Saigo Kichinosuke

Saigo Kichinosuke (, Saigō Kichinosuke) is a major supporting character featured in Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!/Like a Dragon: Ishin! based on the real-life historical figure .
He is the General Commander of the Satsuma Domain's army and shares his in-game appearance with Ryuji Goda.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Saigo's appearance is based on Ryuji Goda in Yakuza: Dead Souls.
==== Attire ====
Saigo wears a green kimono with a gold haori.
=== Personality ===
Saigo is an honest brute, who detests lies and openly says what he feels like saying. However, despite his hard-edged exterior, he appears to have a soft spot for dogs.
Politically, Saigo is a staunch traditionalist who believes Japan must modernize without sacrificing its cultural traditions, being particularly insistent on the importance of preserving the samurai as Japan's warrior class to protect the country from foreign colonization. As a consequence, he despises the Tokugawa Bakufu, since their policy of keeping Japan isolated from the rest of the world led to them becoming militarily and economically stagnant in comparison to other world powers.
== Background ==
Saigo was born in Satsuma Domain to a family of high-ranking vassals to the province's ruling family, the Shimazu Clan. He was a skilled swordsman from a young age and a cunning military tactician, leading to his eventual appointment to the rank of General Commander of the Domain's military.
After Japan was forced to open its borders by the American Navy in 1853, Saigo quickly became one of the Tokugawa Bakufu's most vocal opponents. However, unlike other opponents from the Choshu and Tosa Domains, he did not initially begin conspiring against the Bakufu and instead tried to force them to adopt reforms from within the government system.
== Involvement ==
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!/Like a Dragon: Ishin!: 1867 ===
Saigo meets Sakamoto Ryoma (who was living under the alias of "Saito Hajime"), when the two get into a naked brawl at the Sai Bathhouse in Kyoto. Ryoma impresses the belligerent Saigo by beating him in a fistfight, leading to Saigo apologizing and inviting him out for drinks. During their night out, Ryoma takes advantage of Saigo's military knowledge to ask about the Shogunate's special police force, the Shinsengumi, whom he suspected of being behind the assassination of his foster father, Yoshida Toyo.
Months later, Saigo has a meeting with Bakufu minister Katsu Rintaro, who introduces him to a man going by the name of "Sakamoto Ryoma" (who is in reality an imposter posing as Ryoma). Katsu tells Saigo that "Ryoma" is trying to put together an alliance of different local lords from across Japan to rebel against the Bakufu, overthrow them and the form a new government with the Emperor as the direct head of state. When Saigo questions how this conspiracy would get the weapons needed to go to war with the Bakufu, Katsu says "Ryoma" has acquired the support of the British Navy, which will supply them with weapons and warships. Despite this, Saigo is hesitant to commit to the plot and asks for time to evaluate it.
A few days later, Saigo is walking back to his Kyoto home at night when he encounters a gang of thugs attacking a dog on the street. Aggravated by the cruelty these men displayed, Saigo beats them up and then adopts the scared puppy, proclaiming him the new "official pet" of the Satsuma Domain. Immediately afterwards, he spots the real Ryoma (to him Saito Hajime) and Katsura Kogoro of the Choshu Loyalist Party. Since Satsuma and Choshu have been rivals for centuries, Saigo and Katsura get into a fight, only for Ryoma to angrily break it up, chiding both men for feuding even though their political goals are the same, since both Satsuma and Choshu want to depose the Bakufu. Frustrated by their petty rivalry, Ryoma gets into a fistfight with both and defeats them. Afterwards, the three men go out drinking and, as Ryoma had indicated, Saigo and Katsura find they share very similar political beliefs. A drunk Ryoma ends up revealing his true identity to a confused Saigo, who tells them of his meeting with a man claiming to be "Sakamoto Ryoma". However, Saigo can't discuss this further, since Ryoma passes out from all the alcohol soon after.
As a result of the conversation they had during their night out with Ryoma, Saigo and Katsura eventually manage to broker an alliance between their two clans, ending the ancestral feud between them to rebel against the Bakufu. This agglomeration would come to be known as the "Satcho Alliance". However, their rebellion is temporarily halted when Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi convince Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to meet with the Satcho leaders to negotiate the formation of a constitutional monarchy, with the condition that the Tokugawa Bakufu be allowed to retain a high position of power within the new government. The negotiations eventually break down, however, in part due to the meddling of the fake "Sakamoto Ryoma" and in part due to disagreements between Saigo and the Bakufu.
After Ryoma realizes that the man impersonating him is his childhood friend Takechi Hanpeita and that he was also responsible for the murder of his foster father, he resolves to put a stop to his machinations. Ryoma learns that Takechi was trying to secure meetings with Saigo and Katsura to reignite hostilities between the Satcho and the Bakufu, so he approaches both men, tells them of his former friend's betrayal and asks them to agree to a meeting with him so he and the Shinsengumi can lure him to a trap. Saigo and Katsura agree, scheduling to meet with Takechi at the Omiya Inn on December 10. However, the ambush is unsuccessful and the Shinsengumi is unable to capture Takechi.
Eventually, the Satcho Alliance does to go war and succeeds in deposing the Bakufu, in large part due to Saigo's military command. Saigo becomes one of the central figures in the series of reforms that led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Japan, known as the Meiji Restoration.
== Fighting Style ==
Saigo is the only boss in Ishin! who is unarmed in all his encounters. He is a top-heavy brawler whose moveset consists solely of punches and throws with no kicks.
His Rush Combo is 3 hits: a right hook, a left hammerfist and a right cross. He may, however, do the left hammerfist, grab Ryoma by the throat, and throw him overhead, or cut off at the right hook and do a left uppercut and a right uppercut. He also has a right reverse hammerfist, a charging attack where he rushes forward in a shoulder tackle, and if it connects, he'll pick up Ryoma by the head and throw him. He has another charging attack where he raises his right arm, rushes forward and does a forceful right haymaker. If he grabs Ryoma, he will throw him over his shoulders. He has access to Quickstep Cancel.
His heat aura is golden in the original Ishin, and a paler yellow in the remake. Additionally, certain attacks are infused with electricity when he is in heat mode during the remake, putting Ryoma in a stunned state.
==Trivia==
*The scene where Saigo saves a dog is a reference to a very similar scene in the original Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami.
*The artwork decorating Saigo's closet doors in his room depicts a golden dragon, like Ryuji Goda's back tattoo.
==Gallery==
===Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!===
RGGI! - Character Render - Saigo Kichinosuke.png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! render of Saigo
RGGI! - Character Render - Saigo Kichinosuke (Dog).png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! render of Saigo with his dog
===Like a Dragon: Ishin!===
LADI! - Character Render - Saigo Kichinosuke.png|Full-body Like a Dragon: Ishin! render of Saigo Kichinosuke
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Online ===
RGGO - Card - SSR Saigo Kichinosuke.png|SSR Saigo Kichinosuke
RGGO - Card - SSR Saigo Kichinosuke (Decisive Battle).png|SSR Saigo Kichinosuke (Decisive Battle)
RGGO - Card - KSR Saigo Kichinosuke (Ishin Kiwami).png|KSR Saigo Kichinosuke (Ishin Kiwami)
Category:AI Partners
Category:Historical Figures
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Characters
Category:Like a Dragon: Ishin! Characters
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Bosses
Category:Like a Dragon: Ishin! Bosses
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Online Characters
Category:Satsuma Domain Army
Category:Satcho Alliance
Category:Ishin Shishi