| Birth: | 1827 | | Death: | Sep. 24, 1877 | 
Legendary Samurai. A popular statesman in the 19th century and a brilliant 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 movie, "The Last Samurai" (2003). (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)
Search Amazon for Takamori Saigo | | | Burial:
Kongobu-ji Temple Group Cemetery Complex
Koyasan
Wakayama, Japan |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Warrick L. Barrett
Record added: Dec 09, 2003
Find A Grave Memorial# 8167625 |
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