Saigō Takamori

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Saigō Takamori (1828–1877), Conté drawing by Edoardo Chiossone

Saigō Takamori ( Japanese 西 郷 隆盛 ; * January 23, 1828 ; † September 24, 1877 in Kajiyachō, Kagoshima , Satsuma Province (today: Kagoshima Prefecture )) was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history . His younger brother was Saigō Tsugumichi .

Live and act

The son of the lower samurai Saigō Kichibē entered the service of Shimazu Nariakira , the local daimyō of the Satsuma province , after completing military and religious training . He was later given command of 50,000 samurai, a large part of the imperial army .

As a leader of the imperial forces in the Boshin War , in which he commanded over 50,000 samurai, Saigō was a key player during the Meiji Restoration . Despite his humble origins, he became a counselor ( 参議 , sangi ) and general (e.g. also Gensui ) in the new state.

Saigō was an opponent of the modernization of Japan and the opening of trade to the west. However, in 1873 he insisted that Japan attempt to annex Korea before the West realized its potential. However, since the other leaders of the Restoration (including Ōkubo Toshimichi ) were against these plans, Saigō resigned his offices and returned to his hometown of Kagoshima, where he founded a private school for faithful samurai, who had also resigned, a little later. to follow him to Tokyo .

In 1877, under the leadership of Saigō, they revolted in the Satsuma rebellion against the government, which had severely curtailed the rights of the samurai and, among other things, had robbed them of the right to wield swords. Although the imperial palace had set up a new army and it was equipped with modern weapons, the samurai with their traditional weapons were able to successfully engage the imperial army in battles for several months.

During the Battle of Shiroyama on September 24, 1877, Saigō was badly injured in the hip, and so he asked a comrade to behead him to prevent his capture and thus dishonor. Although legends and works of art depict Saigō solemnly committing seppuku , this is refuted by autopsies and contemporary accounts.

Numerous legends have grown up about Saigō, many of which denied his death. Many Japanese expected his return from India or the Chinese Empire , or that he would sail back with the Russian crown prince to fight injustice. Since the Meiji government was unable to break the people's affection for this fighter for tradition, it officially recognized his courage on February 22, 1889 and pardoned him posthumously .

A statue in Tokyo's Ueno Park , created by Takamura Kōun , shows Saigō taking his dog for a walk. In the Nanshū shrine (near his grave in the Buddhist temple Jōkōmyō-ji in Kagoshima) he is venerated as a kami .

Saigō's last stand against the Meiji government formed the basis for the 2003 US feature film Last Samurai .

photos

literature

  • John Man: Samurai. The Last Warrior. New York, 2011/2014, HarperCollins / William Morrow, ISBN 978-0-06-220267-3 (English-language biography)
  • Kanso Utschimura [!]: Japanese character heads . Stuttgart, Verlag D. Grundert, 1908, pp. 19-39 contains a biography
  • Ivan Morris: Samurai or From the Dignity of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan , Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1999, pp. 266–334
  • Roland Habersetzer : The Warriors of Ancient Japan - Famous Samurai, Rōnin and Ninja . Palisander Verlag, 1st edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-938305-07-2 . Contains a biography of Saigō Takamori, with an emphasis on the Satsuma rebellion .
  • Ralf Berhorst: The shock of the black fleet. In: Das Kaiserliche Japan , Geo Epoche No. 21, 2006, pp. 122-136, ISBN 3-570-19556-2

Web links

Commons : Saigō Takamori  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Saigō, Takamori
BRIEF DESCRIPTION japanese samurai
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Kajiyachō, Kagoshima , Satsuma Province (today: Kagoshima Prefecture )
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 1877
Place of death Kagoshima