(1 June 1843 â 18 July 1902) was a Japanese politician and admiral in the Meiji period.
Saigà  was born in Shimokajiyachà Â, Kagoshima, the son of the samurai Saigà  Kichibe of the Satsuma Domain. His siblings included his famous older brother, samurai and nobleman Saigà  Takamori. Saigà  changed his name many times throughout his life. Besides the two listed above, he sometimes went by the nickname "Shingà Â". His real name was either "Ryà «kà Â", or "Ryà «dà Â" (éÂÂèÂÂ). It is possible that he went by the name "Ryà «suke".
Following the Meiji Restoration, Saigà  went to a government office to register his name. He intended to register orally under his given name (Ryà «kà  or Ryà «dà Â). However, the civil servant misheard his name and he therefore became under the law. He did not particularly mind, so he never bothered to change it back. The name "Tsugumichi" arose as an alternate pronunciation for the characters of his name.
At the recommendation of Arimura Shunsai, he became a tea-serving Buddhist monk for the daimyà  of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. After he returned to secular life, he became one of a group of devoted followers of Arimura. As a Satsuma samurai, he participated in the Anglo-Satsuma War. He later joined the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.
He was a commander of the Satsuma army fighting in the Battle of TobaâÂÂFushimi as well as other battles on the imperial side of the Boshin War.
In 1869, two years after the establishment of the Meiji government, Saigà  went to Europe with General Yamagata Aritomo to study European military organizations, tactics and technologies. After his return to Japan, he was appointed a lieutenant-general in the new Imperial Japanese Army. He commanded Japanese expeditionary forces in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874.
In 1873, his brother Saigà  Takamori resigned from the government, over the rejection of his proposal to invade Korea during the Seikanron debate. Many other officials from the Satsuma region followed suit. However, Saigà  Jà «dà  continued to remain loyal to the Meiji government. Upon the death of his brother in the Satsuma Rebellion, Saigà  Jà «dà  became the primary political leader from Satsuma. In accord with the kazoku peerage system enacted in 1884, he received the title of count (hakushaku).
Saigà  held a string of important positions in the Ità  Hirobumi cabinet, including Navy Minister (1885, 1892âÂÂ1902).
As Minister of Home Affairs, Saigà  pushed strongly for the death penalty for Tsuda Sanzà Â, the accused in the à Âtsu incident of 1891, and threatened Kojima Korekata should the sentence be more lenient.
In 1892, he was appointed to the Privy Council as one of the genrà Â. In the same year, he founded a political party known as .
In 1894, Saigà  was given the rank of admiral, in recognition of his role as Navy minister, and his peerage title was elevated to that of marquis.
In 1898, the Imperial Japanese Navy bestowed upon him the honorary title of Marshal-Admiral. The rank is equivalent to Admiral of the Fleet or Grand Admiral.
Saigà ÂâÂÂs former residence (once in Meguro, Tokyo) is registered as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government and is now at the Meiji-mura historical park outside of Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. Saigà  also owned a cottage in Yanagihara (present-day Numazu), Shizuoka Prefecture. Saigà  Jà «dà  was the first person in Japan to own a race horse. Gensui the Marquis Saigà  died in 1902 and was buried in the Tama Cemetery in Fuchà « in Tokyo.