Samurai. A Japanese politician in the 19th century as well as military commander, he was one of the leaders of the Meiji revolution and became its highest ranking general. In 1873, when his opinion about the necessity of an invasion of Korea was refuted by the other members of the government, he retired and went back to Satsuma, the region where he was born, and founded a private military training school for young samurai. When the Meiji government sought to dismantle an arsenal at Kagoshima, Saigo and his samurai initiated the "Satsuma Rebellion" in opposition. After several months of bitter fighting, his forces were defeated and Saigo committed ritual suicide. A famous statue in his honor was raised in the Ueno ward of Tokyo after he was posthumously honored by Emperor Meiji in 1891. Some of his ashes have been interred at Koyasan. Via his place in history, he appears to loosely serve as the basis for the fictitious character Katsumoto, portrayed by actor Ken Watanabe, in the 2003 movie, "The Last Samurai."
Samurai. A Japanese politician in the 19th century as well as military commander, he was one of the leaders of the Meiji revolution and became its highest ranking general. In 1873, when his opinion about the necessity of an invasion of Korea was refuted by the other members of the government, he retired and went back to Satsuma, the region where he was born, and founded a private military training school for young samurai. When the Meiji government sought to dismantle an arsenal at Kagoshima, Saigo and his samurai initiated the "Satsuma Rebellion" in opposition. After several months of bitter fighting, his forces were defeated and Saigo committed ritual suicide. A famous statue in his honor was raised in the Ueno ward of Tokyo after he was posthumously honored by Emperor Meiji in 1891. Some of his ashes have been interred at Koyasan. Via his place in history, he appears to loosely serve as the basis for the fictitious character Katsumoto, portrayed by actor Ken Watanabe, in the 2003 movie, "The Last Samurai."
Bio by: Warrick L. Barrett
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