Changes

Following Saigô's death at the [[battle of Shiroyama]], [[Kagoshima prefecture]] governor [[Iwamura Michitoshi]] had him and forty of his men buried on the former grounds of Jôkômyô-ji, a temple which had been destroyed in the [[1863]] [[bombardment of Kagoshima]] by the British Royal Navy, and abolished in the ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]'' anti-Buddhism policies of the first years of the [[Meiji period]]. Two years later, in [[1879]], the remains of a number of Saigô's men who had initially been buried elsewhere were relocated here, and six years after that, remains of others who fell in the rebellion were relocated from graves in neighboring prefectures.

Following Saigô's death at the [[battle of Shiroyama]], [[Kagoshima prefecture]] governor [[Iwamura Michitoshi]] had him and forty of his men buried on the former grounds of Jôkômyô-ji, a temple which had been destroyed in the [[1863]] [[bombardment of Kagoshima]] by the British Royal Navy, and abolished in the ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]'' anti-Buddhism policies of the first years of the [[Meiji period]]. Two years later, in [[1879]], the remains of a number of Saigô's men who had initially been buried elsewhere were relocated here, and six years after that, remains of others who fell in the rebellion were relocated from graves in neighboring prefectures.

Saigô's grave stands in the center of the cemetery, with those of [[Kirino Toshiaki]], [[Beppu Kanenaga]], [[Katsura Hisatake]], [[Murata Shinpachi]], [[Shinohara Kunimoto]], and [[Oyama Tsunayoshi|Ôyama Tsunayoshi Kakunosuke]] immediately nearby, along a row. These, along with many of the other graves today have modern signs identifying the figures buried there. With the exception of a few sections in the very front of the cemetery, all of the gravestones are organized in neat rows, all facing forward; this, in contrast to the arrangements typical in other cemeteries, where gravestones might point inwards towards the walking paths, on both sides, or might face a variety of directions. At the front of the cemetery stands a stone monument to governor Iwamura, along with a stone inscribed with an epitaph for Saigô written by [[Katsu Kaishu|Katsu Kaishû]], and a stone lantern gifted to the site by the City of [[Tokyo]] in 1939, in gratitude for the bloodless way in which [[Edo castle]] was taken during the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Another stone, a gift to the city from [[Changsha]], stands as a monument to [[Huang Xing]], a major figure in the [[1911]] [[Xinhai Revolution]], described here as the "Saigô Takamori of China." A bamboo garden directly behind the cemetery was established in memory of [[Satsuma han]] ''daimyô'' [[Shimazu Yoshitaka]] (r. [[1704]]-[[1721]]).

Saigô's grave stands in the center of the cemetery, with those of [[Kirino Toshiaki]], [[Beppu Kagenaga]], [[Katsura Hisatake]], [[Murata Shinpachi]], [[Shinohara Kunimoto]], and [[Oyama Tsunayoshi|Ôyama Tsunayoshi Kakunosuke]] immediately nearby, along a row. These, along with many of the other graves today have modern signs identifying the figures buried there. With the exception of a few sections in the very front of the cemetery, all of the gravestones are organized in neat rows, all facing forward; this, in contrast to the arrangements typical in other cemeteries, where gravestones might point inwards towards the walking paths, on both sides, or might face a variety of directions. At the front of the cemetery stands a stone monument to governor Iwamura, along with a stone inscribed with an epitaph for Saigô written by [[Katsu Kaishu|Katsu Kaishû]], and a stone lantern gifted to the site by the City of [[Tokyo]] in 1939, in gratitude for the bloodless way in which [[Edo castle]] was taken during the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Another stone, a gift to the city from [[Changsha]], stands as a monument to [[Huang Xing]], a major figure in the [[1911]] [[Xinhai Revolution]], described here as the "Saigô Takamori of China." A bamboo garden directly behind the cemetery was established in memory of [[Satsuma han]] ''daimyô'' [[Shimazu Yoshitaka]] (r. [[1704]]-[[1721]]).

A building was constructed on the site in 1879 to help commemorate the war dead; in 1922 it was officially designated as Nanshû Shrine (''Nanshû jinja''), enshrining the spirit of Saigô Takamori. Jôkômyô-ji has been reestablished and stands immediately neighboring the cemetery today, along with the Saigô Nanshû Memorial Hall (''Saigô Nanshû kenshôkan'') museum/archives.

A building was constructed on the site in 1879 to help commemorate the war dead; in 1922 it was officially designated as Nanshû Shrine (''Nanshû jinja''), enshrining the spirit of Saigô Takamori. Jôkômyô-ji has been reestablished and stands immediately neighboring the cemetery today, along with the Saigô Nanshû Memorial Hall (''Saigô Nanshû kenshôkan'') museum/archives.

==Selected Burials==

==Selected Burials==

*[[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]]

*[[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]]

*[[Beppu Kanenaga]]

*[[Beppu Kagenaga]]

*[[Fuchibe Takateru]] (Gunpei)

*[[Fuchibe Takateru]] (Gunpei)

*[[Henmi Jurota|Henmi Jûrôta]]

*[[Henmi Jurota|Henmi Jûrôta]]