Saigō Tanomo

Infobox Military Person
name= Saigō Tanomo
lived= May 16 1830 – April 28 1903
placeofbirth= Wakamatsu, Aizu domain, Japan
allegiance= Aizu clan
serviceyears= 1860-1869
rank="karō" (senior councilor)
battles= Battle of Shirakawa, Battle of Aizu, Battle of Hakodate
laterwork= Priest at Toshogu Shrine

Saigō Tanomo (西郷頼母; May 16, 1830-April 28, 1903) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. Chief senior councilor ("hittōgarō" 筆頭家老 ) of the Aizu clan, he achieved fame due to his distinguished action in the Boshin War. Surviving the war, he became a Shinto priest, and achieved renown as a martial artist. Teacher of the famed Sokaku Takeda.

Early Life and Service

Succeeding to family headship and the position of chief senior councilor in 1860, he served the 9th generation Aizu daimyo, Matsudaira Katamori. However, with Katamori's selection for the post of Kyoto Shugoshoku in 1862, his views sharply diverged with those of his lord. Wanting to warn Katamori of the dangers of Aizu's deeper political involvement in the troubled Tokugawa regime, he and his fellow "karo" Tanaka Tosa rode nonstop from Aizu to Edo and spoke directly to Katamori. [Hoshi Ryoichi, "Bakumatsu no Aizu-han". Tokyo: Chuko-shinsho, 2001, p.6] The lord, while understanding Tanomo's views as well as the domain's financial situation, nevertheless could not disobey what was both a direct Shogunal order as well as part of the greater scheme put together by his colleagues (Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu and Matsudaira Yoshinaga), and so he dismissed Tanomo. Tanomo thus spent the following six years in Aizu, informally dismissed from his position.

Boshin War

In 1868, with the rout at Toba-Fushimi, and with Katamori back in Aizu for the first time in years, Tanomo's services were again called upon. While he recommended submission to the Imperial Army early in 1868, the arrival in Aizu of former Bakufu soldiers forced Aizu's hand in the direction of continued military action. Once again, Tanomo's voice was drowned out. During the Battle of Aizu, Tanomo fought in defense of the castle town of Wakamatsu, the women of Tanomo's family are still famous in the region for having committed mass suicide.

Just before the surrender, Tanomo escaped Aizu and headed for Sendai. Joining Enomoto Takeaki and Hijikata Toshizo there, he continued on to Hokkaidō, where he joined in the military efforts of the Ezo Republic, but was defeated together with its forces in 1869.

Later life

After spending a few years in prison, Tanomo was released in 1872, and subsequently opened up a private academy in the Izu region. In 1889, he was chosen as one of the head priests of Toshogu Shrine in Nikkō, where he served alongside his former lord Matsudaira Katamori, and Katamori's brother Matsudaira Sadaaki. In his later years, Tanomo also taught Takeda Sokaku, the teacher of Ueshiba Morihei. Retiring in 1899, Tanomo returned to Aizu, where he died in 1903 at the age of 74.

The book Sei'un-ki (栖雲記; "A Record of Cobweb-clouds"), written shortly before Tanomo's death, records his memoirs.

Notes

Further reading

*Hoshi Ryoichi, "Bakumatsu no Aizu-han". Tokyo: Chuko-shinsho, 2001