Takamori Saigo Speaking of Toshimichi Okubo, Ryoma Sakamoto, Shinsaku Takasugi Along with, it is counted as one of the heroes of the Meiji Restoration. His life was Sat-Chō Alliance, Meiji Restoration, and Satsuma Rebellion . I lived a turbulent life that I couldn't talk about on my own.
When he was young, Saigo experienced two exiles, was mentally forced to commit suicide, and had a feud with Hisamitsu Shimazu, the lord of the Satsuma domain, leading to a life opposite to Toshimichi Okubo. .. However, he has humanity and is loved by many Satsuma Domains, and is said to have an extraordinary political power.
Takamori Saigo Be sure to talk about Okubo Toshimichi But Toshimichi Okubo Always Saigo Takamori Has appeared, and they are inseparable from each other. Many of these two Kagoshima heroes are thought to have been killed by Okubo in the end.
However, the facts seem to be a little different, and it may be a sad event that the passing of each other was caused by the deep bond between them.
The houses of Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi were in the neighborhood! !!
Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi were born in Shimo Kajiya-cho under the castle of the Satsuma Domain, and Saigo was three years older. It is a famous story that my home was also in the neighborhood, maybe it was fate.
Both houses were low-ranking samurai's houses and lived poorly, but when they were young, they went back and forth between each other's houses to eat together. It is said that Saigo, who is older, gave a small meal for Okubo.
It was Toshimichi Okubo who saved the island exile
As I mentioned earlier, Saigo Takamori has been exiled twice in his life.
The first time is Amami Oshima , The second time is Okinoerabujima is.
It was an island exile to protect the life of Saigo on Amami Oshima, but it was due to a feud with the Satsuma domain and Hisamitsu Shimazu on Okinoerabujima for the second time. At this time, Saigo did not agree with Hisamitsu, but on the contrary, Okubo went on to advance in the Satsuma domain.
Okubo, who was recognized by Hisamitsu Shimazu, persuaded Hisamitsu to get permission from Saigo, and Saigo returned to the castle and reappeared on the front stage of history.
Saigo, who has a lot of hope, will be the power of the new government ...
Boshin War Later, although the Meiji government was established, its foundation was weak and there were conflicts of opinion and power struggles within the administration. Toshimichi Okubo, the leader of the new government, was in trouble because he couldn't decide what he had to decide for Japan.
At that time, Iwakura Tomomi and Okubo to borrow the power of Saigo, who has a lot of trust and popularity. Went to Kagoshima and persuaded him. And Saigo will join the new government in response to that ...
Saigo, who was persuaded to join the new government, quickly became a abolished feudal clan . Will be carried out.
This abolished feudal clan is said to be a policy realized by the firm determination and execution power of Saigo and Okubo. Immediately after this abolition of the feudal clan, many of the core members of the government, such as Tomomi Iwakura, Toshimichi Okubo, and Takayoshi Kido, left Japan as the Iwakura Mission, which lasted for one year and nine months.
At that time, it was Saigo Takamori who was in charge of the country. was.
Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi get along with each other due to the theory of Seikanron! ??
Here, a big incident occurs in which Saigo and Okubo break up.
Seikanron Is ...
The beginning of the matter is that Japan does not reply to the letter to Korea, which has no diplomatic relations, so it tries to open the country by force [ Seikanron ] Happened within the government. At this time, Saigo insisted that the discussion should be done in a diplomatic setting rather than the use of force, and that Saigo himself would go to the Korean Peninsula alone.
[ Seikanron ] Feels like Saigo Takamori insisted, but Saigo did not insist on Seikanron. Actually, Itagaki Taisuke, Fukushima Taneomi, Goto Shojiro, Eto Shinpei was.
Match until the opening of Korea However, because the method was different, Saigo's claim was [ Seikanron . ] It seems that it is sometimes called. Saigo's opinion was passed within the government, and it was officially decided to go to Korea with the approval of Daijo-daijin, Sanjo Sanetomi.
However, after the Iwakura Tomomi delegation returned to Japan, Okubo, Iwakura and Kido [ Seikanron ] Opposite.
The reason seems to be that he felt that it was necessary to devote himself to improving national power while he was traveling abroad. In short, it was Okubo's opinion that we would put off the matter of other countries and concentrate on the domestic matters.
At the cabinet meeting where Saigo and Okubo disagreed, it was decided that Saigo would go to Korea, and only the emperor's approval was obtained.
Even so, Okubo and Iwakura were dissatisfied with this decision, and until the end they confronted the Seikanron faction such as Saigo, and the situation became muddy, and the stress caused Daijo-daijin Sanjo Sanetomi to get sick. Therefore, Okubo plans to place Iwakura as acting minister of government. Furthermore, taking advantage of Saigo's favorite of the emperor, through Iwakura, " If Saigo is dispatched to Korea, he will surely be at risk of life . I blew it.
By such forcible means, Saigo's dispatch to Korea, which had been decided, was canceled.
Saigo, who was overturned at the last minute, resigned, and if the counselors of the Seikanron group were not convinced, Itagaki, Fukushima, Goto, Eto Have left the government all at once. In addition, it was a catastrophe in which a total of about 600 people resigned.
Looking at this flow, Saigo Takamori It was an incident that showed the desire and influence of the person. This Saigo's actions have completely divided the country. This event is Political change in the 6th year of Meiji It is called, and it becomes an opportunity to develop into a civil war such as the Satsuma Rebellion later.
The true meaning of Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi's theory of conquest of Korea
In this way, such an incident occurred as if Saigo and Okubo broke up, but later I learned various true intentions.
Katsu Kaishu with us at the bloodless opening of Edo Castle However, he said the following.
When the Ganghwa Island incident occurred, Saigo criticized the attitude of using force to return. Katsu, who heard that, said that Saigo could not insist on the theory of Seikanron.
I think that Katsu, who saw the opening of Saigo Takamori's Edo Castle without relying on soldiers and without fighting, felt the same about this theory of conquest of Korea. He also prepared a parent soldier in the abolition of the feudal clan, but Saigo did not actively fight.
There was also an argument from Okubo, who was directly opposed to the opinion of his older brother Saigo.
In fact, Toshimichi Okubo did not oppose the theory of conquest of Korea, but because he was worried about Saigo's life, he opposed going to Korea, later said by Nobuaki Makino, the second son of Toshimichi Okubo.
On the Saigo side, he said that he decided to go to Korea with the intention of dying by interacting with Itagaki Taisuke.
Saigo adhered to Saigo's belief, and Okubo adhered to Okubo's belief, and it must have become a history that we know. Perhaps the two clumsy people could only take such actions.
Even so, couldn't it be done a little better?
Outbreak of the Satsuma Rebellion
During the Tokugawa Shogunate era, if a samurai was born, he was protected by the organization and system of the Shogunate and the clan, and had certain jobs and authority.
However, this is not the case after the Meiji era.
Some people are adaptable to the times and have the ability to advance, while others, like the Iwakura Mission, spend a lot of money to go abroad. Many people have the feeling that they don't like them.
It was the Haitō Edict and the Kinroku Bond Certificate Ordinance of the 9th year of the Meiji era that made the dissatisfaction of the samurai decisive. is.
As a result, the samurai are taken away from their swords, their salaries are no longer paid, they have no land to farm, no knowledge or education to do business, and even their only proud swords are taken away, and the samurai get lost on the road.
Saigo seems to have felt these atmospheres for a long time, and thought that if a war broke out in Korea, there would be a place for the samurai to play an active role. [ Seikanron ] It seems that the current view is that it wasn't.
I don't know the truth, but in the end it is called the last Japanese civil war Satsuma Rebellion Will occur.
In this Satsuma Rebellion, Saigo fights against the government forces as a rebel, but he did not actively cause a civil war. It was not only Saigo but also Shinpei Eto.
In the midst of the sadness, anger, and dissatisfaction left behind by the times, their representatives, Saigo and Eto, were terribly treated by the new government. Therefore, it was the Satsuma Rebellion that caused the new government to be defeated by force in each land.
Many would think that if they had taken a little more care and coping with those proud former samurai, they would not have become the largest civil war in the country.
Okubo didn't believe that Saigo had a dispute at first.
Satsuma Rebellion At the beginning, Okubo tried to persuade Saigo, but at that time Toshimichi Okubo was a central figure in the Japanese government and could not move with his personal opinions and feelings.
As a result, the Satsuma Rebellion could not be put to an end, and the end was as historical as it was.
Saigo Takamori took the lead in the debate movement at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and was the Meiji Restoration Army that hunted down the Shogunate army to Edo.
However, that feat also led to dissatisfaction on the part of the new government as Saigo overlooked the bakushin's escape with warships and weapons. In addition, after the bloodless fall of Edo, Saigo began to desire the generous disposal of the Tokugawa family. It is said that it remains a mystery even in modern times that the goal of aiming for such a hard line was a 180-degree turn.