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In Episode 7 of Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai Ren, Shinka and her friends are on a school trip in Kagoshima. They see a statue of someone called Saigo-san. One of the friends complains that he doesn't have his dog, and Shinka tells her that he doesn't have a dog in Kagoshima.

saigo-san no dog in Kagoshima

Later, they find a dog so they can hold it and take a picture in front of the statue.

Interestingly, Saigo-san appears to have European features. I know that Kagoshima is on the island of Kyushu at the far south of Japan. The south hosted a Dutch enclave for years after the foreigners were expelled from Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate. I assume he's some kind of historical figure, but who is he and what's the deal with the dog?

Torisuda
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  • This seems to be off-topic since it is not anime/manga-specific (as it is currently, it could fit in the [History SE](http://history.stackexchange.com/). How about adding to the question, "What other anime has he been featured in?" – seijitsu Jun 14 '15 at 23:47
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    @seijitsu: In the last discussion, when we brought up this topic again, we don't have a clear consensus on where we draw the line (except that questions without anything to do with anime is out). Personally, I think this question can be on topic, since it asks a question based on a scene in anime. – nhahtdh Jun 15 '15 at 01:47
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    @seijitsu I thought this would be on-topic since [Are the guns in Kenshin historically accurate?](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/19525/7579) was on-topic here. I'm open to making some edits if the question is ultimately deemed off-topic. – Torisuda Jun 15 '15 at 03:21
  • @nhahtdh Do you mean the question is on-topic as-is, or could become on-topic with an edit? (The ambiguity of *can* is getting me.) – Torisuda Jun 15 '15 at 03:23
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    @Torisuda: There is no consensus, so I said "can" - it's still on a tie in last discussion. It still has a reference to anime, that's why no one vote to close this yet. – nhahtdh Jun 15 '15 at 03:25
  • The guns in RK question seems more on-topic since it is, in a sense, asking if the mangaka, Nobuhiro Watsuki, drew real historical guns or came up with his own fictional ones (i.e. manga/anime production). As is, this question can be boiled down to "Who is the historical figure 'Saigo' of whom there's a statue in Kagoshima?" which would be off-topic per ["If a question . . . still makes sense removing all references to anime/manga, then it's off topic"](http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/a/611/8134), and I'd prefer if this required the answer to contain something about anime/manga in it. ;-) – seijitsu Jun 15 '15 at 06:12
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    @seijitsu I see your point--my answer to the Kenshin question did wrap back around to Kenshin at the end. I can't think of a sensible edit (your suggestion would make it sound like a list question to me), so I'll let the community decide. Well, if it be this question's fate to die, then let it die. Alas, poor question, I loved ye not enough to suffer the scorn of the History.SE guys. – Torisuda Jun 15 '15 at 07:20

2 Answers2

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This appears to be Saigo Takamori often know as the last samurai - and has a film by that very name about him. He is most famous for his opposition against the Meiji government in the Battle of Shiroyama.

enter image description here

You can see here his very distinctive brow which is apparent in the scene in Chuunibyou too.

He has another statue in Ueno, Tokyo that has a dog beside him, which is probably what they are trying to replicate.

enter image description here

Kagoshima is his hometown, and there's a statue there in his likeness (without a dog):

enter image description here

Toshinou Kyouko
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he is saigo takamori, most known as the last samurai. he helped imperial army to end tokugawa successfully and gained position in meiji restoration era but ended up lead rebellion (satsuma rebellion) because he thought meiji wanted to end samurai by making law that forbid samurai bring katana in public place and etc.

tom cruise movie "the last samurai" was inspired by saigo takamori. (noted:inspired, that means the movie plot was not based on actual history).

and about the dog, i think nothing special about the dog. none of sources that i read about him talking about his dog at all.

Kakashi
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    You're *right*, but an earlier answer covers the same ground as this in significantly greater detail. – Makoto Jul 30 '17 at 04:51