Battle of Shiroyama
The Battle of Shiroyama is considered to be the last stand of the samurai under Saigo Takamori as they fought against Imperial Japanese Army troops. It occurred on September 24, 1877 in Kagohima Japan as part of the Satsuma Rebellion. The samurai had already been defeated at the Siege of Kumamoto Castle and the surviving forces that were loyal to Saigo Takamori fled to Satsuma.
Once in Satsuma the few remaining forces took the hill of Shiroyama which overlooked Kagoshima on September 1, 1877. Saigo Takamori only had about 500 samurai left from his force of 20,000 that had attacked Kumamoto six weeks prior. By contrast the Imperial Japanese Army troops that began arriving at Shiroyama were over 30,000. They were under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo.
Despite vastly outnumbering the weary samurai troops, Yamagata took his time and built fortifications that surrounded Saigo in order to ensure that none of the troops would be able to break out. Five warships were also called upon to bombard the small contingent of troops in order to wear down their defenses. Saigo had only limited musket support with which to defend his position and they melted down statues in order to make bullets.
After bombarding the rebels all night, Yamagata’s men attacked. The samurai charged the lines of the Imperial Army which had not been trained in close-quarter fighting. The samurai turned the organized army line into completely disarray and for a short time the 500-samurai held their own against the thousands of troops against them. But eventually the sheer numbers of the imperial army took their toll. Saigo was mortally wounded and was carried by Beppu Shinsuke to a place to end his life. Beppu cut off Saigo’s head and hid it so that the enemy would not find it. Afterward Beppu and the few remaining men charged the Imperial lines and met their deaths.