
Hashimoto Akisane (1839-1917) was an Imperial Japanese Army artillery captain who served in the suppression of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. In 1876, he was among the Japanese soldiers trained by American advisor Nathan Algren, and he later faced his former comrade in battle at the Battle of Shiroyama in 1877, during which he commanded Okubo Toshimichi's artillery. However, out of sympathy for the samurai - who were being mowed down by his Gatling guns - Akisane ordered the guns to stop firing as Saigo Takamori bravely committed seppuku with Algren's help, and Akisane and the other Imperial soldiers bowed in reverence towards the "last samurai".