On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Armed uprisings erupted successively in the Chugoku Region (western Honshu) and Kyushu, with the protagonists arguing for going through with the conquest of Korea and restoring samurai privileges. Brilliant Essays. Feb. 15, 2023. 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." Ten years passed after the Restoration, and during that time order was gradually restored within the country. A myth persists that the head was never found. 2 See Augustus Mounsey, The Satsuma Re-bellion, London, 1879, p. 274 and appendices. . This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. During 1867, Saigo and officials from Choshu and Tosa made plans to bring down the Tokugawa bakufu. Bonded by their distaste for the shogunate, Choshu and Satsuma gradually formed an alliance. In real life, Saig initially led the Imperial forces and won the four-day Battle of Toba-Fushimi in January 1868. The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War (Japanese: , Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit. Each battalion consisted of four companies. This influential clan was headed by the Shimazu family, which had been founded by Shimazu Tadahisa, son of Minamoto Yoritomo, in the Kamakura period. "Southwestern War") was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Datasets available include LCSH, BIBFRAME, LC Name Authorities, LC Classification, MARC codes, PREMIS vocabularies, ISO language codes, and more. The Last Samurai's Katsumoto Moritsugu is based on the iconic Japanese samurai Saig Takamori. Szczepanski, Kallie. [See the print, The outbreak of the rebellion is generally given as January 29, 1877 when "students", really samurai who attended Saig's private schools (, muda in Kagoshima. 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. By HORACE WALLER, FRGS, Rector of Twywell, Northampton. His letter indicated that he was not committed to rebellion and sought a peaceful settlement. The survivors were out of ammunition, so had to rely on their swords. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. Rather than facing arrest, Gessho and Saigo jumped from a skiff into Kagoshima Bay and were pulled from the water by the boat's crewregrettably, Gessho could not be revived. The accounts of his subordinates claim that he stood up and committed seppuku after his injury or that he requested that his friend Beppu Shinsuke assist his suicide. In all, about 12,000 Satsuma men marched north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, or Satsuma Rebellion. Primary Sources 1. The Satsuma samurai were initially organized into six battalions of 2,000 men each. They were followed two days later by the rear guard and artillery unit, who left in the midst of a freak snowstorm. Tabaruzaka was one of the most intense campaigns of the war. Saigo suspected that the Koreans might assassinate him, but felt that his death would be worthwhile if it gave Japan a truly legitimate reason to attack its neighbor. Modern weapons were also used such as the Smith & Wesson Model No. On September 1, Saigo and his 300 surviving men moved to Shiroyama mountain above Kagoshima, which was occupied by 7,000 imperial troops. On January 30, 1877, the central government launched a raid on the arms and ammunition storage areas in Kagoshima, without any prior warning to the Satsuma authorities. In this rebellion, Saigo Takamori, one of the veteran statesmen of the Restoration, who enjoyed a wide popularity and was well versed in military tactics, acted as the head of the insurrection. Please support our book restoration project by becoming a Forgotten Books member. Tabaruzaka was held by some 15,000 samurai from Satsuma, Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi against the Imperial Army's 9th Infantry Brigade (some 9,000 men). Saigo was shot through the femur in the last suicide charge and one of his companions cut off his head and hid it from the imperial troops to preserve his honor. Although the Satsuma Rebellion far exceeded the next largest disturbance, the 1874 Saga Rebellion of 2, 500 samurai, it followed a general pattern of samurai protest. Made by Takamura Kun, it was unveiled on December 18, 1898. They retreated once more to Mount Shiroyama, which stands above the city of Kagoshima, where the rebellion began seven months earlier. Continued by a Narrative of his Last Moments and Sufferings, obtained from his Faithful Servants Chuma and Susi. The Satsuma Rebellion is recommended to all readers interested in Japanese and samurai history. It did not bother him, thoughhe welcomed the opportunity to die for his principles. On February 22, the main Satsuma army arrived and attacked Kumamoto castle in a pincer movement. Beginning its educational efforts with a small Format: Paperback. 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. Superior Essays. [8] It was even recorded that his image appeared in a comet near the close of the 19th century, an ill omen to his enemies. Vol. The Rebellion reduced Japan's yearly expenditure from 13,700,000 to 10,250,000, and it raised Japan's national debt from 28,000,000 to 70,000,000. by HistoryNet Staff 6/12/2006 These attacks on the ramparts continued for two days, until Saigo decided to settle in for a siege. History of the Western Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania, Commonly Called the Whiskey Insurrection. 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. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549. Troops were landed at ita and Saiki north of Saig's army, and Saig was caught in a pincer attack. The shogunate's troops were well-armed, but their leaders had no consistent strategy, and they failed to cover their own flanks. "Saigo Takamori: The Last Samurai." Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-satsuma-rebellion-195570. Meanwhile, however, a crisis was developing in the government itself. However, the imperial government gradually sent more than 45,000 reinforcements to relieve Kumamoto, finally driving the Satsuma army away with heavy casualties. The samurai didn't hesitate to answer this questio. The Satsuma Rebellion (February 1877 - September 1877) and Its Woodblock Prints In riding through the streets one notices the crowds in front of the picture shops, which are bright in color from the war prints. Early on February 22, the Satsuma attack began. https://www.thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549 (accessed March 1, 2023). Roughly one-half of the work is devoted to the entire course of the rebellion. Who are Satnamis? The schools resembled paramilitary political organizations more than anything else, and they enjoyed the support of the governor of Satsuma, who appointed disaffected samurai to political offices, where they came to dominate the Kagoshima government. imported from Wikimedia project. Meanwhile, the Joseon Dynasty in Korea refused to recognize the Mutsuhito as an emperor, because it traditionally recognized only the Chinese emperor as suchall other rulers were mere kings. Request Permissions. 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. 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. After Oyama departed, a flotilla of small ships filled with armed men attempted to board Takao by force, but were repelled. A Modern History of Japan from Tokugawa Times to the Present, Second Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 84. 20-11-2011 19:18:05 ZULU. Even before the Restoration the contentions of rival parties had led in Choshiu to grave disorders, which had weakened that clan in its conflict with the Tokugawa Government; while in Mito the struggle of opposing factions, supporting, respectively, the Shogunate, and the Court party represented by the old Prince of Mito, had resulted in prolonged and fierce fighting. "Southwestern War") was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Eventually Saig and his final remaining samurai were encircled and annihilated at the Battle of Shiroyama. Illustration of the Navy Landing at Sukuchi Village (battle of Tabaruzaka Hill), Kagoshima Shinbun: Illustration of the Battle of Yamagaguchi, March 1877. 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. To aid in the air of legality, Saig wore his army uniform. Tensions with the government mounted after members of the private-school faction raided an ammunitions depot in early 1877 (Meiji 10), and secret agents were dispatched by the government to Kagoshima to spy on them. The rebels fought two significant battles against the central government: the Siege of Kumamoto Castle and the Battle of Tabaruzaka. He was the third son of Nakamura Kiyosada (). 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. 150,000 YEN UNSIGNED. Saigo spent a lot of time soaking in hot springs and strenuously avoiding politics. Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned, returning power to the Emperor in what came to be known as the Meiji Restoration. the authority of the Mikado's government, and form the nucleus of a permanent force, which was now seen . 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. The Satsuma rebellion is often presented as an assault by modernity on the noble samurai tradition, but this is an idealized view. He led his samurai straight up the middle of Kyushu, planning to cross the straits and march on Tokyo. The government, however, refused to negotiate. [citation needed], In English, the most common name for the war is the "Satsuma Rebellion". As with its predecessors, the origins of 1877 lie in the 1873 debate over a proposed invasion of Korea. During war a company's strength was to be increased to 240 privates. The shogun's men were still hunting him, so Saigo went into a three-year internal exile on the small island of Amami Oshima. Although Satsuma had been one of the key players in the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War, and although many men from Satsuma had risen to influential positions in the new Meiji government, there was growing dissatisfaction with the direction the country was taking. Artillery consisted of over 100 pieces, including 5.28 pound mountain guns, Krupp field guns of various calibers, and mortars. The true story that inspired the 2003 Tom Cruise film The Last Samurai, the Satsuma Rebellion (seinan sens, or "Southwestern War" in Japanese) was an 1877 rebellion of disaffected ex-samurai from Satsuma domain against the newly constituted Meiji government of Japan.Led by an erstwhile member of the government's highest circle, the legendary samurai Saigo Takamori, the . ISBN-10: 1142113523. The conflict of opinions between the conservative internal policy party and the strong foreign policy party resulted in a vehement controversy over the question of an invasion of Korea, and finally led to the great Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. Forty-six other military officers from the southwest resigned as well, and government officials feared that Saigo would lead a coup. Japan Currency Museum. Szczepanski, Kallie. Satsuma Rebellion. Japan was divided into six military districts: Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kumamoto, with two or three regiments of infantry, plus artillery and other auxiliary troops, assigned to each district. These cookies track visitors across websites . The leaders of the restoration were mostly young samurai from feudal domains ( han s) historically hostile to Tokugawa authority, notably Chsh, in far western Honshu, and Satsuma, in southern Kyushu. 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. 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. He was born on May 26 th in the fourth year of Keian (, 1651). However, Northeastern domains led by Aizu continued to fight on the shogun's behalf until September., when they surrendered to Saigo, who treated them fairly, furthering his fame as a symbol of samurai virtue. In this,, The last and greatest revolt came in 1877 in Satsuma. Buck, James H. "The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. In October, the prime minister announced that Saigo would not be allowed to travel to Korea as an emissary. The myth stems from the fact that the legions used a phalanx system with spears as primary system before the manipel system was introduced and the Gladius became thr primary weapon for most of the empire. In Satsuma and the rest of Japan, though, it was not clear whether reforms like these were sufficient, or if the entire social and political systems were due for a revolutionary change. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. The Last Samurai chronicles the fortuitous rise and tragic fall of Saig. Saig Takamori (Takanaga) ( (), January 23, 1828 September 24, 1877) was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. [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). Japan. The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War ( Japanese: , Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit. During war, the mountain artillery had a nominal strength of 160 men per battery and field artillery had 130 men per battery. His political organizing ran afoul of the new daimyo, however, who had him arrested and banished to a different small island just four months after his return from Amami. During the siege, many Kumamoto ex-samurai flocked to Saig's banner, swelling his forces to around 20,000 men. Imperial forces landed with few losses, then pushed north seizing the city of Miyanohara on March 19. 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. 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. Saig Takamori Gunmusho () banknote, issued in 1877 to finance his war effort. 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. Saig met the noted British diplomat Ernest Satow in the 1860s, as recorded in the latter's A Diplomat in Japan, and Satow was present at the unveiling as recorded in his diary. On February 13 and 14, the Satsuma domain's army of 12,900 organized itself into units. by W. W. McLaren (page images at HathiTrust) In April of 1871, Saigo was persuaded to return to Tokyo to organize the new national army. Saig resigned from all of his government positions in protest and returned to his hometown of Kagoshima. The Siege of Kumamoto Castle lasted until April 12, 1877. 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. He is popularly known as "The Last Samurai," and proved so beloved that Emperor Meiji felt compelled to issue him a posthumous pardon in 1889. Officially, the Meiji Emperor's government had authority over those facilities after 1871, but Satsuma officials actually retained control of them. 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