Saigō Takamori
1875 (Meiji 8)
Tangible Cultural Property, designated by Sakata city
Donated by the Homma family
Saigō Takamori (1828–1877), a famous samurai in Japanese history who wrote poetry under the name Nanshū, is known as one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration alongside Ōkubo Toshimichi and Kido Takayoshi.
During the Boshin War, the people of Shonai grew to respect Saigō tremendously and developed a close friendship with him, thanks to his lenient and generous treatment of the Shōnai domain, which had resisted the new government until the last
This piece is a Chinese poem written by Saigō Takamori gifted as a present to Homma Mitsuteru VII, who visited Satsuma (present-day Kagoshima) in June 1875, together with several key personages of the former Shōnai domain.