He was born in Kajiya-chō in the castle town of Kagoshima, Satsuma, the third son of Saigō Kichibei. His childhood name was Ryūsuke, and his brother fifteen years his senior was Saigō Takamori. He studied the Yakumaru Jigen school of swordsmanship and military science under Ijichi Masaharu. In youth, on recommendation, he served lord Shimazu Nariakira as a tea attendant named Ryūan.
He gave up being a tea attendant, returned to samurai status and took the name Shingo. He joined the Seichūgumi, a group of young retainers devoted to the late Nariakira, and threw himself into the sonnō jōi movement to revere the emperor and expel foreigners. He shared this cause with his brother Takamori and comrades from the same neighborhood such as Ōkubo Toshimichi.
He joined Arima Shinshichi and other Seichūgumi members gathered in Kyoto to overthrow the shogunate. But in the Teradaya Incident they were suppressed by men acting on domain orders, and many comrades lost their lives. Because he was young, Tsugumichi was spared, sent back to Satsuma and ordered into confinement.
When the British fleet attacked Kagoshima in the Anglo-Satsuma War, his confinement was lifted. Tsugumichi volunteered for a suicide squad that disguised itself as watermelon sellers to approach and board the enemy ships. The plan did not succeed, but seeing foreign military power firsthand influenced his later thinking.
When the Boshin War began, he fought at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi and was badly wounded by a bullet that passed through his body. Once recovered, he fought on in various places as part of the new government army. With his brother Takamori leading the government forces, Tsugumichi also became known as a young Satsuma soldier.
He went to Europe with Yamagata Aritomo of Chōshū to study the military systems of various countries. Returning the next year, he joined the Ministry of War and took part in building the new nation's army. It is said that when he registered his name, his accent caused "Ryūdō" to be heard and written as "Jūdō", but he did not mind and kept it.
When his brother Takamori lost the Seikanron dispute and left the government, many from Satsuma followed him back to Kagoshima. But Tsugumichi did not follow his brother and chose to remain in the government. This decision, in which the brothers' paths divided, is thought to have been a painful one for Tsugumichi.
He became a lieutenant general, and in the Taiwan Expedition that same year he crossed to Taiwan as commander of the forces. The expedition was triggered by the killing of shipwrecked Ryukyuans, and though there was opposition within the government, Tsugumichi strongly pressed for it and carried it out. It was the Meiji government's first overseas military expedition.
He became the first Japanese allowed to join, as a horse owner, a racing club in Yokohama run mainly by foreigners. This year he rode his own horse Mikan and won the first victory for a Japanese owner. The scene was even drawn in a satirical cartoon. It is a story that conveys his easygoing, playful character.
When his brother Takamori started the Satsuma Rebellion in Kagoshima, Tsugumichi did not join his side. As army minister Yamagata Aritomo led the government army to Kyushu, Tsugumichi served as acting army minister and guarded the government in Tokyo. At the end of the fighting his brother's life ended in his homeland, and Tsugumichi felt the deep grief of losing his own kin.
When the cabinet system began, he was appointed the first navy minister. Though from the army, he was entrusted with the navy and gave the young Yamamoto Gonbee important posts, letting him use his skills to the full. Leaving details to subordinates and taking responsibility for failures himself, he built with great magnanimity the foundation of the navy that would later win the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars.
As an elder statesman he was appointed a privy councillor advising the emperor. That same year he founded the political group Kokumin Kyōkai with Shinagawa Yajirō. Because he listened well and would nod, saying "I see, I see", he is said to have been nicknamed the "I-see minister".
In this year, when the Sino-Japanese War broke out, he became a full admiral. During the war he supported the navy as navy minister and worked for Japan's victory. The next year he was made a marquis and became a member of the House of Peers. He is the only person to have served as both general officer and minister in both army and navy.
He became the first naval officer to receive the title of marshal. He was repeatedly urged to become prime minister but kept refusing, citing his brother Takamori's rebellion against the government. Between his feelings for his brother and his position as a servant of the state, Tsugumichi held to a modest stance to the end.
He died of a stomach illness at his home in Meguro, Tokyo. He was first buried at the Aoyama cemetery and later moved to Tama cemetery. Whereas his brother was called the Great Saigō, Tsugumichi was fondly called the Little Saigō. Part of the site of his Meguro home is now loved by the public as Saigōyama Park.
Shimazu NariakiraSaigō TakamoriŌkubo ToshimichiYamamoto Gonbee
Tanaka ShōzōŌyama IwaoNiijima JōInoue MasaruMutsu MunemitsuInoue KowashiNiijima YaeNakae Chōmin
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.