Statue of Saigō Takamori (Kagoshima)
西郷隆盛銅像
Meiji Restoration hero Saigō Takamori in army uniform, 8m tall, backed by Shiroyama where he died: his home town's statue, unlike Tokyo's kimono-clad one.
Saigō Takamori, Kagoshima's hero
Saigō Takamori (1828-1877) was a samurai born in the castle town of the Satsuma domain, today's Kagoshima City (Satsuma is now Kagoshima Prefecture). He was central to the Meiji Restoration, the upheaval in which the Edo shogunate fell and the new Meiji government took over: he helped forge the alliance between Satsuma and Choshu (today's Yamaguchi Prefecture), and in 1868 he secured the surrender of Edo Castle without a fight.
In the new government he rose to become a full general of the army, but he later fell out with the government, and in 1877 he led discontented former samurai in the Satsuma Rebellion (the Seinan War). Surrounded by government troops, he met his end on Shiroyama, a hill in Kagoshima.
Eight years' work by the sculptor of Hachiko
The statue stands at the foot of Shiroyama. It is the work of sculptor Ando Teru, who also made the famous statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, in Shibuya, Tokyo. He was commissioned in 1928 and spent eight years on it; it was completed on 23 May 1937 to mark 50 years since Saigō's death.
Saigō is shown standing straight, with Shiroyama behind him, in the uniform of Japan's first army general. The figure alone is 5.257m tall, or 8m including the pedestal. The mound under the pedestal is built from granite brought from Nejime in the south of Kagoshima Prefecture. During the war the statue was nearly handed over to the state to be used as metal, but local residents objected and it was saved.
How it differs from the Saigō in Ueno
Tokyo's Ueno Park has another famous statue of Saigō, made by Takamura Koun and completed in 1898. That one shows him in a kimono, heading off to hunt rabbits with his dog. The Kagoshima statue, by contrast, has him in military uniform. Same man, very different impression.
Across the road there is a dedicated photo spot where you can fit the whole statue neatly into your picture. From the photo spot you can also get a statue of Saigō's dog in the same shot.
Getting there and nearby
Take the Kagoshima City View, a loop bus that runs round the city's main sights, to the Saigō Dōzō-mae stop; the statue is right there. By tram (the city's streetcar), it is about an 8-minute walk from Asahi-dori stop.
Nearby are the Reimeikan (Kagoshima Prefectural Museum of Culture), the Kagoshima City Museum of Art, Terukuni Shrine and the Kagoshima Prefectural Museum.
Tips
- The statue is big, so from right underneath you'll be looking straight up. For a full-length photo, head to the photo spot across the road.
- After the statue, carry on up to Shiroyama, where Saigō died; it makes clear why the statue stands just here.
- If you have seen the statue in Ueno Park, it's fun to compare the clothes and pose.
Sources
Updated 29 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.
