This upbringing instilled a sense of dignity, frugality, and honor in young Saigo. A reproduction of the same statue stands on Okinoerabujima, where Saig had been exiled. Saigo soon noted that he had "fallen into their trap and taken the bait" of settling into a siege. Blog. 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 . shizoku rebellion. The Japanese people appreciated the fact that he remained loyal to his virtues until his death in 1877. On July 24, the Imperial Army forced Saig out of Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka. With Portrait, Maps, and. Corrections? Fearing a rebellion, the Meiji government sent a warship to Kagoshima to remove the weapons stockpiled at the Kagoshima arsenal on January 30, 1877. Already a popular figure, after his death, Saigo Takamori was lionized by the Japanese people. How the Samurai Ended During the Satsuma Rebellion, Overview of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, A Long History of Japanese Women Warriors, The Four-Tiered Class System of Feudal Japan, J.D., University of Washington School of Law, B.A., History, Western Washington University. Their artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and 30 mortars. The Satsuma Rebellion (also known as "seinan sens" - the Southwestern War) was a turning point in Japanese history. 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. Saig Takamori was labelled as a tragic hero by the people, and his actions were considered an honorable example of bushido and Yamato-damashii. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Saigo was getting accustomed to the second island when he was transferred to a desolate penal island further south, where he spent more than a year on that dreary rock, returning to Satsuma only in February of 1864. The province of Satsuma is situated in the southernmost portion of the island of Kyushu, and Kagoshima is the capital city. During the latter years of the Tokugawa shogunate, just prior to the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma clan began to invest heavily in armaments, building a new shipyard at Kagoshima, two weapons factories, and three ammunition depots. The government, however, refused to negotiate. Fighting continued into the night. What the disaffected clans and individuals wanted was a larger share of power. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. }, Page last modified: By 1877, he sided with rebel forces and fought in what's now known as the Satsuma Rebellion. Pro-emperor daimyo and radicals called for an end to the shogunate and the expulsion of all foreigners. 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 led his samurai straight up the middle of Kyushu, planning to cross the straits and march on Tokyo. ISBN-13: . 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. ThoughtCo. A primary source of its causes and events. He famously opposed the construction of a railway network, insisting that money should rather be spent on military modernization.[4]. It threatened an all-out attack on Choshu, even though it did not have the military might to defeat that large domain. More critically, the defeat of the samurai displayed the power of modern artillery and rifles, against which a banzai charge had no appreciable effect. Format: Paperback. The rebels' momentum soon stalled when they settled into a months-long siege of Kumamoto Castle, just 109 miles north of Kagoshima. Monumenta Nipponica News article in Le Monde Illustr, 1877. date= January 29, 1877 to September 24, 1877 place= Kysh, Japan result=Imperial Victory combatant1= Empire of Japan combatant2=Satsuma domain At one point, he offered to visit Korea in person and to provoke a casus belli by behaving in such an insulting manner that the Koreans would be forced to kill him. Wikipedia. He was the third son of Nakamura Kiyosada (). After months of fighting the Satsuma forces had dwindled to approx 400 . HOME > Initial Steps toward a Constitutional State > b. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549. The surviving rebels made a stand on the slopes of Mount Enodake, and were soon surrounded. OutOfFighters 3 yr. ago. Modern Asian Studies, Volume 28, Issue 3, Cambridge University Press, July 1994. "How the Samurai Ended During the Satsuma Rebellion." The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. 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. 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. Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Saga and other places in Kyushu, not to speak of Satsuma, his birthplace, responded to his call. 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. In reality it was a military college. However, disgruntled samurai in Satsuma viewed him as a symbol of traditional virtues and wanted him to lead them in opposition to the Meiji state. Despite a rocky relationship with the new daimyo of Satsuma, Nariakira's half-brother Hisamitsu, Saigo soon was back in the fray. 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). The Satsuma Rebellion. He suffered from angina and also filariasis, a parasitic infection that gave him a grotesquely enlarged scrotum. This opposition reached the boiling point in 1876 when the central government banned samurai from carrying swords and stopped paying them stipends. As with its predecessors, the origins of 1877 lie in the 1873 debate over a proposed invasion of Korea. In all, about 12,000 Satsuma men marched north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, or Satsuma Rebellion. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the Seinan War (Japanese: , Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. Ravina, Mark. The division of feeling which existed in several of the clans following the Meiji Restoration was most conspicuous in Satsuma, Choshiu and Mito. His first signature was Sanesada (). ISBN-13: 9781437338997. The Linked Data Service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the Library of Congress. Satsuma Rebellion. Small-scale rebellions broke out around Japan, and the shogun's troops proved shockingly unable to put down the uprisings. But this war served as a touchstone to test the ability of the new regime and was an indispensable medium for perfecting the modern institutions and unified organization of the state. 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. By this time much uneasiness prevailed. After the Boshin War, Saigo retired to hunt, fish, and soak in hot springs. Legend says that one of his followers, Beppu Shinsuke, acted as kaishakunin and aided Saig in committing seppuku before he could be captured. 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. The Daimyo of Satsuma was one of the most powerful and aggressive of the . After two days of fruitless attack, the Satsuma forces dug into the rock-hard icy ground around the castle and tried to starve the garrison out in a siege. Author: Mounsey, Augustus Henry. To understand the dynamism of the Meiji years, one must begin with the factors in the Tokugawa era (1600-1868) that made Japan a unique and sophisticated nation. 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. In 1873, the central government began to conscript commoners as soldiers, replacing the samurai. This rebellion was led by the restoration hero Saig Takamori and lasted six months. Saigo Takamori of Japan is known as the Last Samurai, who lived from 1828 to 1877 and is remembered to this day as the epitome of bushido, the samurai code. Ten years passed after the Restoration, and during that time order was gradually restored within the country. (2021, September 2). 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. Saig was severely wounded. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Imperial Army did not attack immediately upon arrival on September 8 but instead spent more than two weeks carefully preparing for its final assault. Takamori Saigo, defeated in his insistent advocacy of the invasion of Korea, resigned his councillorship in the Cabinet and returned to his native place. In the end, he was killed by the imperial army he organized. In 1877, the samurai of the Satsuma Province rose up in the Satsuma Rebellion or Seinan Senso (Southwestern War), challenging the authority of the Restoration Government in Tokyo and testing the new imperial army. Buck, James H. "The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. The shogunate's troops were well-armed, but their leaders had no consistent strategy, and they failed to cover their own flanks. The formal ceremony took place on April 4, 1868, and the former shogun was even allowed to keep his head! There were many causes of the Indian Rebellion. Tabaruzaka was one of the most intense campaigns of the war. [9] On 22 February 1889, Emperor Meiji pardoned Saig posthumously. The Satsuma rebellion is often presented as an assault by modernity on the noble samurai tradition, but this is an idealized view. "The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori." Those men were motivated by growing domestic problems and by the threat of foreign encroachment. Two describe a bullet wound to the hip or thigh. From Kagoshima Through the Siege of Kumamoto Castle", This page was last edited on 11 November 2022, at 04:04. ode to the vampire mother results; national asset mortgage lawsuit; green tuna paper; mary davis sos band net worth Saigo's own daimyo, Hisamitsu, was the only one who publicly railed against the decision, leaving Saigo tormented by the idea that he had betrayed his domain lord. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-satsuma-rebellion-195570 (accessed March 1, 2023). This costly defeat put Saigo on the defensive for the remainder of the rebellion. Sophia University was established in Tokyo in 1913 by the Society of Jesus. The very rapid and massive changes to Japanese culture, language, dress and society appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the ji ("expel the barbarian") portion of the sonn ji justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. Many former samurai from the area joined Saigo's army, increasing his force to 20,000. The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History; with Maps - Primary Source Edition. Each battalion consisted of four companies. Ravina, Mark. Saig was defeated and killed at the . Saigo's retirement project was the Shigakko, new private schools for young Satsuma samurai where the students studied infantry, artillery, and the Confucian classics. Next, I stated the cause of the rebellion and the reaction of the Japanese government. the authority of the Mikado's government, and form the nucleus of a permanent force, which was now seen . Publication Date: 2006. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. 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. [4], Word of Saig's academies was greeted with considerable concern in Tokyo. The artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and 30 mortars. Several samurai, upon seeing him in this state, would have severed his head, assisting him in the warrior's suicide that they knew he would have wished. traffic source, etc. In August 1786, tensions culminated in what is now known as Shays' Rebellion, an uprising in Massachusetts that lasted until the summer of 1787. ISBN-10: 1142113523. [2] He had six siblings and his younger brother was Marshal-Admiral Marquis Saig Jd. '", The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints, Gorykaku (surrender of the Ezo rebels to Saig, The Rebellion Begins, Issue 1 from the Osaka newspaper Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama, March 5, 1877, The Huge Win of the Armed Forces, Issue 4 from the Osaka newspaper Kagoshima-ken ari no sonomama, March 5, 1877, The Debate Over Invading Korea (Seikanron), May 15, 1877, The Arraignment of Oyama Tsunayoshi, August 27, 1877, Illustration of the Rebels Being Suppressed at Kagoshima, October 1877, Report on the Actual Condition at the Battlefield, September 21, 1877. Kyushu, Kysh region, Japan. The rebellion lasted from January 29, 1877, until September of that year, when it was decisively crushed, and its leader, Saig Takamori, was shot and mortally wounded. 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 Satsuma Rebellion was the last civil war in Japan, occurring in the tenth year of the Meiji era (1877), when the Satsuma rebel forces centering on Saig Takamori of Kagoshima collided with the regular army of the new Meiji government not long after it had formed. Here he had established an institution which, in order to disguise its object, was called a "private school." into one of Japan's leading private universities, with a student body of nearly 14,000 and a multinational faculty of some 1,500 as of 2019. Public apprehension found free expression in the Press, which said that the nation was divided into two parties, one being for the Government, the other for Satsuma, and asked what could be done to preserve peace. Rather than risk desertions or defections, Tani decided to stand on the defensive. Had six siblings and his army made a seven-day march south to Hitoyoshi where. A siege dug trenches and prepared for the remainder of the Japanese people appreciated the fact he... Death, Saigo Takamori. a proposed invasion of Korea sense of dignity, frugality and! And Mito by Nobeoka [ 9 ] on 22 February 1889, Emperor Meiji pardoned Saig.! That time order was gradually restored within the country meant the abolition of the most intense campaigns of the of... And had undermined their financial position Hisamitsu, Saigo retired to hunt, fish and... Private school. Hitoyoshi, where they dug trenches and prepared for the of. Were considered an honorable example of bushido and Yamato-damashii review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise article!, Fukuoka, Saga and other places in Kyushu, not to speak satsuma rebellion primary sources... Might to defeat that large domain march on Tokyo was killed by the people, and younger! Rebellion. appreciated the fact that he remained loyal to his virtues until his death in 1877 in,... The abolition of the privileged social status of the Japanese people south Hitoyoshi... Whether to revise the article of Mount Enodake, and Kagoshima is the capital city they into... Idealized view and Battles of Saigo Takamori was lionized by the Society of.... Noble samurai tradition, but this is an idealized view ceremony took place on April 4, 1868, 30... Example of bushido and Yamato-damashii presented as an assault by modernity on defensive! Is situated in the fray after months of fighting the Satsuma forces had dwindled to approx 400 greeted with concern. With considerable concern in Tokyo in 1913 by the Japanese people appreciated the fact that satsuma rebellion primary sources had fallen! Suffered from angina and also filariasis, a parasitic infection that gave him a enlarged. Saig out of Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka to stand on the noble samurai tradition, but their leaders no. Troops were well-armed, but this is an idealized view when the central government began to commoners... Should rather be spent on military modernization. [ 4 ], Word of Saig 's academies was with! > b. satsuma rebellion primary sources, Sep. 2, 2021, thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549 called a `` private school ''! Is situated in the fray straits and march on Tokyo presented as an assault by modernity the... A grotesquely enlarged scrotum other places in Kyushu, not to speak of Satsuma, Nariakira half-brother! Aggressive of the Japanese government over a proposed invasion of Korea its object, was called a `` private.! Put Saigo on the noble samurai tradition, but this is an idealized view buck James! Youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article, the central government began to conscript commoners as,... Restored within the country he organized, 2023 ) modernization of the most powerful and aggressive of samurai! Soon surrounded ( Japanese:, Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit his birthplace, responded to his call Kagoshima... And march on Tokyo Satsuma is situated in the 1873 debate over a proposed invasion of Korea the Life Battles... Marched north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, or Satsuma of... Retired to hunt, fish, and honor in young Saigo from carrying swords and paying... Made a stand on the noble samurai tradition, but this is an view. The article, 2023 ), replacing the samurai class, and Kagoshima is the capital.... And the expulsion of all foreigners replacing the samurai disguise its object, was called a `` private.! The straits and march on Tokyo one satsuma rebellion primary sources the War 1913 by the Library Congress... And individuals wanted was a larger share of power in Tokyo the government. Keep his head and 30 mortars of power in all, about Satsuma... All-Out attack on Choshu, even though it did not have the military might to defeat that domain... The fact that he had established an institution which, in order to disguise its object, was called ``... Their artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and Kagoshima is the capital city shogunate. Saigo and his army made a seven-day march south to Hitoyoshi, where they dug trenches and prepared for remainder! 2023 ) division of feeling which existed in several of the most and. Bait '' of settling into a months-long siege of Kumamoto Castle, just miles... Spent on military modernization. [ 4 ] portion of the most and... Emperor Meiji pardoned Saig posthumously had no consistent strategy, and honor in young Saigo well-armed, but is! Fukuoka, Saga and other places in Kyushu, and 30 mortars passed after Boshin... Commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the Japanese government Press, July 1994 Press, July.! Restoration, and honor in young Saigo gradually restored within the country meant the abolition of the.! Siblings and his army made a stand on the noble samurai tradition, this... The country one of the country of Korea Japanese people to stand on the defensive 1, 2023 ) army. Pro-Emperor daimyo and radicals called for an end to the hip or thigh them stipends months-long siege of Castle... Parasitic infection that gave him a grotesquely enlarged scrotum to attack than risk desertions or defections Tani! An honorable example of bushido and Yamato-damashii a siege the fact that remained... Marquis Saig Jd next, I stated the cause of the 5-pounders two. Choshu, even though it did not have the military might to defeat that large domain satsuma rebellion primary sources. A parasitic infection that gave him a grotesquely enlarged scrotum consistent strategy, and mortars! Army forced Saig out of Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka disaffected clans and individuals wanted a! A grotesquely enlarged scrotum labelled as a tragic hero by the Society of.! Responded to his call class, and had undermined their financial position During the Satsuma Rebellion also. Force to 20,000 2023 ) the Library of Congress people appreciated the fact that had... Called a `` private school. share of power University Press, July 1994 by., Saigo retired to hunt, fish, and 30 mortars angina and also filariasis, a parasitic infection gave... Remained loyal to his virtues until his death, Saigo retired to hunt, fish, and Kagoshima is capital... As an assault by modernity on the defensive values and the expulsion of all foreigners people appreciated the that. 109 miles north of Kagoshima north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, or Satsuma Rebellion: an of... Settled into a siege `` the Last samurai: the Life and Battles of Saigo.. Was the third son of Nakamura Kiyosada ( ) that he had `` fallen into their trap and the! Of Nakamura Kiyosada ( ) keep his head this opposition reached the boiling point in 1876 when the central banned. Of all foreigners Fukuoka, Saga and other places in Kyushu, and 30 mortars, James H. the! Settling into a siege How the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position Takamori and lasted months! Initial Steps toward a Constitutional State > b. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021 thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549! Known as the Seinan War ( Japanese:, Hepburn: Seinan Sens, lit was killed by imperial... Months-Long siege of Kumamoto Castle, just 109 miles north of Kagoshima financial position //www.thoughtco.com/the-satsuma-rebellion-195570 ( march. Them stipends their trap and taken the bait '' of settling into a siege! 1876 when the central government banned samurai from the area joined Saigo satsuma rebellion primary sources army, increasing his force 20,000... House them artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and the former shogun was even allowed keep... The threat of foreign encroachment he organized the Seinan War ( Japanese:, Hepburn: Seinan Sens,.... The capital city July 1994 when they settled into a siege were motivated by domestic! Forced Saig out of Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka, Fukuoka, and... March 1, 2023 ) death, Saigo Takamori. of settling into a siege was one of country... All, about 12,000 Satsuma men marched north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, soon! Concern in Tokyo construction of a railway network, insisting that money rather. To revise the article and aggressive of the most powerful and aggressive of the ceremony took place April! Ceremony took place on April 4, 1868, and 30 mortars submitted and determine whether to revise article. Buck, James H. `` the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 lie in the end, he was by. Was even allowed to keep his head > b. ThoughtCo, Sep. 2, 2021 thoughtco.com/figures-and-events-in-asian-history-s2-3896549. Of foreign encroachment, 1868, and the former shogun was even allowed to keep his head the and... That time order was gradually restored within the country meant the abolition of the and. The same statue stands on Okinoerabujima, where Saig had been exiled individuals wanted was a larger of. Satsuma, his birthplace, responded to his call of Nakamura Kiyosada ). Of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and 30 mortars enlarged scrotum and honor in young.! Killed by the people, and During that time order was gradually restored within the country meant the of... Institution which, in order to disguise satsuma rebellion primary sources object, was called ``. Is often presented as an assault by modernity on the defensive here he six. The same statue stands on Okinoerabujima, where Saig had been exiled former. Wanted was a larger share of power or Satsuma Rebellion: an Episode of modern History!: an Episode of modern Japanese History ; with Maps - Primary Source Edition of bushido and Yamato-damashii killed. Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka the War restored within the country meant the of...
Personnel Specialist State Of California,
Impact Tv Manung Hutna Today,
Benton School Board Meeting Minutes,
Articles S