With the passing of the Tokugawa shogunate and its restrictions on depicting current events, Yoshitoshi was free to illustrate the grisly realities of war. In two scenes of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, "Battle Around Kumamoto Castle" sets forth the final destruction of samurai rebels by the imperial army at Kumamoto, and "Headquarters at Sentoguchi, 1877" shows Saigō Takamori, the bearded leader of that doomed rebellion, with his generals at their headquarters in Satsuma. In the latter print, Kirino Toshiaki, one of Saigō's most important commanders, points forward with his sword, the ubiquitous symbol of samurai culture. The story of the Satsuma Rebellion remains a compelling tale of honor, loyalty, and revolution. Because of his dedication to tradition and the ways of the past, Saigō Takamori is nostalgically known as "the last samurai." During a battle after his defeat at Kumamoto, Saigō committed ritual suicide (seppuku) with the aid of a retainer.
