Siege of Kumamoto Castle The from February 19 to April 12 , 1877 in Kumamoto , Japan was a major battle of the Satsuma rebellion . Summary . After the opening of hostilities between Satsuma and the Meiji government , Satsuma military leader Saigō Takamori announced his intention of marching on Tokyo to speak with Emperor Meiji and to rid the government of corrupt and venial politicians . The route to Tokyo was via Kumamoto , the site of a historic castle , and the primary garrison town for the Imperial Japanese Army in Kyūshū . The leaders of the Meiji government were aware that the loss of Kumamoto meant that all of Kyūshū would fall to Satsuma forces , and this loss would fan a rebellion across other parts of Japan as well . The Satsuma vanguard crossed into Kumamoto Prefecture on February 14 and the Commandant of Kumamoto castle , Major General Tani Tateki sent word to Satsuma governor Oyama that any attempt by Satsuma soldiers to cross Kumamoto would be met by force . Tani had 3 , 800 soldiers and 600 policemen at his disposal . The defenders included a number of men who would later rise to positions of great prominence in the Japanese military , including Kabayama Sukenori , Kodama Gentaro , Kawakami Soroku , Nogi Maresuke and Oku Yasukata . However , as most of the garrison of Kumamoto castle was from Kyūshū , and as many of the officers were natives of Kagoshima , their loyalties were open to question . Rather than risk desertions or defections , Tani decided to stand on the defensive . On February 19 , the first shots of the war were fired as the defenders of Kumamoto castle opened fire on Satsuma units attempting to force their way into the castle . Kumamoto castle , built in 1598 , was among the strongest in Japan , Saigō was confident that his forces would be more than a match for Tani ' s peasant conscripts , who were still demoralized by the recent Shimpuren Rebellion . On February 22 , the main Satsuma army arrived and attacked Kumamoto castle in a pincer movement . Fighting continued into the night . Imperial forces fell back , and Acting Major Nogi Maresuke of the Kokura Fourteenth Regiment lost its regimental colors in fierce fighting . However , despite their successes , the Satsuma army failed to take the castle , and began to realize that the conscript army was not as ineffective as first assumed . After two days of fruitless attack , the Satsuma forces dug into the rock - hard icy ground around the castle and tried to starve the garrison out in a siege . The situation especially desperate for the defenders as their stores of food and ammunition had been depleted by a warehouse fire shortly before the rebellion began . A rebel detachment sent to block the passes north of town soon encountered the forward elements of the relief force . After several sharp clashes , both sides disengaged on February 26 . During the siege , many Kumamoto ex - " samurai " flocked to Saigō ' s banner , swelling his forces to around 20 , 000 men . However , Saigō was forced to divide his troops to hold a long defensive line from Tabaruzaka to the Bay of Ariake . In the Battle of Tabaruzaka , some 15 , 000 of his " samurai " faced an Imperial army of over 90 , 000 men and were forced to retreat with significant losses . In addition , Saigō was unable to prevent the landing of troops to his rear and the loss of Kagoshima itself as a base for supplies and reinforcement . On the night of April 8 , a force from Kumamoto castle made a sortie , forcing open a hole in the Satsuma lines and enabling desperately needed supplies to reach the garrison . The main Imperial Army , under General Kuroda Kiyotaka with the assistance of General Yamakawa Hiroshi arrived in Kumamoto on April 12 , putting the now heavily outnumbered Satsuma forces to flight . Consequences . The defeat of Saigō at Kumamoto greatly demoralized and weakened his forces , who retreated in disarray and were unable to resume their offensive . Although Saigō fought in several more battles before the final Battle of Shiroyama , each battle was fought as a defensive operation with dwindling manpower and supplies against ever - increasing numbers of Imperial troops . A Japanese hand fan commemorating the event , which survives in the collection of the Staten Island Historical Society in New York , features a depiction of Saigo Takamori in a scene labeled ” THE BATTLE NEAR / THE CITADEL OF / KUMAMOTO . ”