Saga Rebellion
The "shizoku" launched more than thirty rebellions of various sizes against the Meiji government in Kyushu and western Honshu between 1874 and 1877. The Saga Rebellion began in February 1874 when former "samurai" of the Saga Domain rebelled after government declined to launch a military expedition against Korea, a major political debate in Japan known as the "Seikanron". Many anti-Meiji "shizoku" believed that an invasion of Korea would help restore the prestige and purpose of the "samurai" class. The rebellion was crushed two months later, but sympathy for the rebels among the "shizoku" was high and the issues remained unresolved. On 24 October 1876, the Shinpūren rebellion was launched by the "Shinpūren", an organization of radical anti-Meiji former "samurai" of the Kumamoto Domain. Their leader, Otaguro Tomoo, appealed to regional "shizoku" to join their cause. The Shinpūren rebellion was defeated by the next morning, but the surprising amount of casualties inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Army and Kumamoto Prefecture officials inspired other "shizoku" to rebel. The Akizuki Rebellion was launched on 27 October and the Hagi Rebellion on 28 October, both of which were defeated. The Satsuma Rebellion, the largest and last of the "shizoku" rebellions, occurred in Satsuma Domain under the leadership of Saigō Takamori. The massive rebellion required the mobilization of 65,000 Imperial Japanese Army troops and took eight months to suppress. Saigō committed "seppuku" after being mortally wounded and defeat of the rebellion effectively ended the "samurai" as an unofficial class. In 1878, the "shizoku" counterrevolution ended with the assassination of the oligarch Ōkubo Toshimichi, also from Satsuma, because he had opposed invading Korea and reforms installed by the Meiji state.