Saigo Takamori

1. Saigo Takamori The Last Samurai

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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 seppukuafter his injury, or that he requested that the comrade Beppu Shinsuke assist his suicide.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.