Saigō, Takamori (1827-1877)

Japanese general and conservative politician who helped in the Meiji restoration and then rebelled against it. He became commander-in-chief in 1872 and one of the leading figures in the Meiji government, but resigned in 1873 and led the Satsuma rebellion in 1877. He committed suicide after the failure of the rebellion, realizing that defeat meant the end of the samurai class.

Saigō was a minor official from Satsuma in Kyushu, a province traditionally at odds with the shogunate. With Ōkubo Toshimichi, he led the successful samurai rebellion 1867-68 against the Tokugawa shogunate. Saigō became a government minister 1871 and field marshal 1873. Disapproving of the Meiji government and in particular the introduction of conscription, which threatened the samurai way of life, he resigned 1873 after his plan for a war of redemption against Korea had been rejected.