Yoshitoshi - Battle of Sanno Shrine

The Satsuma Rebellion (1877) was the last major civil war of the samurai era and one of the defining conflicts of early modern Japan. It unfolded during the rapid modernization of the Meiji period and was documented at the time by prominent woodblock artists such as Yoshitoshi, Adachi Ginkō, Toshihide, and others, who produced dramatic triptychs and battle scenes for a public eager for news of the fighting.

The roots of the rebellion trace back to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868. After more than two centuries of relative isolation, Japan opened to the West and embarked on sweeping political and military reforms under the restored imperial government. Feudal domains were abolished, a national conscript army replaced the hereditary warrior class, and the samurai lost their stipends and social privileges. These changes dismantled the traditional order that had defined Japanese society for centuries.

Many former samurai felt betrayed by the pace and direction of reform. Their most prominent leader was Saigō Takamori of Satsuma (modern Kagoshima), a key figure in the Meiji Restoration who later broke with the government. In early 1877, tensions escalated into open revolt. Saigō and roughly fifteen thousand followers marched north, clashing with Imperial forces at Kumamoto Castle and in a series of hard-fought battles across Kyūshū. Despite their reputation and determination, the rebels were outmatched by modern rifles, artillery, and vastly superior numbers.

The rebellion ended at the Battle of Shiroyama, where the remaining samurai made a final stand and Saigō was killed. The defeat confirmed the dominance of the modern state and effectively marked the end of the samurai as a military class. Prints from this conflict capture a pivotal historical moment - the dramatic transition from feudal Japan to a centralized, modern nation - and remain among the most compelling subjects in Meiji-era war imagery.