Battle of Shiroyama

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Contemporary depiction of the battle: Saigō Takamori in his red and black uniform can be seen in the top right corner, directing his troops.

The battle of Shiroyama ( Japanese 城 山 の 戦 い , Shiroyama no tatakai ) took place on September 24, 1877 on Shiroyama Hill near Kagoshima between an imperial army and a few hundred rebellious samurai and marked the end of the Satsuma rebellion .

A few hundred samurai faced about 30,000 men. It ended with a victory for the imperial troops and the death of Saigō Takamori , the leader of the rebels. It was the final battle between traditionally armed samurai and an army with modern equipment.

Artistic reception

The battle at the end of the 2003 film Last Samurai is based on the Battle of Shiroyama.

literature

  • James Harold Buck: Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History . University Publications of America, 1979, ISBN 0-89093-259-X .
  • Donald Keane: Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912 . Columbia University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-231-12341-8 .
  • Augustus H. Mounsley: Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History . University Publications of America, 1979, ISBN 0-89093-259-X .
  • Mark Ravina: The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori . Wiley, 2004, ISBN 0-471-08970-2 .

Web links