Portrait of Saigo Takamori by Edoardo Chiossone • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In February 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Japan to demand that this country put an end to the total isolation it had maintained for two centuries vis-à-vis foreign countries. On that day, the steam and steel of the North American battleships carried a clear message:if it did not want to see itself subjugated by foreign powers, Japan should not only agree to open its ports and trade with the rest of the world, but also to transform its economy, its institutions and even its way of life. A humble family with proud lineage In 1868, the advent of the Meiji era was accompanied by a process of radical modernization, which in a few years raised Japan to the rank of Western powers. This transformation nevertheless aroused resistance, in particular from the samurai, these warriors who embodied the traditional spirit of the country. One of them, Saigo Takamori, led a rebellion in 1877 which ended in failure, but nevertheless made him a legend. Originally from Satsuma, Saigo Takamori came from a samurai family as humble as it was proud of its lineage. He began his career in the countryside, as a copyist for magistrate Sakoda Tajiemon. Led during the following decade to travel through different districts by his function as tax collector, this corpulent, austere and talkative man familiarized himself with the situation of the peasantry. Sakoda Tajiemon instilled in him a duty inherent in his condition as a samurai:to ensure the well-being of the population placed under his responsibility. Awareness of the fundamental role played by peasants in safeguarding the country and the survival of the samurai caste prompted Saigo Takamori to address a memorandum to Shimazu Nariakira, his daimyo (feudal lord). In an urgent and fiery tone, he explained that the samurai must regain the confidence of the peasants and banish their corrupt practices. Failed suicide Admitted to Shimazu Nariakira's suite, Saigo Takamori swore absolute loyalty to him. After the unexpected death of the daimyo, he even decided to end his life, according to the ancestral practice of junshi, who wanted the death of a lord to be followed by the immolation of one of his servants. The body of Saigo Takamori and that of the friend who had accompanied him were pushed to the shore by the waves of the lake into which they had thrown themselves from a boat; the samurai was revived, but his friend was found dead. Saigo Takamori commemorated this tragic episode in a poem:“Hand in hand, we threw ourselves into the depths of the sea. Fate decided to frustrate my hopes by letting me live. Today, the years have passed, and here I am standing in front of your grave, shedding empty tears. » The new daimyo de Satsuma was suspicious of this incorruptible and austere samurai, who already exercised considerable influence over his peers. Twice exiled to distant islands, Saigo Takamori took advantage of these stays to become a master in the art of Chinese calligraphy and poetry, to practice sumo, and to endure in his own flesh the harsh living conditions of the people. Absolved in 1864, he was finally able to return to Satsuma. Uncomfortable in court For the next four years, Saigo Takamori played a leading role in the political and military struggles that led to the Meiji Revolution. Appointed commander of the troops of Satsuma, he decided with his lord Shimazu Hisamitsu to ally himself with the lordship of Choshu and to compete with the troops of the Tokugawa clan, which controlled the country since 1603 by placing its members at the post of shogun (military governor). In 1868, Saigo Takamori's troops occupied Edo (now Tokyo) and inflicted crushing defeats on the Tokugawa clan. The system of military government established seven centuries earlier, the bakufu, was then abolished and replaced by a new government, which relied on the authority of the emperor to launch reforms to modernize the country. Despite the glory of his role in the revolution, Saigo Takamori retired from government to return to Satsuma. He felt out of place in Kyoto, the country's capital, where he had been persuaded to go in 1871 to take up political office. He despised the fashion for frock coats and top hats, and did not hesitate to appear at the palace in regional costume and wearing sandals or clogs. It is said that a guard once mistook him for an intruder when he was walking barefoot, because he had taken off his clogs after stepping out of his office in the middle of a storm. Only the intervention of another minister, passing by in a carriage, allowed the situation to be resolved. Humiliated by decrees forbidding them to wear the traditional bun and the sword, the samurai who could not join the new imperial army sank into poverty. Saigo Takamori's discomfort was also linked to the measures being adopted by the government. The abolition of the han system (“fiefs”), now under state control, was enacted in 1871 and well received by the former daimyo, who in return received a lifetime salary, saw the debts of their domains settled by the State and retrained as officers of the new imperial army or as governors. For the most modest samurai, on the other hand, these reforms sealed the end of a way of life:devoid of contacts guaranteeing them a political or military future, they lost the remuneration they received as aristocrats and sank into the poverty. To this fate were added humiliating measures, such as the Dampatsurei Edict (1871) or the Haitorei Edict (1876), which forbade them respectively the bun chonmage typical and public wearing of their sword, symbol of their belonging to the samurai caste. A Last Stand The fall of the samurai was unacceptable to those who had fought for the abolition of bafuku. While Saigo Takamori understood the inevitability of Japan's modernization, he could not bring himself to betray those who had fought under his command. Hoping to be assassinated and start a war that would restore samurai prestige, he volunteered to lead a diplomatic mission to Korea to demand recognition of his vassalage from that kingdom, but his request was denied. /P> Saigo Takamori eventually resigned and returned to Satsuma, where he founded a military school, which immediately attracted a large number of young samurai from the region. He thus fueled the mistrust of the government, which suspected him of wanting to form an army to foment a revolt. Faced with the attempted confiscation of weapons from the Satsuma arsenal in 1877, the disgruntled samurai rose up under the command of their master, who decided to take their lead after the capture of a government agent who had confessed under torture. to have been sent to assassinate him. Saigo Takamori planned an attack on Tokyo, but his troops were repulsed and forced to entrench themselves on Shiroyama Hill in Kagoshima. On September 24, besieged and cornered, Saigo Takamori distributed a note to his troops telling them that they would fight for the last time and enjoining them to die in battle. He then decided to face his destiny:dressed in a yellow kimono, saber in hand and accompanied by the last resistance fighters, he rushed from the top of the hill. Seriously wounded by a bullet, he fell to the ground and, as tradition dictates, asked his companions with a last breath:“Enough is enough, please grant me the honor of decapitating myself. He slowly sat up, gazing up at the Imperial Palace, solemnly grabbed his dagger and plunged it into his abdomen before being beheaded. Find out more Samurai. 1,000 years of Japanese history, by Pierre-François Souyri, PUR, 2017. Timeline 1828 Saigo Takamori was born in Satsuma province. He came from a humble samurai family.1858 After the death of his lord, he was twice exiled to islands, where he devoted himself to calligraphy, poetry and meditation.1868 Saigo played a leading role in the overthrow of the Tokugawa clan, which led to the Meiji era.1873 He left all his positions in the government and returned to Satsuma, where he founded a military school.1877 The rebellion led by Saigo is crushed. This one commits suicide.
