Saigō Takamori
Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, and subsequently served in the new Meiji government. However, he later became disillusioned with the direction of the new regime and led the Satsuma Rebellion against it in 1877, in which he was killed.
Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Satsuma Domain, Saigō rose to prominence as a retainer of Shimazu Nariakira, the daimyō of Satsuma. He was involved in national politics in Edo and Kyoto, advocating for shogunal reform and a stronger imperial role. After Nariakira's death, Saigō was exiled twice, first to Amami Ōshima and then to the harsher Okinoerabujima, periods during which he developed his political and philosophical ideas. Pardoned and recalled, he played a crucial part in forging the Satchō Alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū Domain, which was instrumental in the shogunate's downfall during the Boshin War. Saigō commanded imperial forces and negotiated the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle.
In the Meiji government, Saigō initially held significant posts, including commander of the Imperial Guard, and was involved in major reforms such as the abolition of the han system. He was a central figure in the caretaker government during the Iwakura Mission. In 1873, he resigned from the government over policy disagreements, particularly the rejection of his proposal for a mission to Korea. Returning to his native Kagoshima, Saigō became the reluctant leader of disaffected samurai who rose against the central government in the Satsuma Rebellion. Despite initial successes, the rebellion was crushed by the numerically and technologically superior Imperial Japanese Army. Saigō died by seppuku after being critically wounded in the final battle at Shiroyama. All of his men were killed in action.
Saigō's death cemented his legendary status. He is often referred to as "the last true samurai" and remains a highly popular and romanticized figure in Japan. His life and death have been the subject of numerous books, films, and artistic depictions, reflecting an enduring fascination with his character and his complex role in Japan's transition from feudalism to a modern state. While historical accounts of his actions and motivations vary, Saigō Takamori is widely regarded as a symbol of samurai virtue, sincerity, and tragic heroism.
Early life and career in Satsuma
Saigō Takamori was born in Kajiya-chō, Kagoshima, the castle town of Satsuma Domain, on 23 January 1828. His family were low-ranking samurai, and faced financial hardship. The Saigō household was large, at its maximum totaling sixteen people, including Saigō's parents, grandparents, his six younger siblings, and the family of his father's younger brother. Saigō's father, Kichibei, was a division chief in the domain's exchequer responsible for taxation, a relatively low "white-collar" urban samurai position. His mother, Masa, was the daughter of a local samurai.Saigō's education took place within Satsuma's unique two-tiered system. He attended a neighborhood school called a gojū, which emphasized martial arts, group solidarity, and rudimentary education, instilling Confucian values such as loyalty, duty, and honor. At age thirteen or fourteen, he suffered a serious injury to his right arm in an altercation with another samurai, which impeded his martial arts training and reportedly led him to focus more on scholarship. He also attended the domain academy, the Zōshikan, which centered on the Confucian classics. While the Zōshikan followed the orthodox Zhu Xi school of Neo-Confucianism, Saigō became interested in the more action-oriented Ōyōmei learning, particularly through the syncretic teachings of Satō Issai. Saigō's later philosophy, emphasizing sincerity, virtuous action, and a direct connection to Heaven, drew heavily from Satō Issai's ideas.
In 1844, at the age of sixteen, Saigō began work as an assistant clerk in the county office. His duties involved inspecting farm villages, supervising officials, encouraging agricultural production, and collecting taxes. This experience made him deeply aware of the peasants' hardships and the domain's crippling tax levies, fostering a lifelong concern for their welfare. In an 1856 memorial, Saigō argued that official corruption and loss of self-respect among local administrators were the main causes of peasant suffering. He advocated for restoring the pride and morale of these administrators as the key to benevolent governance. The year 1852 was particularly difficult for Saigō; he entered an arranged marriage with Ijuin Suga, which was dissolved two years later, and both his parents died within months of each other, leaving him as head of the impoverished family.
Rise to national prominence
Saigō's entry into national politics began in early 1854 when he was promoted from assistant clerk to an attendant of the daimyō of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. He was selected to accompany Nariakira on his biennial journey to the shogunal capital of Edo. The precise reasons for Saigō's sudden promotion remain a mystery, as there is no evidence of prior connection between him and Nariakira. Upon arrival in Edo, Nariakira appointed Saigō as his Edo gardener, an innocuous post that allowed Saigō to travel freely, relaying secret messages from Nariakira to other daimyō and political figures without arousing the suspicion of shogunal spies.Nariakira had become daimyō in 1851 after a bloody succession dispute known as the Oyura Disturbance, in which he overcame opposition from his father Narioki, Narioki's concubine Oyura, and the powerful domain elder Zusho Hirosato. Nariakira was a progressive and ambitious leader, keen on Western learning and technology, and determined to increase Satsuma's influence in national affairs. Saigō became Nariakira's trusted confidant and adviser. He was deeply impressed by Mito learning, a school of thought emphasizing reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of foreigners, particularly through his interactions with the Mito scholar Fujita Tōko.
Saigō actively worked on Nariakira's behalf in the complex political maneuvering surrounding the shogunal succession crisis and the signing of treaties with Western powers following Commodore Perry's arrival. Nariakira advocated for Hitotsubashi Keiki as successor to the childless and ailing Shōgun Tokugawa Iesada, and opposed the Harris Treaty. Saigō's devotion to Nariakira was intense; after the death of Nariakira's only surviving son, Torajūmaru, in 1854, which Saigō suspected was due to poisoning by Oyura's faction, he declared himself willing to die to avenge his lord.
Nariakira's sudden death in July 1858 was a devastating blow to Saigō. With his patron gone and the political tide turning against the reformers with Ii Naosuke's rise to power as Great Councilor, Saigō's position became precarious. Ii Naosuke resolved the succession dispute in favor of Tokugawa Iemochi and proceeded with the signing of treaties, initiating the Ansei Purge against his opponents.
Exile and intellectual growth
Facing arrest in the Ansei Purge, Saigō attempted suicide in November 1858 by throwing himself into Kagoshima Bay with the monk Gesshō, who was also sought by the shogunate. Saigō was rescued, but Gesshō drowned. To protect him from the shogunate, Satsuma domain officially declared Saigō dead and exiled him to Amami Ōshima, a remote island in the Ryukyu Islands under Satsuma's control. He lived on Amami from early 1859 to early 1862 under the assumed name Kikuchi Gengo. During this first exile, Saigō married a local woman, Aigana, with whom he had two children, a son, Kikujirō, and a daughter, Kikusō. He also taught local children and engaged in study and calligraphy. Initially despondent, he found solace in the island's natural beauty and the local culture, though he was critical of Satsuma's exploitative sugar monopoly that impoverished the islanders.Saigō was recalled to Satsuma in early 1862 at the behest of Shimazu Hisamitsu, Nariakira's younger half-brother and now the de facto ruler of Satsuma. Hisamitsu was planning to lead troops to Kyoto to pressure the shogunate into reforms. Saigō, however, clashed with Hisamitsu over strategy, believing Hisamitsu's plans to be rash and ill-conceived. Disobeying orders, Saigō went to Osaka and Kyoto to try and restrain radical Satsuma samurai who were eager for direct action. Hisamitsu, angered by Saigō's insubordination and fearing he might incite the radicals, had Saigō arrested.
In mid-1862, Saigō was exiled again, this time to the even more remote and harsher island of Okinoerabujima, south of Amami. For the first six months, he was confined to an outdoor cage, exposed to the elements, and suffered greatly from ill health. He was later moved to house arrest through the intervention of local officials, particularly Tsuchimochi Masateru, who admired his character. During this second, more severe exile, Saigō dedicated himself to study, calligraphy, and teaching local children. He composed numerous Chinese poems reflecting on his situation, loyalty, and the concept of Heaven, heavily influenced by the teachings of Satō Issai. He developed a philosophy where virtuous action, sincerity, and fulfilling one's Heaven-ordained duty, even unto death, were paramount. This period was crucial for his intellectual and spiritual maturation.
Role in the Meiji Restoration
Saigō was pardoned and recalled from his second exile in early 1864, as Satsuma, under Hisamitsu and Ōkubo Toshimichi, became increasingly involved in national politics. The political landscape had shifted dramatically; the shogunate's authority was weakening, and the sonnō jōi movement was gaining momentum, particularly in Chōshū Domain. Saigō was initially sent to Kyoto, where he played a key role in the Kinmon incident of July 1864, in which Satsuma and Aizu forces repelled an attempt by Chōshū radicals to seize control of the Imperial Palace.Despite Satsuma's role in defending the shogunate's interests in Kyoto, Saigō became increasingly convinced that the Tokugawa regime was beyond reform and incapable of uniting Japan against the threat of Western encroachment. His views were significantly influenced by his meeting with the shogunal official Katsu Kaishū in late 1864. Katsu persuaded Saigō that the shogunate was doomed and that a new government, possibly an alliance of powerful daimyō, was needed. Saigō then played a pivotal diplomatic role in the First Chōshū expedition, where, as chief of staff for the shogunal forces, he negotiated a lenient settlement that avoided a full-scale war and preserved Chōshū's strength.
This move laid the groundwork for the Satchō Alliance, a secret military pact between Satsuma and Chōshū, brokered by Sakamoto Ryōma of Tosa Domain in early 1866. When the shogunate launched a Second Chōshū expedition in mid-1866, Satsuma refused to participate, and Chōshū forces, modernized and well-led, inflicted a humiliating defeat on the shogunal armies. The death of Shōgun Iemochi and Emperor Kōmei in late 1866 and early 1867 further destabilized the political situation. Saigō, along with Ōkubo and Iwakura Tomomi, worked to secure an imperial edict for the overthrow of the shogunate.
In January 1868, the Boshin War began with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, where Satsuma and Chōshū forces, fighting under the imperial banner, defeated the shogunal army. Saigō commanded the imperial forces in their eastward advance and, in a pivotal moment, negotiated the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle with Katsu Kaishū in April 1868, preventing a devastating urban battle. He continued to lead imperial forces in the campaigns against remaining shogunal loyalists in northern Japan, although his participation in the later stages of the war was hampered by ill health and a growing sense of disillusionment.