Saigō Tsugumichi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marquis Saigō Tsugumichi | |
|---|---|
| 1 June 1843 –18 July 1902 | |
 Japanese General and Admiral Marquis Saigō Tsugumichi |
|
| Place of birth | Kagoshima, Satsuma, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1869–1902 |
| Rank | General and Fleet Admiral |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Battles/wars | Boshin War Taiwan Expedition of 1874 Satsuma Rebellion |
Saigō Tsugumichi (西郷従道 also read Saigō Jūdō?) (1 June 1843–18 July 1902) was a Meiji-period politician and military officer.
Born in Shimokajichō, Kagoshima, the son of the samurai Saigō Kichibe of the Satsuma domain, his siblings, among others, included his famous older brother Saigō Takamori. He had many names throughout his life. Besides the two listed above, he also sometimes went by the nickname "Shingō". His real name was "Ryūkō", or "Ryūdō". It is also possible that he went by the name "Ryūsuke".
At the recommendation of Arimura Shunsai, he became a tea-serving monk for the daimyo of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. After he returned to secular life, he became one of a group of devoted followers of Arimura. He partook in the Anglo-Satsuma War and later fought in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi of the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1869, two years after the Meiji Restoration, he went to Europe with Yamagata Aritomo to study European military organization. In 1874, he became a lieutenant-general of the army, and commanded forces in the Taiwan Expedition in the same year.
In 1873, his brother Takamori resigned from the government, over the rejection of his proposal to invade Korea. Many others officials from the Satsuma region followed suit, however, Jūdō continued to work for the government. Upon the death of his brother in the Satsuma Rebellion, Jūdō became the leader of Satsuma. In accord with the Kazoku system enacted in 1884, he received the title of count.
He held a string of important positions for the Ito Hirobumi cabinet, such as Minister of the Navy and Minister of Internal Affairs. In 1892, he was appointed to the Privy Council as a genrō. In the same year, he also founded a political party known as "Kokumin Kyōkai" (国民協会, The People's Co-operative Party). In 1894, he became an admiral, and was given the title of marquis. In 1898, the Imperial Japanese Navy bestowed upon him the honorary title of "fleet admiral". He died in 1902.
[edit] Trivia
- After the Meiji Restoration, he went to a government office to register his name. He intended to register orally under his given name Ryūkō (alternately Ryūdō). However, the civil servant misheard his name as "Jūdō", and he therefore became "Jūdō" under the law. He didn't particularly mind, so he never bothered to change it back. The name "Tsugumichi" arose as an alternate, (and to the Japanese, more natural-sounding), pronunciation for the characters of his name: 従道.
- Although he was said to be as kind-hearted and generous as his brother Takamori and his cousin Ōyama Iwao, after the Ōtsu Incident—which occurred while he was working as Minister of Internal Affairs—he pushed for the death penalty of Tsuda Sanzō and threatened Kojima Korekata.
- Because he resembled his brother Takamori, Takamori's photograph was referenced when drawing portraits of Jūdō.
- He owned a cottage in Yanagihara (present-day Numazu), Shizuoka Prefecture.
- His former residence (once located in Meguro, Tokyo) is registered as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government, and is now located at the Meiji-mura historical park outside of Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture.
- He was the first person in Japan to own a race horse.
[edit] References
- Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Japanese-language Wikipedia article (retrieved April 6, 2006).
- Craig, Albert M. Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961.
- Dupuy, Trevor N. The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-7858-0437-4
- Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986.
- Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. Whiley (2003). ISBN: 0471089702
