Kagoshima 

(鹿児島市, Kagoshima-shi, Japanese: [ka̠ɡo̞ɕima̠], Satsugū dialect: かごっま,

 Kagomma) is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of
the island of Kyushu, 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.

Contents

 1History
o 1.1World War II
 2Geography
 3Administrative division
o 3.1Neighboring Municipalities
 4Climate
 5Demographics
 6Culture
o 6.1Food
 6.1.1Satsuma-age
 6.1.2Sweets
 6.1.3Beverages
o 6.2Dialect
o 6.3Points of interest
 7Education
o 7.1High schools
 8Transportation
o 8.1Railways
o 8.2Tramway
o 8.3Highways
o 8.4Bus
o 8.5Ferry/Jetfoil
o 8.6Airport
 9Sports
 10Twin towns – sister cities
 11Shimazu clan (Satsuma domain)
 12Notable people from Kagoshima Prefecture
 13See also
 14References
 15External links

History[edit]

Map of the Bombardment of Kagoshima on 15 to 18 August 1863

The city covered deep in ash after the 1914 eruption of the Sakurajima volcano which is seen in the
distance across the bay

Sakurajima

Kagoshima Prefecture (also known as the Satsuma Domain) was the center of the territory of
the Shimazu clan for many centuries. It 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 center 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 center
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. Seventeen young men of Satsuma broke the Tokugawa ban on foreign travel, traveling
first to England and then the United States before returning to share the benefits of the best of
Western science and technology.[1] 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.[2]
The name "Kagoshima" (鹿児島) literally means "deer child island" or "young-deer island". In
the Kagoshima dialect, local names for the city include “かごっま (Kagomma), “かごんま
(Kagonma)”, “かごいま (Kagoima)” and “かごひま (Kagohima)”.[3]

World War II[edit]

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.[4]
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.

Geography[edit]
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 a shopping district known as
"Dolphin Port" and 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 center 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.

Administrative division[edit]
 On August 1, 1934 – the Villages of Yoshino, Nakagōriu and Nishitakeda, all
from Kagoshima District, were merged into Kagoshima.[5]
 On October 1, 1950 – the Villages of Ishiki and Higashisakurajima (both from Kagoshima
District) were merged into Kagoshima.[5]
 On April 29, 1967 – the Cities of Kagoshima and Taniyama were merged and became
city of new Kagoshima.[6]
 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.
Neighboring Municipalities