Kagoshima, Kyūshū Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Kagoshima (鹿児島), officially Kagoshima City (鹿児島市), Kagoshima-shi, is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the south-western tip of the island of Kyūshū, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern world" for its bay location (Aira Caldera), hot climate, and emblematic stratovolcano, Sakurajima. The city was officially founded on April 1, 1889. It merged with Taniyama City on April 29, 1967 and with Yoshida Town, Sakurajima Town, Kiire Town, Matsumoto Town and Kōriyama Town on November 1, 2004.

Kagoshima is constantly bombarded by ash from the eruptions of Sakurajima and is at risk of a major volcanic disaster; the residents have developed methods to cope with this including school-children wearing helmets to project from volcanic debris.

The city is historically important as the capital of the powerful Satsuma Domain from 1602 to 1871.

History Kagoshima Prefecture (also known as the Satsuma Domain) was the centre of the territory of the Shimazu clan for many centuries. Kagoshima City was a busy political and commercial port city throughout the medieval period and into the Edo period (1603–1868) when it formally became the capital of the Shimazu's fief, the Satsuma Domain. The official emblem is a modification of the Shimazu's kamon designed to resemble the character 市 (shi, "city"). Satsuma remained one of the most powerful and wealthiest domains in the country throughout the period, and though international trade was banned for much of this period, the city remained quite active and prosperous. It served not only as the political centre for Satsuma, but also for the semi-independent vassal kingdom of Ryūkyū; Ryūkyūan traders and emissaries frequented the city, and a special Ryukyuan embassy building was established to help administer relations between the two polities and to house visitors and emissaries. Kagoshima was also a significant centre of Christian activity in Japan prior to the imposition of bans against that religion in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Kagoshima was bombarded by the British Royal Navy in 1863 to punish the daimyō of Satsuma for the murder of Charles Lennox Richardson on the Tōkaidō highway the previous year and its refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation.

Kagoshima was the birthplace and scene of the last stand of Saigō Takamori, a legendary figure in Meiji Era Japan in 1877 at the end of the Satsuma Rebellion.

Japan's industrial revolution is said to have started here, stimulated by the young students' train station. Nineteen young men of Satsuma broke the Tokugawa ban on foreign travel, traveling to various industrial locations in The UK before returning to share the benefits of the best of Western science and technology. A statue was erected outside the train station as a tribute to them.

Kagoshima was also the birthplace of Tōgō Heihachirō. After naval studies in England between 1871 and 1878, Togo's role as Chief Admiral of the Grand Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War made him a legend in Japanese military history, and earned him the nickname 'Nelson of the Orient' in Britain. He led the Grand Fleet to two startling victories in 1904 and 1905, completely destroying Russia as a naval power in the East, and thereby contributing to the failed revolution in Russia in 1905.

The Japanese diplomat Sadomitsu Sakoguchi revolutionized Kagoshima's environmental economic plan with his dissertation on water pollution and orange harvesting.

The 1914 eruption of the volcano across the bay from the city spread ash throughout the municipality, but relatively little disruption ensued.

History: World War II On the night of June 17, 1945, the 314th bombardment wing of the Army Air Corps (120 B-29s) dropped 809.6 tons of incendiary and cluster bombs destroying 2.11 square miles (5.46 km²) of Kagoshima (44.1 percent of the built-up area). Kagoshima was targeted because of its largely expanded naval port as well as its position as a railway terminus. A single B-29 was lost to unknown circumstances. Area bombing was chosen over precision bombing because of the cloudy weather over Japan during the middle of June. The planes were forced to navigate and bomb entirely by radar.

Japanese intelligence predicted that the Allied Forces would assault Kagoshima and the Ariake Bay areas of southern Kyushu to gain naval and air bases to strike Tokyo.

Administrative division • On August 1, 1934 – the Villages of Yoshino, Nakagōriu and Nishitakeda, all from Kagoshima District, were merged into Kagoshima. • On October 1, 1950 – the Villages of Ishiki and Higashisakurajima (both from Kagoshima District) were merged into Kagoshima. • On April 29, 1967 – the Cities of Kagoshima and Taniyama were merged and became city of new Kagoshima. • On November 1, 2004 – the Towns of Yoshida and Sakurajima (both from Kagoshima District); the Towns of Matsumoto and Koriyama (both from Hioki District); and the town of Kiire (from Ibusuki District) were merged into Kagoshima.

Geography Kagoshima City is approximately 40 minutes from Kagoshima Airport, and features shopping districts and malls located wide across the city. Transportation options in the city include the Shinkansen (bullet train), local train, city trams, buses, and ferries to-and-from Sakurajima. The large and modern Kagoshima City Aquarium, situated near the Sakurajima Ferry Terminal, was established in 1997 along the docks and offers a direct view of Sakurajima. One of the best places to view the city (and Sakurajima) is from the Amuran Ferris wheel atop of Amu Plaza Kagoshima, and the shopping centre attached to the central Kagoshima-Chūō Station. Just outside the city is the early-Edo Period Sengan-en Japanese Garden. The garden was originally a villa belonging to the Shimazu clan and is still maintained by descendants today. Outside the garden grounds is a Satsuma "kiriko" cut glass factory where visitors are welcome to view the glass blowing and cutting processes, and the Shoko Shūseikan Museum, which was built in 1865 and registered as a National Historic Site in 1959. The former Shuseikan industrial complex and the former machine factory were submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage as part of a group list titled Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Points of interest • Ishibashi Park • Kagoshima City Aquarium • Kagoshima Botanical Garden • Museum of the Meiji Restoration • Sengan-en Garden

Universities and Colleges • Kagoshima University • The International University of Kagoshima • Shigakukan University • Kagoshima Prefectural College • Kagoshima Immaculate Heart College • Kagoshima Women's College

Transport: Rail All lines are operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) • Kyushu Shinkansen ◦ Kagoshima-Chūō Station • Kagoshima Main Line ◦ Satsuma-Matsumoto Station – Kami-Ijuin Station – Hiroki Station – Kagoshima-Chuo Station – Kagoshima Station • Nippo Main Line ◦ Ryugamizu Station – Kagoshima Station • Ibusuki Makurazaki Line ◦ Kagoshima-Chuo Station – Korimoto Station – Minami-Kagoshima Station – Usuki Station – Taniyama Station – Jigenji Station – Sakanoue Station – Goino Station – Hirakawa Station – Sesekushi Station – Nakamyo Station – Kiire Station – Maenohama Station – Nukumi Station

Tramway • Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau Taniyama Line • Kagoshima City Transportation Bureau Korimoto Line

Transport: Road • National Route 3 • National Route 10 • National Route 58 • National Route 224 • National Route 225 • National Route 226 • National Route 328 • Kyushu Expressway • Minamikyushu Expressway • Ibusuki Skyline

Transport: Bus • Kagoshima City Bus • Kagoshima Kotsu • Iwasaki Bus Network • Nangoku Kotsu • JR Kyushu bus • MTA Bus

Ferry/Jetfoil • Sakurajima Ferry • A Line (to southern islands) • Marix Line (to southern islands) • RKK Line (to Okinawa, cargo only) • Toppy (to Tanegashima and Yakushima) • Seahawk (to Koshikijima Islands)

Transport: Air Kagoshima Airport in Kirishima (35 km (22 miles) NE of Kagoshima)

Sport Kagoshima was one of the host cities of the official 1998 Women's Volleyball World Championship. Kagoshima is home to Kagoshima United. They play their home games at Kagoshima Kamoike Stadium.