"The Last Samurai"

by Jim Hanna, first published in the Oct 1980 issue of KICK ILLUSTRATED.

I thought that some readers might be interested in reading the real story of The Last Samurai. The real story is actually better than the movie.

"Over a century ago a huge samurai warrior unsheathed his sword for the final time. A hulkish man, with enormous shoulders and a thick bullneck, he towered as an awesome figure upon the battlefield. All who met him were said to have bowed in spite of themselves.

I Japan there are so many tales about Saigo Takamori that it is difficult to distinguish the man from the myth. Many authorities cite him as the consummate example of a samurai, living and dying according to the code of bushido.

Saigo was born in 1828 in Satusma, the greatest warrior province of Japan. For 700 years bushido, haiku, Zen, and the martial arts had flourished there. During this feudal period, Satsuma had nurtured many of Japan's greatest warriors.

Although Saigo was born into the house of kosho-gumi (low ranking samurai), his family was poor and had to farm the land to survive. The higher ranking warriors at the shogun's palace often belittled Saigo, calling him a 'country samurai'> Yet Saigo's humble beginnings helped to instill in him an uncorrupted view of bushido that many of them lacked.

As a youth, Saigo trained daily with the sword and in jujutsu. His massive size and intense spirit enabled him to develop into a fearsome warrior. At the age of 13 Saigo was badly injured during a fight. It was thought that the injury would severely handicap his martial abilities. Yet, even at that young age, his dynamic spirit would not be defeated. Through diligent practice, he became a master swordsman. Saigo also spent long hours studying Zen and the teachings of the great Chinese sage, Wan Yang Ming, in order to develop his character.

As a young man, Saigo first worked as a minor tax official. While in this office, he openly denounced the corrupt government of the shogun. Over the centuries, the strong vigorous shoguns had slowly degenerated into weak corrupt rulers. Saigo longed to overthrow the shogun and restore the emperor to power.

The poor peasants of the country suffered greatly under the shogun's injustice and Saigo often proposed ideas for helping them. With eyes glowing like black diamonds beneath heavy black brows, Saigo could intimidate many warriors. Yet sympathy and pity for the weak--the highest samurai virtues--could emanate from that same scowling face.

Of course the great samurai families disagreed with Saigo's efforts. They preferred to continue the shogun's policies, which greatly benefited themselves.

Because of his actions, Saigo was banished by the shogun to an isolated island. In exile, Saigo patiently suffered for his beliefs, although it would have been easier to simply end his life. As the code of bushido states, 'It is true courage to live when it is right to live, and to die only when it is right to die.’

After years of exile, Saigo was called home by the anti-shogun lord of Satsuma. Working as a spy, Saigo gathered intelligence information for his lord. Forceful, but speaking only when necessary, Saigo soon rose to become the leader of the young, discontented samurai."

His story gets better and begins to follow the movie.

During this turbulent period, the United States and other western powers pressured Japan to open her doors to foreign commerce. At one time in history the powerful samurai had actually beaten off an invasion by the great Genghis Khan. Now their weaker descendants were intimidated by the West's military might. Foreign ideas and influence flooded Japan and threatened to overwhelm traditional samurai values.

Saigo could not stand idly by and watch his way of life be destroyed. Under his guidance, the forces of Satsuma united with Choshu and Saigo's army marched to Edo. The shogun's power, eroded by years of discontent collapsed without a struggle. Saigo had fulfilled his dream of restoring the emperor to the throne.

As with any successful rebellion, the new government had to establish itself. There were still pro-shogun forces who were unwilling to give up the wealth and power accumulated over the years. They vowed to fight on until 'the country samurai' was defeated.

But Saigo, as the head of the Imperial Army, had his own vows to honor. He forced the last of the resistance forces to dig in at Edo Castle. Okubo Toshimichi and other loyalist leaders demanded that Saigo burn the castle and kill the trapped shogun. Massed confusion erupted as the citizens of Edo, fearing fire, plunder, and the sword, stampeded for safety.

In the midst of this chaos, Saigo secretly med with Katsu Rintaro, an honorable samurai enemy. In Saigo's war camp Katsu passionately argued for the life and safety of the shogun and city. His sincerity aroused Saigo's sense of bushi no nasake (the tenderness of the warrior). Saigo agreed to spare the shogun and the city from blade and flame. He thus secured Edo for his emperor and spared the inhabitants of the city from being decimated. Saigo understood that the best won victory is that obtained without bloodshed.

As commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army, Saigo then took steps to firmly enthrone the emperor. His own troops from Satsuma composed the nucleus of this new army. This was not unusual since in Satsuma there was one samurai to every three commoners. The ratio for the rest of Japan was one to seventeen.

With most of the fighting over, Saigo soon became discontented with court life. Other more politically minded leaders, like Okubo Toshimichi, were gaining power and influence. Saigo, direct and intuitive, could not compete against Okubo in this type of battle as Okubo did not hesitate to breach the code of bushido. Careful analysis and tactical planning did not interest Saigo, for he believed that sincerity would succeed if only by stirring men who witnessed a noble failure, while trickery and artifice would accomplish nothing. Okubo, however, proved that underhanded dealings if skillfully performed, could win a man political power.

Many of the samurai who had fought alongside Saigo hated Okubo for several reasons. He catered to foreigners and mimicked their customs instead of being true to bushido. But what infuriated the samurai the most was Okubo's plan to dismantle the samurai class, and to use peasants to replace them in the army. Saigo, on the other hand, believed that Japan's strength lay in reinforcing the traditional values of the samurai.

In an effort to strenghthen his inactive samurai troops, Saigo offered to sacrifice himself by going to Korea. He believed that Japan, united with Korea and China could stand against any foreign power. But Korea, at the time, hated Japan. Saigo knew that if he sailed there as an ambassador the Koreans would immediately kill him. His death would then give Japan a reason to invade and conquer Korea. Saigo pleaded with the emperor for the privilege of dying for his country.

The emperor's counselor, Okubo Toshimichi, again pitted himself against Saigo. Knowing that a war would strenghten the samurai class, Okubo persuaded the emperor to deny Saigo's request.

Defeated, Saigo resigned as commander-in-=chief and returned to Satsuma. 600 officers of the Imperial Guard followed him. The resignation of so many officers frightened Okubo. He realized that Saigo could upset many of his plans for the future."

(This is pretty much where the movie picks up--the emperor is established and Saigo has left the council of advisers--winter is coming.)

"Once back in Satsuma, Saigo opened the Shigaikko, a private military school. At his academy, students studied Chinese classics, practiced various martial arts, and learned about bushido. Saigo taught that 'the way is the way of heaven and earth. Man's place is to follow it and revere it as the one true goal in life. Heaven loves all men equally, therefore man must do the same. Make heaven, not man, your partner and so always do your best. Do not condemn others but strive to maintain your own high standards.'

Young samurai sensed that here was a man who truly practiced bushido. They journeyed from all over Japan for the privilege of training with him. Soon, Saigo's small school grew into a huge training center.

Meanwhile, the arrogant Okubo had assumed near dictatorial powers. Fearing Saigo's power, he pushed through an order stripping the samurai of their swords. The sword represented the samurai's heart and soul. Saigo's young students could not obey such an order and revolted in open defiance. Saigo deeply regretted this action, but his sense of loyalty wouldnot permit him to desert his students. Although bushido demanded that a samurai be loyal to the emperor, when a subject deffered from his master, the loyal path for him to pursue was to use every available means to persuade his master of his error.

In the winter of 1877, Saigo said goodbye to his family and beloved hunting dogs. In ill health he led 15,000 men northward to Edo. Icy winter winds and blinding snowstorsm buffeted Saigo's students. In the mountains they trudged through snow up to their waists. It appeared that even nature herself was opposing Saigo.

Saigo had hoped to negotiate with the newly restored government, but at Kumamoto the new commander-in-chief refused to let him pass. A battle broke out and Saigo forced the loyalist army to retreat to Kumamoto castle. While Saigo laid siege to the castle, Edo sent reinforcments. The national police force plus 32,000 soldiers with reserves of 10,000 men soon arrived to unite with the forces of Kumamoto. The new peasant army, equipped with guns, refused to fight in the traditional samurai manner. They slowly beat Saigo southward. In the battles that followed more than 30,000 men died by sword or gun. After nine months of fighting and with only a few hundred men left, Saigo prepared himself for the last battle.

His tattered troops retreated to a hilltip while the enemy completely surrounded them by land and sea. Saigo enjoyed a game of go (japanese checkers), with one of his captains before the final assault. Then, before dawn, the Imperial Army attacked. Artillery chells hailed down upon the hill, blowing apart men and earth. After the artillery barrage, thousands of troops swarmed up the hill firing volley and volley into the rebel camp. Saigo and his men fought on amidst the spray of bullets. Finally, after being shot in the thigh and stomach, Saigo retired to a cave in the hillside. Preferring death to capture, he bowed low toward the Imperial palace and committed seppuku (abdomen cutting) as giri (duty) demanded. After the death of their sensai, the remaining 150 warriors rushed down the hill to meet inevitable death.

Today, the Japanese people honor Saigo with a bronze statue in Ueno Park. It was not a question of loyalty to the emperor, but a question of whether the samurai would die as a class which sparked his revolt. He is revered because he strove for the ultimate goal of the warrior...perfection of spirit. Saigo Takamori was the last samurai. With his death an era ended. Yet his spirit lives on today in all who attempt to live by the demanding code of bushido."