Junior First Rank Marshal-Admiral Marquess Saigō Jūdō
西郷 従道
General and Marshal Admiral The Marquis Saigō Jūdō
Minister of the Navy
In office 11 March 1893 – 8 November 1898
Prime Minister	Itō Hirobumi Matsukata Masayoshi Ōkuma Shigenobu
Preceded by	Nire Kagenori
Succeeded by	Yamamoto Gonnohyōe
In office 22 December 1885 – 17 May 1890
Prime Minister	Itō Hirobumi Kuroda Kiyotaka Sanjō Sanetomi Yamagata Aritomo
Preceded by	Kawamura Sumiyoshi
Succeeded by	Kabayama Sukenori
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 8 November 1898 – 19 October 1900
Prime Minister	Yamagata Aritomo
Preceded by	Itagaki Taisuke
Succeeded by	Itagaki Taisuke
In office 17 May 1890 – 6 May 1891
Prime Minister	Yamagata Aritomo Matsukata Masayoshi
Preceded by	Yamagata Aritomo
Succeeded by	Shinagawa Yajirō
Acting Minister of Agriculture and Commerce
In office 16 March 1886 – 10 July 1886
Prime Minister	Itō Hirobumi
Preceded by	Tani Tateki
Succeeded by	Yamagata Aritomo (acting) Hijikata Hisamoto
Lord of Agricuture and Commerce
In office 20 October 1881 – 21 December 1885
Monarch	Meiji
Chancellor	Sanjō Sanetomi
Preceded by	Kōno Togama
Succeeded by	Tani Tateki (as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce)
Director of the Hokkaidõ Development Commission
In office 11 January 1882 – 8 February 1882
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Kuroda Kiyotaka
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Lord of the Army
In office 24 December 1878 – 28 February 1880
Monarch	Meiji
Chancellor	Sanjō Sanetomi
Preceded by	Yamagata Aritomo
Succeeded by	Ōyama Iwao
Lord of Education
In office 24 May 1878 – 24 December 1878
Monarch	Meiji
Chancellor	Sanjō Sanetomi
Preceded by	Kido Takayoshi Tanaka Fujimaro (interim)
Succeeded by	Terashima Munenori
Personal details
Born	Saigō Ryūsuke (西郷 隆興) (1843-06-01)1 June 1843 Kagoshima, Satsuma, Japan
Died	18 July 1902(1902-07-18) (aged 59) [1] Tokyo, Empire of Japan
Resting place	Tama Cemetery, Fuchū, Tokyo.
Spouse	Saigō Kiyoko
Relations	Saigō Kichibei (father) Shiihara Masa (mother) Saigō Takamori (brother) Saigō Kichijirō (brother) Saigō Kobei (brother) Ichiki Koto (sister) Saigō Taka (sister) Saigō Yasu (sister)
Children	7 sons, 4 daughters
Nickname	Shingō
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch/service	Imperial Japanese Army  Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1869–1902
Rank	Lieutenant General (1869-1894) Admiral (1894–1898) Marshal Admiral (1898–1902)
Battles/wars	Anglo-Satsuma War Boshin War Battle of Toba–Fushimi Taiwan Expedition of 1874 Satsuma Rebellion

Saigō Jūdō (西郷 従道; also read Saigō Tsugumichi) (1 June 1843 – 18 July 1902) was a Japanese politician and admiral in the Meiji period.^[2]

Saigō was born in Shimokajiyachō, Kagoshima, the son of the samurai Saigō Kichibe of the Satsuma Domain. His siblings included his famous older brother, samurai and nobleman Saigō Takamori. Saigō changed his name many times throughout his life. Besides the two listed above, he sometimes went by the nickname "Shingō". His real name was either "Ryūkō", or "Ryūdō" (隆興). It is possible that he went by the name "Ryūsuke".

Following the Meiji Restoration, Saigō went to a government office to register his name. He intended to register orally under his given name (Ryūkō or Ryūdō). However, the civil servant misheard his name and he therefore became Jūdō (従道) under the law. He did not particularly mind, so he never bothered to change it back. The name "Tsugumichi" arose as an alternate pronunciation for the characters of his name.

At the recommendation of Arimura Shunsai, he became a tea-serving Buddhist monk for the daimyō of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. After he returned to secular life, he became one of a group of devoted followers of Arimura. As a Satsuma samurai, he participated in the Anglo-Satsuma War. He later joined the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.^[2]

He was a commander of the Satsuma army fighting in the Battle of Toba–Fushimi as well as other battles on the imperial side of the Boshin War.

In 1869, two years after the establishment of the Meiji government, Saigō went to Europe with General Yamagata Aritomo to study European military organizations, tactics and technologies. After his return to Japan, he was appointed a lieutenant-general in the new Imperial Japanese Army. He commanded Japanese expeditionary forces in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874.^[2]

In 1873, his brother Saigō Takamori resigned from the government, over the rejection of his proposal to invade Korea during the Seikanron debate. Many other officials from the Satsuma region followed suit. However, Saigō Jūdō continued to remain loyal to the Meiji government. Upon the death of his brother in the Satsuma Rebellion, Saigō Jūdō became the primary political leader from Satsuma. In accord with the kazoku peerage system enacted in 1884, he received the title of count (hakushaku).^[1]

Saigō held a string of important positions in the Itō Hirobumi cabinet, including Navy Minister (1885, 1892–1902).^[2]

As Minister of Home Affairs, Saigō pushed strongly for the death penalty for Tsuda Sanzō, the accused in the Ōtsu incident of 1891, and threatened Kojima Korekata should the sentence be more lenient.

In 1892, he was appointed to the Privy Council as one of the genrō. In the same year, he founded a political party known as Kokumin Kyōkai (国民協会; The People's Co-operative Party).^[2]

In 1894, Saigō was given the rank of admiral, in recognition of his role as Navy minister, and his peerage title was elevated to that of marquis.^[1]

In 1898, the Imperial Japanese Navy bestowed upon him the honorary title of Marshal-Admiral. The rank is equivalent to Admiral of the Fleet or Grand Admiral.

Saigō’s former residence (once in Meguro, Tokyo) is registered as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government and is now at the Meiji-mura historical park outside of Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. Saigō also owned a cottage in Yanagihara (present-day Numazu), Shizuoka Prefecture. Saigō Jūdō was the first person in Japan to own a race horse. Gensui the Marquis Saigō died in 1902 and was buried in the Tama Cemetery in Fuchū in Tokyo.

• Empire of Japan:
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
• Grand Cordon with Paulownia Flowers of the Order of the Rising Sun
• Order of the Golden Kite, Second Class

^[3]

• National Diet Library. "Saigo, Judo". Portraits of Modern Historical Figures.