Who was the last Samurai

It often happens that when we think of the last samurai, we come to the image of Tom Cruise as the protagonist of the blockbuster film that bears that name. Although it is an entertaining and dramatic movie, it is not very faithful to the story.

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The last samurai, historically, was Saigo Takamori . He was an intellectual, politician, and leader of the Satsuma Han, in present-day Kagoshima Prefecture, during the late Edo period and early Meiji period.

During this time, Japan was forced to open its doors to trade and foreign influence by the Western imperial powers, with which it signed commercial and legal treaties that harmed Japanese society. Many were very dissatisfied with these agreements and the abuses they received from citizens of these Western powers.

The government was led by the Shogun, Tokugawa , who was losing much of his popularity due to such treaties and other controversial decisions. Saigo Takamori was openly against the decisions of the government and had the support of his community, so after several incidents, battles and alliances, they overthrew the Shogunate government and established a new form of government with the Meiji Emperor at the head. .

Saigo Takamori benefited politically and quickly reached very high positions in the new government, even being top regent of the national government for a time. Some of his ideas and proposals were not very well received by his colleagues in the government, so he was expelled from the government.

Saigo Takamori decided to return to his homeland and opened an academy, where he taught politics. His students admired him, since he was a very cultured and honest person, so they could not believe that he had been expelled from the government.

Upset and shocked, they decided to rebel against the government in favor of Saigo Takamori. The matter escalated to the point that the central government sent troops to undo the insurrection.

The battle was very unequal because the national army had modern weapons, while Saigo Takamori ‘s army still fought with traditional weapons such as the katana (Japanese sword).

Saigo Takamori and his students were defeated, so Saigo decided to perform Seppuku or honor suicide.

Eventually, in 1889, the Meiji Emperor granted him a posthumous pardon, and Saigo Takamori was considered a Hero of Japan.