On September 19 when the Seinan War entered in the final phase, after having consulted some high-level samurai and officers in Saigo's forces, YAMANODA and Shuichiro KONO visited Vice Admiral of the Imperial Navy Sumiyoshi KAWAMURA, a relative of Saigo, as military messengers on the pretext of making an explanation of why they took up arms, concealing the real intention of pleading for SAIGO's life from SAIGO and KIRINO.
西南戦争が最終局面に入った9月19日、西郷軍では一部の将士の相談のもと、山野田・河野主一郎が西郷の救命のためであることを西郷・桐野に隠し、挙兵の意を説くためと称して、軍使となって西郷の縁戚でもある参軍川村純義海軍中将のもとに出向いた。