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Who Is Saigō: A Legendary Hero?

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Saigō Takamori, original name Kichibē, or Kichinosuke, literary name Nanshū (born Jan. 23, 1828, Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan—died Sept. 24, 1877, Kagoshima), a leader in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate who later rebelled against the weaknesses he saw in the Imperial government that he had helped to restore. Although his participation in the restoration made him a legendary hero, it also, to his mortification, relegated his samurai class to impotence.

Early life

Saigō was born in 1828 at Kagoshima. His family were samurai of a low but honourable rank whose traditional responsibility was that of serving in the feudal lord’s bodyguard.

From boyhood Saigō was distinguished by his unusual size and physique; as an adult he was almost six

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