By: Graeylin
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The Satsuma Rebellion was a revolt of frustrated samurai against the Meiji government from January 29, 1877 to September 24,1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government. The 2003 movie The Last Samurai is set during the events of the Satsuma Rebellion.
It started in the Satsuma Domain, with a powerful Daimyo named Saigo Takamori. Although the Satsuma Domain had been one of the key players in the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War, and although many men from Satsuma had risen to influential positions in the new Meiji government, there was growing dissatisfaction with the direction the country was taking. For one, the Japanese army was being modernized, with conscripts from all walks of lide, not just the warrior trained samurai. Commoners were able to hold Officer positions, and command Samurai troops. This became unacceptable to many samurai. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. The very rapid and massive changes to Japanese culture, dress and society appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the joi ("Expel the Barbarian") portion of the Sonno- jo-i justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. Saigo- Takamori was a senior Satsuma leader in the Meiji government. Saigo- was a strong proponent of war with Korea in the Seikanron debate of 1873. When the plan was rejected, Saigo- resigned from all of his government positions in protest and returned to his hometown of Kagoshima, as did many other Satsuma ex-samurai in the military and police forces. To help support and employ these men, in 1874 Saigo- established a private academy in Kagoshima. The schools resembled paramilitary political organizations more than anything else, and they enjoyed the support of the governor of Satsuma, who appointed disaffected samurai to political offices, where they came to dominate the Kagoshima government. Support for Saigo- was so strong that Satsuma had effectively seceded from the central government by the end of 1876. After nine years of working close to the central government, the samurai of Satsuma had grown dissatisfied with the direction the government was taking. They organized a considerable army to fight against the untried troops of the central government. It was a momentous clash between traditional Japanese warfare, as waged by the sword-wielding individual warriors, and the new peasant army, trained in western strategy and using western weapons. The rebellion was led by Saigo Takamori, a giant of a man with an engaging personality who, just a few years earlier, had been a leader in the government and who, as field marshall, had actually been responsible for forming the government army that he now opposed. He was prevailed upon to join the rebellious samurai and to lead them against the government army. The government acted swiftly to crush the rebellion. The fighting was brief but bloody. Saigo and his men fought well, but the government soldiers easily triumphed. When he was badly wounded, he committed suicide in the samurai tradition, rather than be captured. But his contribution to the early government, his bravery and spirit were not forgotten. He became a hero to future Japanese soldiers and was pardoned posthumously by the Meiji Emperor, whom he had both supported and opposed. i particularly chose this period because of the unique chance to meld and mend a variety of costuming styles into one piece. After the Meiji restoration, the Japanese army was created from conscripts in addition to the traditional samurai. It was a time of modernization, and Japan based much of their army in the second half of the 1800's on the three prevailing Armies of the world at that time, the French, the British, and the American. Japan was also just re-opening themselves to trading, and was absorbing every item they could from the rest of the world. They copied french and US military uniforms, but used British Enfield rifles, along with the Martini-Henry rifle, when they could afford it. Into this mix, or more correctly, logistical nightmare, the Samurai struggled to keep their own history and identify alive. And thus, in this two decade piece of history, we have rifles and katana, greatcoats and tabi, bowler hats, kepi and naginata, all in the same units. My Samurai wears the new model double-breasted greatcoat, with epaulets denoting his high rank in the IJA infantry. His kepi, which could have been blue or buff, has a red band at the base, again denoting his affiliation with an imperial infantry unit. He wears silk pants, and straw sandals, with a white canvas puttee, and the traditional ribbon ties. He carries both a Katana and a bayonet for his missing rifle. A percussion pistol is tucked into his Obi. Because of the wide variety of uniforms among the regular army, imperial guards, rebel samurai, and impressed forces, the Satsuma rebels took to wearing a small white cloth on their arm, to align themselves with Saigo and his cause. This cloth, with or without konji symbols for luck, health or fortitude, was the one unique identifier of the rebel army. Without the cloth scrip, it was nearly impossible to tell one side from the other, because of the unusual disarray of dress and uniform types. Samurai in traditional clothing and armor fought alongside men in greatcoats and boots or straw capes and kimonos, as well as against warriors dressed in whatever they could obtain before heading into the field of battle. |
| Another super cool project from you old friend. Of course, great choice of headsculpt, but his uniform is awesome. A very sharp looking and unique project, all the way around. Special thanks for sending him in and sharing him with us. - GL |
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