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Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with "*''Dates: 1877/2-9 '' *''Japanese'': 西南戦争 ''(seinan sensou)'' The Satsuma Rebellion which took place in 1877 was the most famous, and the final major instance..."
*''Dates: [[1877]]/2-9 ''
*''Japanese'': 西南戦争 ''(seinan sensou)''
The Satsuma Rebellion which took place in [[1877]] was the most famous, and the final major instance out of a series of [[shizoku rebellions]] led in the late 1870s by [[shizoku|former samurai]] of southwestern Japan against the prospect of the [[Meiji government]] abolishing their elite status and the rice stipends which had traditionally been the samurai's chief or sole source of income. Known in Japanese as the ''Seinan Sensô'', or "Southwestern War," the rebellion was led by [[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]] of [[Satsuma han]] ([[Kagoshima prefecture]]), and involved roughly 15,000 former samurai facing off against around 100,000 [[Imperial Japanese Army]] troops.
==Background==
Following the [[Seikanron]] in [[1873]], in which Saigô's desires to invade Korea were overruled by other members of the [[genro|inner circles]] of government, Saigô resigned from the government and returned to Satsuma, where his private academy became a center for samurai discussions of displeasure with the government.
When former samurai (''shizoku'') rose up in separate rebellions in [[Hagi Rebellion|Hagi]], [[Akizuki Rebellion|Akizuki]], and [[Shinpuren Incident|Kumamoto]] in [[1876]], Saigô spoke of his moral support for these rebellions, but remained uninvolved.
==Rebellion==
In February 1877, Saigô and his men heard rumors that the Meiji government was planning an assassination of Saigô. Gathering allies along the way, the Satsuma rebels moved into action, and began to make their way north, with intentions of seizing [[Kumamoto castle]]. Saigô was officially named a rebel by the Meiji government on February 20, and his army of roughly 15,000 former samurai reached Kumamoto two days later. Though they succeeded in destroying many of the castle's major buildings, they were ultimately unsuccessful in taking the castle; their siege of Kumamoto castle was brought to an end by a massive force of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in early March, but despite suffering as much as 90% losses, Saigô's men continued to fight until September. On September 14, Saigô and the last three hundred of his men finally succumbed, committing [[seppuku|ritual suicide]] rather than be killed by the roughly 50,000 government troops who still faced them.
The rebellion has been described as the last gasp of the samurai, and as a defining or culminating event in the establishment of [[military conscription]] and of the Imperial Japanese Army.
==In Popular Culture==
The 2003 Tom Cruise movie "The Last Samurai" is loosely based upon the events of the Satsuma Rebellion, but is largely ahistorical.
==References==
*[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 206-207.
<references/>
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Events and Incidents]]
[[Category:Battles]]
*''Japanese'': 西南戦争 ''(seinan sensou)''
The Satsuma Rebellion which took place in [[1877]] was the most famous, and the final major instance out of a series of [[shizoku rebellions]] led in the late 1870s by [[shizoku|former samurai]] of southwestern Japan against the prospect of the [[Meiji government]] abolishing their elite status and the rice stipends which had traditionally been the samurai's chief or sole source of income. Known in Japanese as the ''Seinan Sensô'', or "Southwestern War," the rebellion was led by [[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]] of [[Satsuma han]] ([[Kagoshima prefecture]]), and involved roughly 15,000 former samurai facing off against around 100,000 [[Imperial Japanese Army]] troops.
==Background==
Following the [[Seikanron]] in [[1873]], in which Saigô's desires to invade Korea were overruled by other members of the [[genro|inner circles]] of government, Saigô resigned from the government and returned to Satsuma, where his private academy became a center for samurai discussions of displeasure with the government.
When former samurai (''shizoku'') rose up in separate rebellions in [[Hagi Rebellion|Hagi]], [[Akizuki Rebellion|Akizuki]], and [[Shinpuren Incident|Kumamoto]] in [[1876]], Saigô spoke of his moral support for these rebellions, but remained uninvolved.
==Rebellion==
In February 1877, Saigô and his men heard rumors that the Meiji government was planning an assassination of Saigô. Gathering allies along the way, the Satsuma rebels moved into action, and began to make their way north, with intentions of seizing [[Kumamoto castle]]. Saigô was officially named a rebel by the Meiji government on February 20, and his army of roughly 15,000 former samurai reached Kumamoto two days later. Though they succeeded in destroying many of the castle's major buildings, they were ultimately unsuccessful in taking the castle; their siege of Kumamoto castle was brought to an end by a massive force of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in early March, but despite suffering as much as 90% losses, Saigô's men continued to fight until September. On September 14, Saigô and the last three hundred of his men finally succumbed, committing [[seppuku|ritual suicide]] rather than be killed by the roughly 50,000 government troops who still faced them.
The rebellion has been described as the last gasp of the samurai, and as a defining or culminating event in the establishment of [[military conscription]] and of the Imperial Japanese Army.
==In Popular Culture==
The 2003 Tom Cruise movie "The Last Samurai" is loosely based upon the events of the Satsuma Rebellion, but is largely ahistorical.
==References==
*[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 206-207.
<references/>
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Events and Incidents]]
[[Category:Battles]]
