Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

RUTGERS COLLEGE. Originally established in New Brunswick,
New Jersey, in 1766 as an affiliate of the Dutch Reformed Church, Rutgers
became a state college of New Jersey. From the mid-1860s to
1880, approximately 40 Japanese students studied at Rutgers College
or its affiliated high school—more than any other American university
at the time. These early Japanese overseas students were initially encouraged
by Rutgers alumni in Japan, such as Guido Verbeck,
William Elliot Griffis, and Robert Pruyn. While more Japanese students
attended colleges in New York and Boston by the end of the 19th
century, and then colleges on the West Coast by the 20th century, Rutgers
College and its long legacy with Japan continues to draw Japanese
students and visitors. The William Elliot Griffis Collection of Rutgers
Library’s Special Collections and University Archives is a major
collection of 19th-century materials on Japanese students in America
and Westerners in Japan during the Meiji Era. See also KUSAKABE,
TARO; MATSUDAIRA, TADAATSU; MURRAY, DAVID.
RYUKYU ISLANDS. See OKINAWA.
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SAKAMOTO, RYOMA • 221
SAIGO, TAKAMORI (1827–1877). Samurai from Satsuma domain
who led the pro-imperial military forces during the decisive battles
near Kyoto and in Edo against the Tokugawa forces in early 1868.
Saigo became the top general in the new Meiji government, but quit
in 1873 after most of the rest of the Meiji leaders opposed his plan to
invade Korea. In 1877, Saigo and some of his followers rebelled
against the government in what is called the Satsuma Rebellion. The
new conscript army of the Meiji government defeated Saigo, and he
committed suicide. By the 1890s, however, Saigo was posthumously
rehabilitated as an example of a principled Japanese warrior and a
large statue of him (and his dog) was erected at the entrance to Ueno
Park in central Tokyo. See also BOSHIN WAR; MEIJI RESTORA-
TION; OKUBO, TOSHIMICHI.
SAKAMOTO, RYOMA (1835–1867). Samurai from Tosa domain,
Sakamoto became a major figure in the anti-Tokugawa and pro