History
Kyūshū history is synonymous with Japan’s most ancient origins. Very recent excavations near Kagoshima suggest that southern Kyūshū was the earliest home to Jōmon culture, which gradually spread north beginning 10, 000 years ago.
Japan’s centuries-old trade with China and Korea began in Kyūshū. In more recent times, Japan’s ‘Christian Century’ (1549–1650) is notable for tales of secret Christians who, to escape persecution, altered their images of Christ and the Virgin to make them look like Buddhist icons.
In 1868 the Meiji Restoration ended the military shōgunate’s policy of isolation, marking the birth of modern Japan. During the ensuing Meiji Era (1868–1912), the rapid rise of industrialisation led to profound social and political change. Saigō Takamori, a revered samurai and early Meiji leader from Kagoshima, is the subject of Ken Watanabe’s 2003 film, The Last Samurai.
Guns first appeared in Japan in the 16th century, compliments of Portuguese merchants aboard a Chinese ship that was blown off course just south of Kagoshima. The new weapon changed the way feudal armies did battle, effectively ending the samurai tradition across Japan. August 9, 1945, marks the day that Nagasaki, long renowned for its early trade and cultural contacts with the West, became better known as the unfortunate second city to suffer the tragic effects of the atomic bomb.
