Saigō Takamori - "the last true samurai"

Saigō Takamori (Takanaga) (January 23, 1828 – September 24, 1877) was an influential samurai in during the the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era in Japan. He is most noted for leading the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 in which he fought the new Japanese imperial government after they embraced capitialism and among other things, made the samurai obsolete. The rebellion was crushed at the Battle of Shiroyama and legend states Saigō committed seppuku before he could be captured. The loss was also effectively the end of the samurai class. Saigō was labled as a tragic hero and was posthumously pardoned by Emperor Meiji on February 22, 1889.

The 2004 movie, "The Last Samurai" staring Ken Watanabe as Saigō is loosely based on the Satsuma Rebellion