Saigō Takamori
Also known as Saigo Takamori, Saigou Takamori, Takanaga, Nanshū, Saigō don, Sego don
samurai of the Satsuma domain, supreme commander of Japanese army, one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration (1828-1877)
Key facts
- Native name
- 西郷 隆盛
- Other names
- Saigō Nanshū, Saigō Kichinosuke, Kikuchi Gengo
- Born
- Saigō Kokichi , ( 1828-01-23 ) 23 January 1828, Kagoshima , Satsuma Domain
- Died
- 24 September 1877 (1877-09-24) (aged 49), Kagoshima , Empire of Japan
- Buried
- Nanshu Cemetery , Kagoshima Prefecture , Japan
- Allegiance
- Satsuma Domain
- Rank
- Field Marshal (1872–1873) General (1873–1876)
- Conflicts
- Boshin War Battle of Toba–Fushimi Battle of Ueno Satsuma Rebellion Siege of Kumamoto Castle Battle of Tabaruzaka Battle of Shiroyama ‡‡
- Spouses
- Suga Ijuin ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1852 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1854 ) Otoma Kane "Aigana", ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1859 – 1862 ) Iwayama Itoko, ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1865 )
- Children
- Saigō Kikujirō (son) , Saigō Kikusō (daughter) , Saigō Toratarō (son) , Saigō Umajirō (son) , Saigō Torizō (son)
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Saigō Takamori (Japanese: 西郷 隆盛; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, and subsequently served in the new Meiji government. However, he later became disillusioned with the direction of the new regime and led the Satsuma Rebellion against it in 1877, in which he was killed.
Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Satsuma Domain, Saigō rose to prominence as a retainer of Shimazu Nariakira, the daimyō of Satsuma. He was involved in national politics in Edo and Kyoto, advocating for shogunal reform and a stronger imperial role. After Nariakira's death, Saigō was exiled twice, first to Amami Ōshima and then to the harsher Okinoerabujima, periods during which he developed his political and philosophical ideas. Pardoned and recalled, he played a crucial part in forging the Satchō Alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū Domain, which was instrumental in the shogunate's downfall during the Boshin War. Saigō commanded imperial forces and negotiated the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle.