On September 24, 1877, at 3:45 am, the Emperor's army launched its final assault in what is known as the Battle of Shiroyama. 0 Reviews. ISBN-13: . During 1867, Saigo and officials from Choshu and Tosa made plans to bring down the Tokugawa bakufu. 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. 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. It turned out the be the latterthe emperor's government in Tokyo wanted a new, centralized system, not just a collection of more efficient, self-governing domains. Omissions? Format: Hardcover. The cavalry regiment consisted of 150 men. The few surviving samurai launched a suicide charge into the teeth of the imperial army's Gatling guns, and were shot down. Samurai scaled the walls repeatedly, only to be cut down by small arms fire. OutOfFighters 3 yr. ago. SAIGO's forces were crushed on September 24, 1877 (Meiji 10) in the face of a general attack by government forces. The first thing about which historians often comment is the period's stability. 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. After Saigo's death, Beppu and the last of the "ex-samurai" drew their swords and plunged downhill toward the Imperial positions and to their deaths. Request Permissions. Early on February 22, the Satsuma attack began. As tensions increased, in January 1877, the central government sent a ship to seize munitions stores from Kagoshima. Unable to overcome the affection that the people had for this paragon of traditional samurai virtues, the Meiji-era government pardoned him posthumously on February 22, 1889. 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. The province of Satsuma is situated in the southernmost portion of the island of Kyushu, and Kagoshima is the capital city. When the attack finally came, the Satsuma forces withdrew, leaving small pockets of samurai to hit the larger army in guerrilla-style strikes. The Battle of Shiroyama ( Shiroyama no tatakai) took place on 24 September 1877, in Kagoshima, Japan. It threatened an all-out attack on Choshu, even though it did not have the military might to defeat that large domain. The Satsuma Rebellion : Illustrated Japanese History - the Last Stand of the Samurai by Wilson, Sean and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. The Satsuma advance guard, 4,000 strong, set out on February 15, marching north. Ever since his retirement from office, and his withdrawal to his native province in 1873, the elder Saigo had remained in Kagoshima, the chief town of Satsuma. In the final battle, the Battle of Shiroyama, 30,000 imperial troops bore down upon Saigo and his few hundreds of surviving rebel samurai. 28, No. After months of fighting the Satsuma forces had dwindled to approx 400 . Warbox|conflict=Satsuma Rebellion caption= Saig Takamori (seated, in Western uniform), surrounded by his officers, in traditional attire. They resorted to digging up unexploded Satsuma ordinance and refiring it. 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. Instead, he went home to Kagoshima. Satsuma Rebellion: Satsuma Clan Samurai Against the Imperial Japanese Army In 1877, the samurai of Satsuma province and their reluctant leader, Takamori Saigo, hurled a final challenge at Japan's westernizing government. Japan. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Names, Romanizations, and Spelling (page 2 of 2), Satsuma Rebellion: Satsuma Clan Samurai Against the Imperial Japanese Army, Organization of Imperial and Satsuma Forces, Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, German preWorld War II industrial co-operation, International Military Tribunal for the Far East, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Satsuma_Rebellion&oldid=1121217754, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Buck, James H. "The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. On January 3, 1868, the Boshin War began with Saigo's army of 5,000 marching forward to attack the shogun's army, numbering three times as many men. Yates, Charles L. "Saigo Takamori in the Emergence of Meiji Japan." Datasets available include LCSH, BIBFRAME, LC Name Authorities, LC Classification, MARC codes, PREMIS vocabularies, ISO language codes, and more. After a failed assault, Saig settled for a siege. Rejecting large numbers of volunteers, he made no attempt to contact any of the other domains for support, and no troops were left at Kagoshima to secure his base against an attack. Sources describe him as dressed in an austere yellow kimono . Tokyo intended to confiscate the weapons and take them to an imperial arsenal in Osaka. Bonded by their distaste for the shogunate, Choshu and Satsuma gradually formed an alliance. 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. Szczepanski, Kallie. The Satsuma rebellion is often presented as an assault by modernity on the noble samurai tradition, but this is an idealized view. The Battle of Shiroyama: The final battle of the Satsuma Rebellion, this battle serves as the basis for the final battle scene in the film. Instance of. This rebellion was led by the restoration hero Saig Takamori and lasted six months. The rebels fought two significant battles against the central government: the Siege of Kumamoto Castle and the Battle of Tabaruzaka. Satsuma Rebellion. Ravina, Mark. Brilliant Essays. A battalion was 672 men strong and was organized as per the line battalions. Some legends say Saig's manservant hid the head, and it was later found by a government soldier. Satsuma Rebellion. Vol. traffic source, etc. Gordon, Andrew. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. Outraged by the government's tactics, 50 students from Saig's academy attacked the Somuta Arsenal and carried off weapons. Superior Essays. Each entry is based on a primary source we analysed ; We used a website to compile the entries because it's easier to navigate with; HERE is the link to the primary documents/analysis In the about page there will be a video on the Satsuma Rebellion and a brief paragraph describing what was going on in the rebellion Then we have Luke's entry. The Daimyo of Satsuma was one of the most powerful and aggressive of the . They were followed two days later by the rear guard and artillery unit, who left in the midst of a freak snowstorm. 1 reference. On September 1, Saigo and his 300 surviving men moved to Shiroyama mountain above Kagoshima, which was occupied by 7,000 imperial troops. In February 1877, the Meiji government dispatched Hayashi Tomoyuki, an official with the Home Ministry with Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi in the warship Takao to ascertain the situation. 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. 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. Many former samurai from the area joined Saigo's army, increasing his force to 20,000. 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. Saigo was disgusted by this treacherous tactic as well. Modern weapons were also used such as the Smith & Wesson Model No. Support for Saig was so strong that Satsuma had effectively seceded from the central government by the end of 1876. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. 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". It is not clear what was done with Saig's head immediately after his death. ISBN-13: 9781142113520. 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. Upload media. Details; Description; The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History ; with Maps. @media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) { 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. Has part or parts. The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History (1879) Author: Augustus Henry Mounsey. The Guard infantry was divided into 2 regiments of 2 battalions each. The year 2018 has seen many events in Japan marking 150 years since the Meiji Restoration. The work is generally accurate and has much of . 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. by W. W. McLaren (page images at HathiTrust) Meanwhile, however, a crisis was developing in the government itself. A primary source of its causes and events. Improved Essays. by HistoryNet Staff 6/12/2006 Down to about 3,000 men, the Satsuma forces made a stand on Mount Enodake. By ending the samurai class's privileges, the Meiji government had essentially abolished their identity, allowing small-scale rebellions to erupt all over Japan. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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. Later this would turn out to be a pivotal decision since Choshu was Satsuma's major ally in the Boshin War. Initial Steps toward a Constitutional State, Preview of [Report of the Artillery Attack Against (Saigo Forces) in Shiroyama], Larger image of [Report of the Artillery Attack Against (Saigo Forces) in Shiroyama], Next ( Petition by Risshisha to Establish a National Assembly ), Chapter1 Initial Steps toward a Constitutional State, a. Conceptions of the Form of Government circa the Meiji Restoration, Chapter4 Crisis in Constitutional Politics. During the siege, many Kumamoto ex-samurai flocked to Saig's banner, swelling his forces to around 20,000 men. His father, Saigo Kichibei, was a low-ranking samurai tax official who only managed to scrape by despite his samurai status. Here he had established an institution which, in order to disguise its object, was called a "private school." The rebellion also effectively ended the samurai class, as the new Imperial Japanese Army built on heimin conscripts had proven itself in battle. The imperial troops spent several days constructing an elaborate system of ditches, walls and obstacles to prevent another breakout. On July 24, the Imperial Army forced Saig out of Miyakonoj, followed by Nobeoka. The Last Samurai's Katsumoto Moritsugu is based on the iconic Japanese samurai Saig Takamori. revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. All, perhaps, over-estimated their share in the accomplishment of the Restoration. After his retirement, however, Saigo simply wanted to play with his kids, hunt, and go fishing. From Kagoshima Through the Siege of Kumamoto Castle", This page was last edited on 11 November 2022, at 04:04. 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. At age six, Saigo Takamori started at the local gojuor samuraielementary schooland got his first wakizashi, the short sword used by samurai warriors. He was the third son of Nakamura Kiyosada (). "Southwestern War") was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. By May, Saigo's army had surrounded Edo and threatened to attack, forcing the shogun's government to surrender. 150,000 YEN UNSIGNED. Then I introduced the leader of the rebellion. [9], A Japanese hand fan commemorating the event, which survives in the collection of the Staten Island Historical Society in New York, features a depiction of Saig Takamori in a scene labeled (in English) "The Battle Near the Citadel of Kumamoto".[10]. As was the tradition for samurai in the event of their lord's death, Saigo contemplated committing to accompany Shimazu into death, but the monk Gessho convinced him to live and continue his political work to honor Nariakira's memory instead. Soon, Saigo was Daimyo Shimazu Nariakira's closest adviser, consulting other national figures on affairs including the shogunal succession. 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. The Satsuma Rebellion book. 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. Although the samurai were heavily outnumbered, they made a heroic stand and counterattack against the Japanese Army and showed their legendary skills off to the world in their final fight. 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. The division of feeling which existed in several of the clans following the Meiji Restoration was most conspicuous in Satsuma, Choshiu and Mito. In Kagoshima prefecture (formerly Satsuma domain), the samurai of the 'private-school faction' (referring to graduates of the private school set up by SAIGO Takamori and his disciples), organized by KIRINO Toshiaki, et al., joined forces with the Prefectural Governor OYAMA Tsunayoshi to advance their own policies. In 1871 he was left in charge of the caretaker government during the absence of the Iwakura Mission (187173). 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. Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned, returning power to the Emperor in what came to be known as the Meiji Restoration. 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. Determined not to let the rebels escape again, Yamagata sent in a large force which outnumbered the Satsuma army 7:1. This influential clan was headed by the Shimazu family, which had been founded by Shimazu Tadahisa, son of Minamoto Yoritomo, in the Kamakura period. 0 references. Why educator David Tarvin "thinks in Prezi" Feb. 13, 2023. The Satsuma Rebellion - Free ebook download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read book online for free. 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. The rebellion lasted from January 29, 1877, until September . As the siege wore on, the rebels ran low on munitions, prompting them to switch back to their swords. The survivors were out of ammunition, so had to rely on their swords. 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. Fighting continued into the night. 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. By 1861, Saigo was well-integrated into the local community. After his failure to take Kumamoto, Saig led his followers on a seven-day march to Hitoyoshi. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. A primary source of its causes and events. It did not bother him, thoughhe welcomed the opportunity to die for his principles. 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. Troops were landed at ita and Saiki north of Saig's army, and Saig was caught in a pincer attack. 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. Their artillery consisted of 28 5-pounders, two 16-pounders, and 30 mortars. How the Samurai Ended During the Satsuma Rebellion. 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