Satsuma cannonballs performed poorly against those of the British navy, which were designed to explode after travelling over two miles. The clan was thus convinced that they needed to forge alliances ...

Taking place in 1877, the Satsuma Rebellion was the ‘final’ revolt of the samurai against the new imperial government nine years into the Meiji Era — namely due to the abolition of the ...

Among the disgruntled samurai was Saigo Takamori, the leader of the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion. Takamori is the basis for the Katsumoto character, though Zwick said he purposely chose not to use the ...