with rebel forces and fought in what's now known as the Satsuma Rebellion. They were followed two days later by the rear guard and artillery unit, who left in the midst of a freak snowstorm. Great Essays. Saigo Takamori was born on January 23, 1828, in Kagoshima, Satsuma's capital, the oldest of seven children. The government, however, refused to negotiate. The government had just dealt with several small but violent samurai revolts in Kysh, and they found the prospect of rebellion by the numerous and fierce Satsuma samurai, led by the famous and popular Saig, an alarming one. [ 7 ] Somuta under cover of night, locals raised the alarm dismayed by the imperial to. 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