History
Recent archaeological discoveries are showing that Kagoshima may actually be the birthplace of Jōmon civilisation, as its 10, 000-year-old remains are some of Japan’s oldest. For much of its history, Kagoshima prefecture was dominated by one family, the Shimazu clan, who held sway for 29 generations (nearly 700 years) until the Meiji Restoration. Even then, the clan continued to influence events. In 1865 the family helped to smuggle more than a dozen young men out of the country to study Western technology first-hand in the UK. A statue in front of JR Kagoshima station commemorates these 17 adventurers who defied a national ban on foreign travel.
In fact the Kagoshima region, known as Satsuma, had always been receptive to outside contact and for many years was an important centre for trade with China. St Francis Xavier first arrived here in 1549, making Kagoshima one of Japan’s earliest contact points with Christianity and the West. Contact was also made with Koreans, whose pottery methods were influential in the creation of Satsuma-yaki.
Kagoshima
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