The dramatic arc of Saigo Takamori's life, from his humble origins
as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel
leader, has captivated generations of Japanese readers and now
Americans as well - his life is the inspiration for a major
Hollywood film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and
Ken Watanabe. In this vibrant new biography, Mark Ravina, professor
of history and Director of East Asian Studies at Emory University,
explores the facts behind Hollywood storytelling and Japanese
legends, and explains the passion and poignancy of Saigo's life.
Known both for his scholarly research and his appearances on The
History Channel, Ravina recreates the world in which Saigo lived
and died, the last days of the samurai.

The Last Samurai traces Saigo's life from his early days
as a tax clerk in far southwestern Japan, through his rise to
national prominence as a fierce imperial loyalist. Saigo was twice
exiled for his political activities -- sent to Japan's remote
southwestern islands where he fully expected to die. But exile only
increased his reputation for loyalty, and in 1864 he was brought
back to the capital to help his lord fight for the restoration of
the emperor. In 1868, Saigo commanded his lord's forces in the
battles which toppled the shogunate and he became and leader in the
emperor Meiji's new government. But Saigo found only anguish in
national leadership. He understood the need for a modern conscript
army but longed for the days of the traditional warrior.

Saigo hoped to die in service to the emperor. In 1873, he sought
appointment as envoy to Korea, where he planned to demand that the
Korean king show deference to the Japanese emperor, drawing his
sword, if necessary, top defend imperial honor. Denied this chance
to show his courage and loyalty, he retreated to his homeland and
spent his last years as a schoolteacher, training samurai boys in
frugality, honesty, and courage. In 1876, when the government
stripped samurai of their swords, Saigo's followers rose in
rebellion and Saigo became their reluctant leader. His insurrection
became the bloodiest war Japan had seen in centuries, killing over
12,000 men on both sides and nearly bankrupting the new imperial
government. The imperial government denounced Saigo as a rebel and
a traitor, but their propaganda could not overcome his fame and in
1889, twelve years after his death, the government relented,
pardoned Saigo of all crimes, and posthumously restored him to
imperial court rank.

In THE LAST SAMURAI, Saigo is as compelling a character
as Robert E. Lee was to Americans-a great and noble warrior who
followed the dictates of honor and loyalty, even though it meant
civil war in a country to which he'd devoted his life. Saigo's life
is a fascinating look into Japanese feudal society and a history of
a country as it struggled between its long traditions and the
dictates of a modern future.