Saigo Tsugumichi
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Saigō Tsugumichi (西郷従道, properly Saigō Jūdō) (1 June1843–18 July1902) was a Meiji-period politician and military officer who got his start in the latter part of the Edo period. He was born to Saigō Kichibe and Masako. His siblings, among others, included his famous older brother Saigō Takamori. He had many names throughout his life. Besides the two listed above, he also sometimes went by the nickname "Shingō". His real name was "Ryūkō", or "Ryūdō". It is also possible that he went by the name "Ryūsuke".
Saigō was born in Shimokajichō, in the walled city of Kagoshima, Satsuma. At the recommendation of Arimura Shunsai, he became a tea-serving monk for the daimyo of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. After he returned to secular life, he became one of a group of devoted followers of Arimura. He partook in the Anglo-Satsuma War and later fought in the Toba-Fushimi Battle of the Satsuma Rebellion. In 1869, two years after the Meiji Restoration, he went to Europe with Yamagata Aritomo to do a study of European military organization. In 1874, he became a lieutenant-general of the army, and commanded forces during a Japanese military expedition to Taiwan in the same year.
In 1873, his brother Takamori resigned from the government, due to debate over his proposed plan to invade Korea. Many others from the Satsuma region followed suit, however, Jūdō continued to work for the government. Upon the death of his brother in the Satsuma Rebellion, Jūdō became the leader of Satsuma. In accord with the Kazoku system enacted in 1884, he received the title of count for deeds performed for the Meiji Restoration. He held a string of important positions for the Ito Hirobumi cabinet, such as Minister of the Navy and Minister of Internal Affairs. In 1892, he was appointed to the Privy Council as a genrō. In the same year, he also founded a political party known as "Kokumin Kyōkai" (国民協会, The People's Co-operative Party). In 1894, he became the admiral of the Japanese navy, and was given the title of marquis. In 1898, Japanese navy sailors bestowed upon him the honorary title of "fleet admiral". He died in 1902.
Trivia
- After the Restoration, he went to a government office to register his name. He intended to register orally under his given name Ryūkō (alternately Ryūdō). However, the civil servant misheard his name as "Jūdō", and he therefore became "Jūdō" under the law. He didn't particularly mind, so he never bothered to change it back. The name "Tsugumichi" arose as an alternate, and—to the Japanese—more natural-sounding, pronunciation for the characters of his name: 従道.
- Although he was said to be as kind-hearted and generous as his brother Takamori and his cousin Ōyama Iwao, after the Ōtsu Incident—which occurred while he was working as Minister of Internal Affairs—he pushed for the death penalty of Tsuda Sanzō and threatened Kojima Korekata.
- Because he resembled his brother Takamori, Takamori's photograph was referenced when drawing portraits of Jūdō.
- He owned a cottage in Yanagihara (present-day Numazu), Shizuoka Prefecture.
- He was the first person in Japan to own a race horse.
References
Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Japanese-language Wikipedia article (retrieved April 6, 2006).
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