View source for Satsuma Rebellion

{{Short description|1877 Japanese samurai revolt}}
{{For|the Anglo-Satsuma War|Bombardment of Kagoshima}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2024}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=May 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Satsuma Rebellion
| width             = 
| partof            = the [[Meiji Restoration]] and the [[Shizoku]] rebellions
| image             = Satsuma rebeliion.svg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = Map of the campaign
| date              = 29 January – 24 September 1877<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1=01 |day1=29 |year1=1877 |month2=09 |day2=24 |year2=1877}})
| place             = [[Kyūshū]], [[Japan]]
| result            = Imperial victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|Satsuma Domain|Mon}}
| commander1        = {{Plain list|
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Emperor Meiji]]
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Prince Arisugawa Taruhito|Prince Arisugawa]]
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Yamagata Aritomo]]
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Kawamura Sumiyoshi]]
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Kuroda Kiyotaka]]
* {{flag icon|Empire of Japan|army}} [[Tani Tateki]]
}}
| commander2        = {{Plain list|
* {{flag icon|Satsuma Domain|Mon}} [[Saigō Takamori]]{{KIA}}
* {{flag icon|Satsuma Domain|Mon}} [[Kirino Toshiaki]]{{KIA}}
* {{flag icon|Satsuma Domain|Mon}} [[Beppu Shinsuke]]{{KIA}}
}}
| strength1         = {{Plain list|
* 51,800 Imperial Army
* 5,054 Imperial Guard
* 18,000 police (including unknown number of [[Battotai|battōtai]])
}}
| strength2         = {{Plain list|
* 12,000 infantry
* 200 artillerymen
* 60 artillery pieces
}}
| casualties1       = 15,000 killed and wounded<ref name="ReferenceA">Hane Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. p. 115</ref>
| casualties2       = {{Plain list|
* nearly all killed and wounded<ref>{{Cite web |last=Szczepanski |first=Kallie |title=The Satsuma Rebellion |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-satsuma-rebellion-195570 |access-date=March 16, 2019 |publisher=ThoughtCo}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/>
* 4,000 captured or deserted
}}
}}
{{Meiji era rebellions}}
{{CampaignBoxSatsumaRebellion}}
[[File:SaigoWithOfficers.jpg|thumb|[[Saigō Takamori]] (seated, in French uniform), surrounded by his officers, in traditional attire. News article in ''[[Le Monde illustré]]'', 1877. This painting was imagined and depicted by a French illustrator, portraying a central figure seated in a Western-style military uniform on a chair, likely based on hearsay as Saigō Takamori. The entourage surrounding him, all dressed in heavily armored samurai attire from the 1500s, is entirely a product of the French artist's imagination and is completely inaccurate.]]

The '''Satsuma Rebellion''', also known as the {{nihongo|'''Seinan War'''|西南戦争|Seinan Sensō|{{lit|Southwestern War}}|lead=yes}}, was a [[revolt]] of disaffected [[samurai]] against the new imperial government of the [[Empire of Japan]], nine years into the [[Meiji era]]. Its name comes from the [[Satsuma Domain]], which had been influential in the [[Meiji Restoration|Restoration]] and became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status obsolete. The rebellion lasted from 29 January until 24 September of 1877, when it was decisively crushed, and its leader, [[Saigō Takamori]], was shot and mortally wounded.

Saigō's rebellion was the last and most serious of a series of armed uprisings against the new government of the Empire of Japan, the [[predecessor state]] to modern [[Japan]]. The rebellion was very expensive for the government, which forced it to make numerous monetary reforms including leaving the [[gold standard]]. The conflict effectively ended the samurai class and ushered in modern warfare fought by conscript soldiers instead of military nobles. It is also the most recent civil war fought in Japan.

==Background==
Although [[Satsuma Domain|Satsuma]] 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. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged [[social status]] of the samurai class - contrasting with the original reformist vision of creating a parliament of [[Daimyo|Daimyos]], and had undermined their financial position. The very rapid and massive changes to [[Japanese culture]], [[List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms|language]], dress and society appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the ''jōi'' ('expel the barbarian') portion of the ''[[sonnō jōi]]'' justification used to overthrow the former [[Tokugawa shogunate]].<ref name="Buck, 1973">Buck, 1973.</ref>

[[Saigō Takamori]] was a well known and powerful Samurai lord of his time and one of the senior leaders of the Satsuma clan, he fiercely supported the imperial faction throughout [[Bakumatsu]] and was one of the prominent [[Meiji Restoration|restoration]] figures during the [[Boshin War|Boshin war]], he was especially concerned about growing political corruption – popular prints depicted the rebel army with banners bearing the words {{nihongo|''shinsei-kōtoku''|新政厚徳||{{lit|new government, rich virtue}}}}. Saigō was a strong proponent of war with [[Korea]] in the ''[[Seikanron]]'' debate of 1873. At one point, he offered to visit Korea in person and to provide a ''[[casus belli]]'' by the likely outcome of his being assassinated by Korean nationalists. Saigō expected both that a war would ultimately be successful for Japan and also that the initial stages of it would offer a means by which the samurai whose cause he championed could find meaningful and beneficial death.  When the plan was rejected, Saigō resigned from all of his government positions in protest and returned to his hometown of [[Kagoshima, Kagoshima|Kagoshima]], as did many other Satsuma ex-samurai in the military and police forces.<ref name="Buck, 1973"/>

[[File:KumamotoSoldiers1877.jpg|thumb|left|[[Imperial Japanese Army]] officers of the Kumamoto garrison, who resisted Saigō Takamori's siege, 1877]]

To help support and employ these men, in 1874 Saigō established a private academy known as the [[Shi-gakkō]] in Kagoshima. Soon 132 branches were established all over the prefecture. The “training” provided was not purely academic: although the Chinese classics were taught, all students were required to take part in weapons training and instruction in tactics.  Saigō also started an [[artillery]] school. 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 Saigō was so strong that Satsuma had effectively seceded from the central government by the end of 1876. This was similar to the Satsuma and Choshu's position during Bakumatsu, in which the Shogunate maintained little control over these domains.<ref>Gordon, Andrew. A Modern History of Japan from Tokugawa Times to the Present, Second Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 84.</ref>

== Status of combatants ==
=== Imperial military ===
As per the 1873 conscription law, Japan was divided into six military districts with conscripts drawn by lots, with seven years service (three active and four reserve) for the conscripted and service for 20 years in the national militia for those not chosen for active service. 

A cavalry squadron contained 150 in wartime. However, due to difficulties in securing horses suited for modern war, only three squadrons were available, for a total of 450 cavalrymen (including the Imperial guard squadron). An infantry regiment had three battalions of 1,088 men and 16 battalion staff each. 14 such regiments existed for a total of 45,920 infantry. An engineer company contained 150 men. The engineers had 10 companies, giving a total of 1,500 engineers. The train companies contained 80 men. There were a total of six companies giving a total of 480 men. There were also nine coastal artillery battalions of 100 men, a total of 900 men.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=Gabriele |date=2020 |title=Japanese Armies 1868–1877: The Boshin War & Satsuma Rebellion |others=Illustrations: Giuseppe Rava |isbn=978-1-4728-3706-6 |location=Oxford |publisher=Osprey Publishing |pages=57–67 |oclc=1130012340}}</ref> 

The mobile artillery consisted of 12 mountain gun batteries with 1,920 men and six field gun batteries with 780 men, with each battery containing 12 guns. A total of 2,700 men with 108 guns were in the mobile artillery.<ref name=":0" />

The imperial guard, a force drawn from the pro-imperial forces of the Boshin War, was organised into two regiments of infantry (4,384), one cavalry squadron (150), one artillery battalion (12 guns and 290 men), one engineer company (150), and a train company (80 men), giving a total of 5,054 men.<ref name=":0" />

==== Imperial police ====
In 1871, the imperial government organised the Rasotsu, which expanded rapidly from its original 3,000 to 18,000 in 1877. These policemen were militarised and saw action throughout the rebellion.<ref name=":0" /> During the conflict, the government side expended, on average, 322,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,000 artillery shells per day.<ref>Perrin, p. 76</ref>

=== Rebel forces ===
The forces of Saigo were only partly modernised, with an ad hoc organisation made in 1877 with 6 infantry battalions of 2,000 men, each with 10 companies of 200 per battalion. There was little to no cavalry in the rebel army and only 200 gunners for the 28 mountain, 2 field and 30 mortar pieces assembled by the rebels.<ref name=":0" />

==Prelude==
Word of Saigō's academies was greeted with considerable concern in Tokyo. The government had just dealt with several small but violent samurai revolts in [[Kyūshū]], and they found the prospect of rebellion by the numerous and fierce Satsuma samurai, led by the famous and popular Saigō, an alarming one. In December 1876, the Meiji government sent a police officer named Nakahara Hisao and 57 other men to investigate reports of subversive activities and unrest. The men were captured, and under [[torture]], confessed that they were spies who had been sent to assassinate Saigō. Although Nakahara later repudiated the confession, it was widely believed in Satsuma and was used as justification by the disaffected samurai that a rebellion was necessary in order to "protect Saigō". Fearing a rebellion, the Meiji government sent a warship to Kagoshima to [[Sword hunt#Sword ban in Meiji Restoration|remove the weapons]] stockpiled at the Kagoshima arsenal on 30 January 1877. This, accompanied by an elimination of samurai rice stipends in 1877, provoked open conflict.  Outraged by the government's tactics, 50 students from Saigō's academy attacked the Somuta Arsenal and carried off weapons. Over the next three days, more than 1000 students staged raids on the naval yards and other arsenals.<ref name="Buck, 1973"/>

Presented with this sudden success, the greatly dismayed Saigō was reluctantly persuaded to come out of his semi-retirement to lead the rebellion against the central government.

[[File:Kagoshima battle.jpg|thumb|left|The clash at [[Kagoshima]] ]]

In February 1877, the Meiji government dispatched [[Hayashi Tomoyuki]], an official with the [[Home Ministry (Japan)|Home Ministry]] with Admiral [[Kawamura Sumiyoshi]] in the warship [[Japanese warship Takao Maru (1874)|''Takao'']] to ascertain the situation. Satsuma's governor, [[Oyama Tsunayoshi]], explained that the uprising was in response to the government's assassination attempt on Saigō, and asked that Admiral Kawamura (Saigō's cousin) come ashore to help calm the situation. After Oyama departed, a flotilla of small ships filled with armed men attempted to board ''Takao'' by force, but were repelled. The following day, Hayashi declared to Oyama that he could not permit Kawamura to go ashore when the situation was so unsettled, and that the attack on ''Takao'' constituted an act of [[lèse-majesté]].

[[File:Imperial troops embarking at Yokohama to fight the Satsuma rebellion in 1877.jpg|thumb|Imperial troops embarking at [[Yokohama]] to fight the Satsuma rebellion in 1877]]

On his return to [[Kobe]] on 12 February, Hayashi met with General [[Yamagata Aritomo]] and [[Itō Hirobumi]], and it was decided that the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] would need to be sent to Kagoshima to prevent the revolt from spreading to other areas of the country sympathetic to Saigō. On the same day, Saigō met with his lieutenants [[Kirino Toshiaki]] and [[:File:Kunimoto Shinohara.jpg|Shinohara Kunimoto]] and announced his intention of marching to Tokyo to ask questions of the government. Rejecting large numbers of volunteers, he made no attempt to contact any of the other domains for support, and no troops were left at Kagoshima to secure his base against an attack. To aid in the air of legality, Saigō wore his army uniform. Marching north, his army was hampered by the deepest snowfall Satsuma had seen in more than 50 years, which, because of the similarity to the weather that had greeted those setting out to enact the Meiji Restoration nine years earlier, was interpreted by some as a sign of divine support.<ref name="Buck, 1973"/>

==The Southwestern War==

===Siege of Kumamoto Castle===
{{main|Siege of Kumamoto Castle}}

The Satsuma vanguard crossed into [[Kumamoto Prefecture]] on 14 February. The commandant of [[Kumamoto Castle]], Major General [[Tani Tateki]] had 3,800 soldiers and 600 policemen at his disposal. However, most of the garrison was from Kyūshū, while a significant number of officers were natives of Kagoshima; their loyalties were open to question. Rather than risk desertions or defections, Tani decided to stand on the defensive. On 19 February, the first shots of the war were fired as the defenders of Kumamoto Castle opened fire on Satsuma units attempting to force their way into the castle. Kumamoto Castle, built in 1598, was among the strongest in Japan, but Saigō was confident that his forces would be more than a match for Tani's conscripts, who were still demoralized by the recent [[Shinpūren rebellion]].

On 22 February, the main Satsuma army arrived and attacked Kumamoto Castle in a [[pincer movement]]. Fighting continued into the night. Imperial forces fell back, and acting Major [[Nogi Maresuke]] of the Kokura Fourteenth Regiment lost the regimental colors in fierce fighting. However, despite their successes, the Satsuma army failed to take the castle and began to realize that the conscript army was not as ineffective as first assumed. After two days of fruitless attack, the Satsuma forces dug into the rock-hard icy ground around the castle and tried to starve the garrison out in a siege. The situation was especially desperate for the defenders as their stores of food and ammunition had been depleted by a warehouse fire shortly before the rebellion began. During the siege, many Kumamoto ex-samurai flocked to Saigō's banner, swelling his forces to around 20,000 men. In the meantime, on March 9, Saigō, Kirino, and Shinohara were stripped of their court ranks and titles.<ref name="Buck, 1973"/>

On the night of 8 April, a force from Kumamoto Castle made a sortie, forcing open a gap in the Satsuma lines and enabling desperately needed supplies to reach the garrison. The main Imperial Army, under General [[Kuroda Kiyotaka]] with the assistance of General [[Yamakawa Hiroshi]], arrived in Kumamoto on 12 April, putting the now heavily outnumbered Satsuma forces to flight.

===Battle of Tabaruzaka===
{{main|Battle of Tabaruzaka}}

On 4 March, Imperial Army General Yamagata ordered a frontal assault against Tabaruzaka, guarding the approaches to Kumamoto, which developed into an eight-day-long battle. Tabaruzaka was held by some 15,000 samurai from Satsuma, Kumamoto and [[Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto|Hitoyoshi]] against the Imperial Army's 9th Infantry Brigade (some 9,000 men). At the height of the battle, Saigō wrote a private letter to Prince Arisugawa, restating his reasons for going to Tokyo. His letter indicated that he was not committed to rebellion and sought a peaceful settlement. The government, however, refused to negotiate.

In order to cut Saigō off from his base, an imperial force with three warships, 500 policemen, and several companies of infantry landed in Kagoshima on 8 March, seized arsenals, and took Satsuma's governor into custody.

Yamagata also landed a detachment with two infantry brigades and 1,200 policemen behind the rebel lines, so as to fall on them from the rear from [[Yatsushiro, Kumamoto|Yatsushiro Bay]]. Imperial forces landed with few losses, then pushed north seizing the city of [[Miyanohara]] on 19 March. After receiving reinforcements, the imperial force, now totaling 4,000 men, attacked the rear elements of the Satsuma army and drove them back.

Tabaruzaka was one of the most intense campaigns of the war. Imperial forces emerged victorious, but with heavy casualties on both sides. Each side had suffered more than 4,000 killed or wounded.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Retreat from Kumamoto===
After his failure to take Kumamoto, Saigō led his followers on a seven-day march to Hitoyoshi. Morale was extremely low, and lacking any strategy, the Satsuma forces dug in to wait for the next Imperial Army offensive. However, the Imperial Army was likewise depleted, and fighting was suspended for several weeks to permit reinforcement. When the offensive was resumed, Saigo retreated to [[Miyazaki, Miyazaki|Miyazaki]], leaving behind numerous pockets of samurai in the hills to conduct [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla attacks]].

On 24 July, the Imperial Army forced Saigō out of [[Miyakonojō, Miyazaki|Miyakonojō]], followed by [[Nobeoka, Miyazaki|Nobeoka]]. Troops were landed at [[Ōita, Ōita|Ōita]] and [[Saiki, Ōita|Saiki]] north of Saigō's army, and Saigō was caught in a pincer attack. However, the Satsuma army was able to cut its way free from encirclement. By 17 August, the Satsuma army had been reduced to 3000 combatants, and had lost most of its modern firearms and all of its artillery.

The surviving rebels made a stand on the slopes of Mount Enodake, and were soon surrounded. Determined not to let the rebels escape again, Yamagata sent in a large force which outnumbered the Satsuma army 7:1. Most of Saigō's remaining forces either surrendered or committed ''[[seppuku]]''. However, Saigō burned his private papers and army uniform on 19 August, and slipped away towards Kagoshima with his remaining able-bodied men. Despite Yamagata's efforts over the next several days, Saigō and his remaining 500 men reached Kagoshima on September 1 and seized [[Mount Shiroyama (Kagoshima)|Shiroyama]], overlooking the city.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Seinansenso snou.jpg|Kagoshima boto shutsujinzu by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Yoshitoshi]]
File:Small tenshu & Uto turret & Large tenshu in Kumamoto-Csl.jpg|Kumamoto Castle
File:Saigo Takamori Gunmusho banknote 1877.jpg|Saigō Takamori ''Gunmusho'' (軍務所) banknote, issued in 1877 to finance his war effort. [[Japan Currency Museum]].
File:Battle of Taharazaka.JPG|Battle of Tabaruzaka: Imperial troops on the left, rebel samurai troops on the right
File:Battle of Tabaruzaka Nishiki-e.jpg|Battle of Tabaruzaka
File:Satsuma rebellion.JPG|Saigo's army clashes with the government's forces
</gallery>

===Battle of Shiroyama===
{{main|Battle of Shiroyama}}
[[File:ShiroyamaBattle.jpg|thumb|right|Battle of Shiroyama]]

Saigō and his remaining samurai were pushed back to Kagoshima where, in a [[last stand|final battle]], the Battle of Shiroyama, Imperial Army troops under the command of General [[Yamagata Aritomo]] and marines under the command of Admiral [[Kawamura Sumiyoshi]] outnumbered Saigō 60-to-1. However, Yamagata was determined to leave nothing to chance. The imperial troops spent several days constructing an elaborate system of ditches, walls and obstacles to prevent another breakout. The five government warships in Kagoshima harbor added their firepower to Yamagata's [[artillery]], and began to systematically reduce the rebel positions.
[[File:ShiroyamaFortifications.jpg|thumb|left|Imperial Japanese Army fortifications encircling Shiroyama. 1877 photograph.]]

After Saigō rejected a letter dated September 1 from Yamagata drafted by a young [[Suematsu Kenchō]] asking him to surrender, Yamagata ordered a full frontal assault on 24 September 1877. By 6 a.m., only 40 rebels were still alive. Saigō was severely wounded. Legend says that one of his followers, [[Beppu Shinsuke]], acted as ''[[kaishakunin]]'' and aided Saigō in committing ''[[seppuku]]'' before he could be captured. However, other evidence contradicts this, stating that Saigō in fact died of the bullet wound and then had his head removed by Beppu in order to preserve his dignity.
[[File:Subjugation of Kagoshima in Sasshu (Satsuma).jpg|center|thumb|409x409px|Samurai fighting the Imperial army during the Subjugation of Kagoshima in Sasshu (Satsuma), by [[Yoshitoshi]], 1877]]

After Saigo's death, Beppu and the last of the "ex-samurai" drew their swords and plunged downhill toward the Imperial positions and to their deaths. With these deaths, the Satsuma rebellion came to an end.

==Aftermath==
[[File:ImperialArmySatsuma.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] during the Satsuma Rebellion]]

Financially, crushing the Satsuma Rebellion cost the government a total of {{Yen|420,000,000}} (£8,400,000),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mounsey|first=Augustus|title=The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History|pages=235}}</ref> forcing Japan off the [[gold standard]] and causing the government to print [[paper currency]]. Economic effects of the Satsuma Rebellion resulted in the passing of the Act of 4 February 1877, which reduced the land tax from 3% to 2.5%. The Rebellion reduced Japan's yearly expenditure from £13,700,000 to £10,250,000, and it raised Japan's [[national debt]] from £28,000,000 to £70,000,000.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mounsey|first=Augustus|title=The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History|pages=238–239}}</ref> The costs of pacifying the former samurai led to the Meiji government becoming virtually bankrupt; the government was forced to sell off state-owned enterprises such as factories and mines to politically-connected merchants and former officials at low prices, leading to the instant formation of large industrial firms or [[zaibatsu]]. These state-owned industries had been operating at a loss, and Finance Minister Matsukata Masayoshi decided to sell all of these to politically connected capitalists at a loss, except the railroad, telegraph and military industries. He also cancelled scholarships for Japanese students abroad and fired foreign experts.<ref name="Ebrey">{{cite book |last1=Ebrey |first1=Patricia Buckley |last2=Walthall |first2=Anne |last3=Palais |first3=James B  |pages=356–357 |title=East Asia: a cultural, social, and political history |date=2006 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-618-13384-0 |oclc=607716664 }}</ref> Meanwhile, the remnants of the militaristic faction that supported Saigo's invasion proposal evolved into Japanese right-wing groups such as the [[genyosha]] and [[kokuryūkai]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Michio Morishima |title=Why Has Japan 'Succeeded'?: Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos |date=1982 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521269032 |pages=93–95}}</ref> 

The rebellion also effectively ended the samurai class, as the new Imperial Japanese Army built on [[heimin]] [[conscripts]] had proven itself in battle. More critically, the defeat of the samurai displayed the power of modern artillery and rifles, against which a [[banzai charge]] had no appreciable effect.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Turnbull|first1=Stephen|title=Samurai: The World of the Warrior|date=2003|publisher=Osprey Publishing|pages=202}}</ref> On 22 February 1889, [[Emperor Meiji]] [[pardon]]ed Saigō posthumously.<ref>{{cite book|last=Perkins|first=Dorothy|title=Japan Goes to War: A Chronology of Japanese Military Expansion|publisher=Diane Publishing}}</ref> Statues in [[Ueno Park]], [[Tokyo]] and near the ruins of [[Kagoshima Castle]] stand in his memory. Saigō Takamori was labelled as a tragic hero by the people, and his actions were considered an honorable example of [[bushido]] and [[Yamato-damashii]].

==Name==
In English, the most common name for the war is "Satsuma Rebellion". Mark Ravina, the author of ''The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori'', argued that "Satsuma Rebellion" is not the best name for the war because the English name does not well represent the war and its Japanese name. Ravina said that the war's scope was much farther than Satsuma, and he characterizes the event as being closer to a civil war than a rebellion. Ravina prefers the English name "War of the Southwest".<ref>Ravina, Mark. ''The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori''. [[John Wiley and Sons]], 2011. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lwt587Ex_a4C&pg=PT8 Names, Romanizations, and Spelling (page 2 of 2)]. Retrieved from [[Google Books]] on August 7, 2011. {{ISBN|1-118-04556-4|978-1-118-04556-5}}.</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{Main|List of Boshin War and Satsuma Rebellion films}}
Western interpretations include the 2003 American film ''[[The Last Samurai]]'' directed by [[Edward Zwick]], which combines into a single narrative historical situations belonging both to the [[Boshin War]], the Satsuma Rebellion, and other similar uprisings of ex-samurai during the early Meiji period.<ref name="warhist mclaughlin 2016">{{cite web|url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/true-history-behind-film-last-samurai.html|title=The Last Samurai: The True History Behind The Film|first=William|last= Mclaughlin |date=November 11, 2016|publisher=War History Online|access-date=March 25, 2020|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325022241/https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/true-history-behind-film-last-samurai.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The song "Shiroyama" on the album ''[[The Last Stand (Sabaton album)|The Last Stand]]'' by the Swedish power metal band [[Sabaton (band)|Sabaton]] is about the Satsuma rebellion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shiroyama – Lyrics |url=https://www.sabaton.net/discography/the-last-stand/shiroyama/ |website=Sabaton Official Website |publisher=Nuclear Blast Records |access-date=2024-02-15}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{Portal-inline|Japan}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{Cite book |last=Henry Mounsey |first=Augustus |author-link=Augustus Henry Mounsey |url=https://archive.org/details/satsumarebellio01moungoog/ |title=The Satsuma Rebellion: An Episode of Modern Japanese History |publisher=J. Murray |year=1879 |language=English}}
* {{Cite book |last=Beasley |first=W. G. |author-link=William G. Beasley |title=The Meiji restoration |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-8047-0815-9 |location=Stanford, Calif}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Buck |first=James H. |date=1973 |title=The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. From Kagoshima Through the Siege of Kumamoto Castle |journal=Monumenta Nipponica |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=427–446 |doi=10.2307/2383560 |jstor=2383560}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Shiba |first1=Gorō |title=Remembering Aizu: the testament of Shiba Gorō |last2=Ishimitsu |first2=Mahito |last3=Craig |first3=Teruko |last4=Shiba |first4=Gorō |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8248-2157-9 |edition=Nachdr. |location=Honolulu}}
* {{Cite book |last=Drea |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward J. Drea |title=In the service of the Emperor: essays on the Imperial Japanese Army |date=1998 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1708-9 |series=Studies in war, society, and the military |location=Lincoln}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Andrew |title=A modern history of Japan: from Tokugawa times to the present |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-511061-6 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Henshall |first=Kenneth G. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofjapan00kenn |title=A history of Japan : from stone age to superpower |publisher=New York : St. Martin's Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-312-23370-9 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jansen |first=Marius B. |author-link=Marius Jansen |url=https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernja00jans |title=The making of modern Japan |date=2000 |publisher=the Belknap press of Harvard university press |isbn=978-0-674-00334-7 |location=Cambridge (Mass.)}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Donald |title=Emperor of Japan: Meiji and his world, 1852-1912 |date=2005 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-12341-9 |location=New York Chichester}}
* {{Cite book |last=Perrin |first=Noel |url=https://archive.org/details/givingupgun00noel |title=Giving up the gun : Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543-1879 |date=1979 |publisher=Boston : D.R. Godine |isbn=978-0-87923-278-8 |location=Boston |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ravina |first=Mark |title=The last samurai: the life and battles of Saigō Takamori |date=2004 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc |isbn=978-0-471-08970-4 |location=Hoboken, N.J}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sims |first=Richard L. |title=Japanese political history since the Meiji renovation, 1868-2000 |date=2001 |publisher=Palgrave |isbn=978-0-312-23914-5 |location=New York}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.historynet.com/satsuma-rebellion-satsuma-clan-samurai-against-the-imperial-japanese-army.htm Satsuma Rebellion: Satsuma Clan Samurai Against the Imperial Japanese Army]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030423060234/http://www.russojapanesewar.com/satsuma.html Organization of Imperial and Satsuma Forces]}}

{{JapanEmpireNavbox}}
{{Japanese coups}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Satsuma Rebellion| ]]
[[Category:1877 in Japan]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1877]]
[[Category:Shizoku rebellions]]
[[Category:Satsuma Province]]