Kagoshima

(2002 est. pop. 1.8 million). Kagoshima Prefecture is situated in the southern part of Japan's island of Kyushu, where it occupies an area of 9,167 square kilometers. Situated in a subtropical region, it is often swept by typhoons. Among its geographical features are the major volcanoes Kirishimayama, Kaimondake, and Sakurajima, one of the world's more active. Offshore are various islands. Kagoshima is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea and by Kumamoto and Miyazaki Prefectures. In 1896 it subsumed the ancient provinces of Satsuma and Osumi and assumed its present name and borders.

The prefecture's capital is Kagoshima city, situated on Kagoshima Bay. In 1602, the Shimazu family erected a castle on the site, and the city flourished. It is the birthplace of Meiji Restoration leaders Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori. Saigo later led dis-empowered samurai in the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, the last armed uprising against Meiji reforms. The city was severely bombed in World War II. It is the major departure port for Okinawa and other islands and is home to Kagoshima University. It produces tsumugi silk fabric, woodcrafts, and foodstuffs. The prefecture's other important cities are Sendai, Kanoya, and Naze.

The prefecture has a long history, as indicated by artifacts from the Jomon (14,500 BCE–300 BCE) and Yayoi (300 BCE–300 CE) cultures. Later it was inhabited by the Kumaso and Hayato tribes. From the Heian period (794–1185), Fujiwara regent families, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines owned landed estates in the region. Shimazu family rule lasted until the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Westerners, including the missionary Francis Xavier, first set foot in Japan in Kagoshima in the mid-sixteenth century.

Agriculture and forestry dominate the economy. Rice, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables are the leading crops, supplemented by the specialty crops of sugar cane, tea, tobacco, and citrus fruits and by the raising of livestock. Black Satsuma ceramics are a notable regional craft. Kirishima-Yaku National Park is popular with visitors.

"Kagoshima Prefecture." (1993) Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha.

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