Saga recovered in the last decade or so of the
bakumatsu period (i.e. the 1860s), however, taking in Western technology and reforming the domain's governance. The bureaucracy was cut by 80%, and efforts were made to support and encourage the peasantry. The domain's economy came to be focused upon ceramics, tea, charcoal, and related goods, and prosperity was found through trade.
The tenth lord of Saga,
Nabeshima Naomasa (r. 1830-61), established organizations for the research of Western technologies, including steel refining, steam engines and artillery, and turned the domain's efforts towards these pursuits, making it one of the most modern domains in this period. Saga thus began operations at the first Japanese iron refinery in 1849, and made the first use of
reverberatory furnaces three years later. In 1853, Russian Admiral
Yevfimy Putyatin arrived in Nagasaki harbor, and provided the first demonstration of a steam locomotive to the Japanese.
Ishiguro Hirotsugu,
Nakamura Kisuke, and
Tanaka Hisashige were among the first Japanese engineers, who attempted to manufacture their own steam locomotives and steamships.
When the shogunate relaxed the restrictions on the construction of large ships, an order was placed with the Dutch. Saga saw the revitalization of Japans' shipbuilding industry, and the launching of the first Japanese steamship, the
Ryōfūmaru. The Nagasaki naval academy was established in 1855, its first students coming from Saga. By 1866, the incorporation of British
Armstrong Whitworth cannon made the ships at Nagasaki into the first Japanese Western-style ("modern") navy. The defense batteries at
Shinagawa were also supplied by cannon from Saga.
Largely responsible for Japan's technological and military advancement, and holding much of the fruits of those labors, Saga attracted the attention of the shogunate, which kept a close eye on the domain until its fall in 1868. Saga played an important role in the
Meiji Restoration, alongside the domains of Tosa, Satsuma, and Chōshū, and samurai from the domain fought the shogunate at the
battle of Ueno and in other clashes of the
Boshin War. As a result, the new Meiji government which emerged afterwards featured a number of figures from Saga, including
Etō Shinpei,
Ōkuma Shigenobu,
Ōki Takatō, and
Sano Tsunetami. Etō resigned from the government, however, along with a number of others in 1873 as the result of extensive
disputes over invading Korea, an action which he,
Saigō Takamori and others supported, but which was ultimately rejected by the council. Etō then organized the
Saga Rebellion the following year, leading 3000 men in an assault against the new government which was quickly suppressed.
The
feudal domains were abolished in 1871, and the Nabeshima clan given the title "marquis" (
kōshaku) under the new
kazoku peerage system.
Units during the Boshin war
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by The_Nord
This is a gold mine, Thank you soooo much! 
.
No one wants to make a historically accurate unit mod for FOTS it seems. I will still follow this with interest though. 
