was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. Chief senior councilor (''hittōgarō'' 筆頭家老) of the Aizu clan, he achieved fame due to his distinguished action in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. He adopted the name Hoshina Chikanori (保科近野里). Surviving the war, he became a

Shinto priest , also called , is the common term for a member of the clergy at a responsible for maintaining the shrine and leading worship of the there.* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The chara ...

, and achieved renown as a martial artist. He is considered one of the teachers of the famed Takeda Sōkaku.daito-ryu.org History - Takeda Sokaku
/ref>

Early life and service

Succeeding to family headship and the position of chief senior councilor in 1860, he served the 9th generation Aizu ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'', 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 ''

karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anothe ...

'' Tanaka Tosa rode nonstop from Aizu to Edo and spoke directly to Katamori.Hoshi Ryōichi, ''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 the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the sho ...

, 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 Aizu-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 is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

. Joining Enomoto Takeaki and Hijikata Toshizō there, he continued on to

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, 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 Tōshō-gū Shrine in

Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

, where he served alongside his former lord Matsudaira Katamori, and Katamori's brother Matsudaira Sadaaki. In his later years, Tanomo also taught Takeda Sōkaku, the teacher of Ueshiba Morihei. Retiring in 1899, Tanomo returned to Aizu, where he died in 1903 at the age of 72. The book ''Seiun-ki'' (栖雲記, "A Record of Cobweb-clouds"), written shortly before Tanomo's death, records his memoirs.

In popular culture

*Saigō was portrayed by the actor Toshiyuki Nishida in the 2013

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

'' Yae no Sakura.'' * Byakkotai(1986) - Kotaro Satomi.

Notes

External Link

Aizu SamuraiResident
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saigo, Tanomo 1830 births 1903 deaths Kannushi Samurai Japanese Shintoists Meiji Restoration Karō Aizu-Matsudaira retainers