(From the Museum of the Meiji Restoration, in Kagoshima City)
A Man of Virtue Trusted Even by His Enemies
During the Boshin Civil War (1868-1869), Shonai Domain (located in present day Yamagata Prefecture), which was a supporter of the Tokugawa government, came under fierce attack by the Imperial Army and was defeated. It is well-known that, under the influence of Saigo, the “rebel army” of Shonai Domain was treated magnanimously, and as the government changed and the Meiji era began, Shonai Doman felt an obligation and special trust for Saigo.
In the 4th year of Meiji (1871), Suge Sanehide, the chief retainer of Shonai Domain, met with Saigo in Edo (Tokyo) for the first time. The record of Shonai Domain contains the following statements: “The Elder (Saigo) is honored as an older brother” and “The Elder is in fact a great Sage, bestowed with Oyu’s gift of virtue.” It was also written that the previous year the former ruler of Shonai, Sakai Tadazumi, personally studied under Saigo during his visit to Kagoshima, and his retainers trained with riffles as rank and file soldiers in Hayato Garrison in Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture). Due to this association, a number of people from what was once Shonai Domain joined the Satsuma troops at the outbreak of the Seinan War.
Men Who Put Their Lives in Saigo’s Hands
There seemed to be a special kind of power to Saigo’s charisma. After the inauguration of the new Meiji government, Saigo differed in opinion with Okubo Toshimichi and Kido Takayoshi over whether or not to dispatch ambassadors to Korea and was subsequently dismissed. When that happened, many Satsuma officials holding high positions in the government also resigned and returned home to Kagoshima under the direction of Saigo. The number reached into the hundreds, including such distinguished men as Shinohara Kunimoto, the Major General of the Imperial Guards; Kirino Toshiaki, the Chief Justice of the Army; and Murata Shinbachi, the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Household. Many of these military officers and public officials would later take part in the Seinan War and share in Saigo’s fate.
Masuda Sotaro, who was in command of Oita Prefecture’s Nakatsu Corps, said this about Saigo: “If you know Saigo for a single day, the love of one day is born. If you know Saigo for three days, the love of three days is born. With each day, the love for him increases, until it won’t let go. It is enough to live and die with him…” The men who followed Saigo to their death at the end of the Seinan War probably thought the same thing. It is for this reason that Saigo is called “A person of great affection.”
The Mystery of Saigo’s Real Name
Although it was common for samurai to change their names several times over the course of their lives, the amount of names Saigo went through was excessive even for the time. (See chart.)
Age Name Reason for Change
Birth-14 Kokichi In Saigo’s family, this was the traditional name for the eldest son and heir.
15-26 Kichinosuke This was used from Saigo’s coming of age on forward.
27-29 Zembe Saigo took this name after his father’s death when he inherited control of the family.
32-35 Kikuchi Gengo During the time of the Ansei Purge, Saigo harbored the monk Gessho, a fugitive. Saigo was forced to change his name by edict of Satsuma Domain.
35 Oshima San’uemon The name he took after being reinstated and returning to Kagoshima.
35-37 Oshima Kichinosuke When Saigo was banished to Okinoera Bujima (an island in southern Kagoshima Prefecture near Okinawa), he was again ordered to change his name by domain edict.
38-40 Saigo Kichinosuke
41-Present Saigo Takamori
Takamori was not, in fact, Saigo’s real name. His real name was Takanaga; Takamori was the name of his father. However, when Saigo was awarded the rank of Shosanmi in the 2nd year of Meiji (1869), the government made a mistake in their documentation and used his father’s name instead. Saigo ended up refusing this rank, but in doing so, he sent back the name “Takamori.” From that time forward, Takanaga and Takamori were used interchangeably until the last years of Saigo’s life, when the name Takamori stuck.
Kei Ten Ai Jin
The words Saigo carried with him all his life Kei Ten Ai Jin, or “Revere Heaven, Love Man” mean “As Heaven blesses all people without discrimination, so I, too, with a heart of compassion, want to love mankind.” Saigo demonstrated this philosophy throughout his life.
The Accomplishments of Saigo Takamori
• The people who contributed the most to the Meiji Restoration are known as the Ishin Sanketsu or the Three Great Men of the Restoration. Saigo is one of them.
• Saigo was selected by Shimazu Nariakira, the head of Satsuma Domain, to travel the various feudal domains in Japan and drum up support to reform the Tokugawa Shogunate.
• After Nariakira’s death, Saigo was banished to Amami Oshima and then to the distant island of Okinoera Bujima. Both times he was summoned back, and in the first and only year of Genji (1864) Saigo demonstrated his skill and capability in the handling of the Incident at the Forbidden Gate and the first invasion of Choshu (Yamaguchi Prefecture).
• In the 2nd year of Keio (1866), Saigo played an important role in the alliance between Satsuma and Choshu, bringing the movement to overthrow the Shogunate one step closer to fruition.
• Saigo gained full authority over the Imperial Army as the Eastern Expeditionary High Command during the Boshin Civil War (1868-1869). By meeting with Kaishu Katsu, an important official in the Tokugawa government, he was able to take Edo Castle without bloodshed. His army came to dominate the domains of Nagaoka (Niigata Prefecture), Aizu (Fukushima Prefecture), and Shonai (Yamagata Prefecture), to name a few.
• After the new government was established, Saigo became General of Japan’s first national army and attained the ranks of Totoku and Sangi. His important work in the government led to feudal domains being abolished and prefectures established in their place. He also began to overhaul the education and conscription systems, and he was active in the center of Japanese modern architecture.
• In the 6th year of Meiji (1873), Okubo Toshimichi and Iwakura Tomomi returned to Japan from their trip to Europe and America. They opposed Saigo’s plan to dispatch diplomats to Korea, and Saigo went back to Kagoshima. Saigo built schools for the samurai youth, but his students came to distrust the new government. This invited a storm of controversy, which eventually led to the Seinan War (1877). After several violent skirmishes, Saigo’s army was defeated by the government army, and in September 1877, he died alongside his students. He was 49 years old.
• After the war, Saigo was branded a traitor and stripped of his official rank. But by the 22nd year of Meiji (1889), Saigo’s accomplishments during the restoration had come to be much admired. With the issuing of the Constitution of the Japanese Empire, Saigo was granted a pardon, the name of traitor was removed, and he was awarded the rank of Shosanmi.
Please note: All names are written in Japanese style, with the family name first and the personal name last.
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