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Surrendering the Castle Without a Single Shot — Saigo and the Miracle of Edo's Bloodless Surrender

In 1868 the Satsuma-Choshu army closed in on Edo. A meeting between Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu produced the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle — saving Japan's largest city from war. 'The greatest victory was avoiding the greatest battle.'

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On March 14, 1868, Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu met in Edo. Katsu argued: ‘A million people live here. If you fight, a million will burn.’ Saigo agreed to the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle on April 11. The decision preserved Japan’s largest city for the new era.

Portrait of Saigo Takamori — the Satsuma hero who decided on Edo's bloodless surrender, later praised as 'the greatest general who avoided the greatest war'

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Saigo Takamori statue in Ueno Park — after the bloodless surrender, Saigo later fought against the Meiji government in the Seinan War; his bronze statue stands in Tokyo

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle scroll (reference) — this is what could have happened in Edo. The bloodless surrender avoided the worst-case scenario

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

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Key Figures

Saigō Takamori

One of the Three Heroes of the Meiji Restoration

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