The Southwest War is said to have been the subject of

Photo by Saitou Hajime (licensed under CC0 1.0)

Warlords painted in the Last Samurai

The movie "LAST SAMURAI" is so famous in Japan that I remember the Southwest War.As a leading figure in the Meiji Restoration, Saigo Takamori formed the Satsuma-Chou Alliance and led the imperial army to victory in the Boshin War.Satsuma's samurai families took important posts in the new government and rushed into the Meiji Restoration.

It was the theory of conquest of Korea that distinguished the light from the dark.Saigo Takamori, a militant activist on the Korean Peninsula, was on the verge of starting the war while a government official went to Britain.As a result, Hirobumi Ito, who returned from England, made a strange plan, and Emperor Meiji issued an Imperial decree, and the theory of conquest of Korea was abolished .

Due to this incident called the Meiji ６ political upheaval, half of the councilors, including Takamori Saigo, resigned, and about ６００ military and bureaucrats resigned.It is reported that Saigo Takamori could not abandon the samurai who lost his job after the Meiji Restoration.What followed was the Southwest War.６,４０３ government soldiers were killed and ６,７６５ Saigo troops were killed.In terms of population, Saigo's army was severely damaged and the government's army won.

Director Edward Zwick, who co-written the script for "LAST SAMURAI," expressed his influence on Ivan Morris's "The Noble Defeat" Chapter ９ Takamori Saigo.