西南戦争
In English the most common name for the war is the "Satsuma Rebellion". Mark Ravina, the author of "The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori", argued that "Satsuma Rebellion" is not the best name for the war because the English name does not well represent the war and its Japanese name. Ravina said that the war's scope was much farther than Satsuma, and he characterizes the event as being closer to a civil war than a rebellion. Ravina prefers the English name "War of the Southwest."