Saigō Takamori (Japanese: 西郷 隆盛; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) 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 (Seikanron). 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 (given name Kokichi, later Takamori; art name Nanshū) was born in Kajiya-chō, Kagoshima, the castle town of Satsuma Domain, on 23 January 1828. His family were low-ranking samurai (koshōgumi), 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 (Wang Yangming) learning, particularly through the syncretic teachings of Satō Issai. Saigō's later philosophy, emphasizing sincerity, virtuous action, and a direct connection to Heaven (ten), 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 (kōri bugyōsho). 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 (often gōshi, or rural samurai) 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.
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 (present-day Tokyo). 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 (oniwaban), 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 (Oyura Sōdō), 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 (sonnō jōi), 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 (later Tokugawa Yoshinobu) 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 (Tairō), 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.
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.