Tabaruzaka Battlefield (Seinan Civil War / Satsuma Rebellion)

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

If you’re on Kyushu and have the time, I recommend visiting the Tabaruzaka battlefield in Kumamoto Prefecture.

This was one of the Seinan Civil War/Satsuma Rebellion’s major battles, the only one in which both sides met with roughly equal forces. It was between modern armies armed with rifles and artillery, fought over a position that was predestined to be a battlefield centuries ago.

At the time, Saigo Takamori’s forces were besieging Kumamoto Castle and the Imperial Japanese Army sent a relief force to drive them off. Part of Kumamoto Castle’s extended defenses were chokepoints on the few roads leading to it which could support the movement of an army. Saigo’s men took up positions at one of those chokepoints, Tabaruzaka, and met the oncoming Imperial troops on Mar. 4, 1877. They fought for 17 days before Saigo’s forces fell back. The army lost 6,843 soldiers and the rebels lost 6,784, with poor weather and better logistics deciding the winner. The rebels chose the battlefield and had superior positions, but the Imperial Japanese Army could expend 320,000 rounds every day and expect resupply to do it again tomorrow.

There’s a nice battlefield museum where you can walk part of the battlefield and look down upon more if it. The museum itself has a lot of artifacts such as weapons and recreations of uniforms, I quite enjoyed my visit. There’s also a sensory theater recreating an ambush and close range combat with volleys of rifle fire in the poor weather giving way to engaging with bayonet and sword.
 

I wrote about it more fully here:
https://www.wayfarerdaves.com/tabaruzaka-a-japanese-gettysburg/




This bridge is the last surviving, full original piece of the battlefield.


Partially reconstructed storehouse on the battlefield, now a Red Cross museum.






Boy Soldier memorial; many of the troops on Saigo's side were still teenagers


Imperial Army on the left, rebels on the right; the display contrasts their uniforms, equipment, and rations


Rebel soldier with rifle and katana; because the rebels had less ammunition and relied on older muzzle-loaders that had trouble with firing in the rain, they were quicker to close the gap and resort to blades.








Welcome to the gun show.




Snider-Enfield rifle used by the Imperial Japanese Army


Enfield rifle


Tanegashima musket

[OSHIROmodels]

Thanks for posting this 

I’ve put it on my list for next year.

[ChrisBBB]

Fabulous! Creating a "Bloody Big BATTLES!" scenario for this battle has been on my to-do list for a long time. (Too many other projects keep getting in the way.)

[traveller]

Great images! Many thanks!

[EnclavedMicrostate]

I had hoped to go out to Tabaruzaka during a trip to Kumamoto about two years ago, but our trip coincided with bad weather so we stayed in the town proper and found alternative things to do. Tonkatsu was a good compromise in the moment but the museum remains on the bucket list!

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

Fabulous! Creating a "Bloody Big BATTLES!" scenario for this battle has been on my to-do list for a long time. (Too many other projects keep getting in the way.)

Of all the Seinan Civil War battles, I think this one would be the best for wargaming.

[Sakuragi Miniatures]

I had hoped to go out to Tabaruzaka during a trip to Kumamoto about two years ago, but our trip coincided with bad weather so we stayed in the town proper and found alternative things to do. Tonkatsu was a good compromise in the moment but the museum remains on the bucket list!

Good luck getting back there. I live in Nagasaki Prefecture, so Kumamoto is this annoying distance to travel. Too far for a day trip but not far enough to fly...
I love visiting the prefecture when I can though. Hitoyoshi is a beautiful mountain town that also was a Seinan Civil War battle ground, so you should also see that if you can.