Satsuma rebellion

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Satsuma rebellion
date January 29, 1877 to September 24, 1877
place Kyushu
output Victory of the Empire
Parties to the conflict

Flag of Japan (1870–1999) .svg Japanese Empire

Japanese Crest maru ni jyuji.svg satsuma

Commander

Meiji
Arisugawa Taruhito
Yamagata Aritomo

Saigō Takamori


Saigō Takamori, Conté drawing by Edoardo Chiossone (1828–1877)
Campaigns and fighting during the Satsuma rebellion
Fortifications on Mount Shiroyama

The Satsuma Rebellion ( Japanese西南 戦 争Seinan Sensō , eng. Southwestern War ) was a revolt of the samurai of Satsuma province against the Meiji government in 1877. It was the last and largest of a series of uprisings against the new government.

background

In the course of the Meiji Restoration , not only had the feudal feudal system and the class system been abolished, the warrior class had also lost its traditional prerogative of being allowed to carry swords as well as the benefits paid by the government. The samurai's traditional topknot - another status symbol - had also been banned. At the same time, general conscription was introduced in 1873 .

In order to create an outlet for the resulting dissatisfaction of many former samurai, part of the Meiji government around Saigō Takamori spoke out in favor of a punitive expedition against Korea . However, when after the return of Iwakura Tomomi the decision was made against such an enterprise, Saigō resigned from the government in protest, along with Itagaki Taisuke and Etō Shimpei . Saigō returned to Kagoshima , where he founded a private military school, in which, in addition to the Chinese classics and the traditions of Bushido , tactics and the use of weapons were taught. The regional support for Saigō was so great that the Kagoshima prefecture no longer passed taxes on to Tokyo and thus in fact had fallen away from the central government. The reasons for this came from the time of the Tokugawa - shogunate , including the controlled Daimyo family Shimazu through its influence in Okinawa one part of the China trade.

course

In January 1877, the Japanese government sent a naval unit to Kagoshima , the capital of Satsuma Province, with orders to disarm the city. This unit was attacked by Saigo's men. In February Saigō led an army of 40,000 men near the city of Kumamoto against troops of the imperial army . He made a tactical mistake in besieging the city , which gave the Japanese government time to bring in about 30,000 soldiers under the command of Kawamura Sumiyoshi .

Saigō's troops, although armed with modern weapons, fought largely in the traditional manner. Nevertheless, they were quite successful against the Japanese government's troops, which were newly armed with the most modern western weapons, and suffered only half as many losses as the imperial troops. Yet they remained vastly outnumbered. The battle lasted six weeks. Of the followers of Saigo, only 40 men survived.

The rebellion was finally ended by the defeat of Saigō's troops at the Battle of Shiroyama on September 24, 1877. Saigō Takamori was also killed. It was the final battle between traditionally armed samurai and an army with modern equipment.

The suppression of the rebellion was associated with considerable financial expenses for the Japanese government. It meant the final victory of the modernizing forces over the adherents of ancient traditions in Japan. Saigō Takamori became a tragic hero in the spirit of the people, forcing the Japanese government to recognize and posthumously recognize his courage decades later.

  • Timing:
    • October 1873: End of the Seikanron debate on the invasion of Korea and decision to modernize the imperial army.
    • in 1874: Establishment of traditional Saigō military academies at 132 locations in Kagoshima Prefecture.
    • October 1876: Shinpūren rebellion in the neighboring prefecture of Kumamoto, expression of the tension between the imperial army and the samurai
    • December 1876: Arrest of the imperial police force under Nakahara Hisao - the testimony of a planned assassination attempt on Saigō is obtained under torture
    • January 1877: the rice rations for the samurai are stopped by the imperial authorities
    • January 30, 1877: a warship arrives in Kagoshima - as a result of the provocation, initially 50 and then up to 1000 Samurai students join forces and plunder the arsenals in the following three days.
    • February 1877: Hayashi Tomoyuki from the Ministry of the Interior travels to Kagoshima on the warship Takao under Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi (a cousin of Saigō), but is attacked there.
    • February 12, 1877: Return from Hayashi to Kobe and decision with General Yamagata Aritomo and Itō Hirobumi to send imperial troops to Kagoshima.
    • February 12, 1877: Saigō and his commanders Kirino Toshiaki and Shinohara Kunimoto decide to leave for Tokyo with a small group.
  • Outbreak of war:
    • February 19: Beginning of the siege of Kumamoto Castle - an advance party was shot at from the fortress on arrival on the 19th, due to numerous defectors and further influx of samurai, Saigo's army grows to around 20,000 men.
    • March 9, 1877: Saigō, Kirino and Shinohara are relieved of their imperial titles.
    • April 12, 1877: the incoming imperial troops under General Kuroda Kiyotaka and General Yamakawa Hiroshi , outnumbered, force Saigō to retreat.
    • April 19, 1877: In a seven-day forced march, Saigō leads the troops into a defensive position at Hitoyoshi . The imperial troops are waiting for further reinforcements and only follow up several weeks later.
    • in June / July 1877: the imperial troops force a retreat to Miyazaki , in the hilly terrain there Saigō's troops use guerrilla tactics .
    • July 24, 1877: after taking Miyazaki, Miyakonojō must also be given up. The imperial troops drive Saigō north to Nobeoka .
    • August 19, 1877: new imperial troops arrive from the north via Ōita and Saiki . With an overwhelming power of 7: 1, they can place Saigō's troops on Mount Enodake for the decisive battle; these are almost completely worn away.
    • September 1, 1877: Saigō himself escapes with about 500 surviving warriors and holed up on the Shiroyama ( castle mountain ) in his native Kagoshima.
    • September 24, 1877: Yamagata does not attack immediately, but draws all available troops together. In excess of 60: 1 and after days of artillery fire from five gunboats on the mountain, the frontal attack was finally ordered on the 24th at dawn.
    • Saigō dies in a hail of bullets and at 6:00 a.m. the last 40 samurai break out with drawn swords in one last suicidal attack.

See also

Web links

Commons : Satsuma Rebellion  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andrew Gordon: A Modern History of Japan. From Tokugawa Times to the Present , New York 2003, pp. 64-65
  2. ^ Hilary Conroy: The Japanese Seizure of Korea 1868-1910. A Study of Realism and Idealism in International Relations , Philadelphia 1960, p. 46
  3. ↑ Andrew Gordon: A Modern History of Japan. From Tokugawa Times to the Present , New York 2003, pp. 86-87
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Saigō is the family name, Takamori the first name.