Saigo Takamori
The Last Samurai
Saigo’s Life from the Beginning
• Saigo was born the eldest son of a lower-ranking samurai family on Feb. 7,
1827, in Kagoshima, the castle town of the Satsuma domain.
• A huge man, physically powerful with a dark penetrating gaze and a
commanding presence, was attracted to the attention of the lord of his
domain, Nariakira Shimazu, who agreed with his views that major domestic
reforms that were necessary to meet the challenges of the West.
• He acted as courier and confidant to Nariakira until the latter's death in
1858.
• He led Satsuma troops in skirmishes with Choshu forces at Kyoto in 1864
and later in the shogunate's expedition against Choshu.
• In 1868 Saigo served as field commander of the imperial forces in
campaigns against the military resistance of the shogunate.
Con‘t
• As a result of this experience, he won a reputation as a great
military hero and the universal respect of the samurai who served
under him.
Saigo Takamori who is in the hat is
inspecting his warriors before going
into battle in Toba-Fushimi.
His Part with the Meiji
Restoration
• Saigo found himself in growing disagreement with the leaders of
the new imperial government.
• Although he was appointed minister of war in 1871 and became a
field marshal and court councilor in 1872, he opposed the growing
centralization of the government, the trimming of the legal and
social privileges of the samurai class, and the rapid pace of
Westernization.
• In 1873 he finally broke with the government when some of its
members, who had returned from an extended trip to Europe,
rejected his plan for an invasion of Korea to provide military glory
for former samurai and to enhance Japan's international position.
• On Sept. 24, 1877, he took his life in traditional samurai
fashion(seppuku) during the final battle with government troops,
which ended the rebellion.
The Satsuma Rebellion
• All depictions of Saigo depict him garbed all in Western-style
uniform.
• They used guns, western military methods and cannons during the
start but at the end they ran out of material and ammunition so
they had to fall back to close tactics and had to use bows and
arrows.
• During the battle, Saigo was badly injured in the hip. However, the
exact manner of his death is unknown. The accounts of his
subordinates claim either that he uprighted himself and committed
seppuku after his injury, or that he requested that the comrade
Beppu Shinsuke assist his suicide.
Should the Samurai’s be villains
or the heroes?
• They should be considered as heroes. They
fought courageously, but the government soldiers
easily won over them. Takamori was badly
wounded, but he committed suicide in the
samurai tradition. His contribution to the
government earlier, his bravery and honor were
not forgotten after his death fighting against the
emperor.
Our overall feelings about the film “The Last
Samurai” and the Katsumoto character..
• Our feelings of the film overall is that the
message was good and the characters mostly
portray their roles well, but some of the
information is inaccurate and takes away from
the seriousness and impact of what really
happened. The character of Katsumoto was
played very well. Ken Watanabe truly captured
how the real Katsumoto may have lived and
acted.
Saigo vs. katsumoto
• Saigo was much more physically imposing the
actor Ken Watanabe(Katsumoto).
• Takamori wanted to use the samurai might to
take over countries.
• Saigo was more reluctant when the attack was
made and Katsumoto was more competitive in
the battle.
Why do we think the writers and director of “The
Last Samurai” chose to create an alternative
story about the end of the movie?
• They wanted a different view for the movie; They
wanted to tell a different perspective on how things
happened. Although no attempt to historical
accuracy is made, the story was inspired by several
real events. The basic story, that of a samurai
rebellion against the Imperial Japanese government,
was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion during
which samurai in the Satsuma domain in Japan
revolted against the Meiji government.
Was Saigo the real “last
samurai”?
• Saigo is held up as an archetype of the samurai
spirit (which makes him the last samurai) even
though he was lost, not just in battle, but in the
whole war. He strived to preserve the samurai as
a class and slow the newly established Meiji
government on its path to modernization, only to
be completely vanquished. Not just his army, but
also his ideas and his very cause were soundly
defeated. Japan is the paragon of modernity; it is
today partly that because he was defeated.