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Kagoshima is an international city of 600,000 people located on the southern tip of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four major islands. It enjoys a balmy and sunny climate year - round that imbues it with a relaxed tropical feel.
This bustling city is the home to many of Japan’s key historical figures and events. Its picturesque landscape is dotted with historical sites and relics, including the Sengan’en, a grand villa with a spectacular garden built by the Shimazu family, one of the most prominent names in the region, and Ijin - kan, another locally - cherished, historical structure which served as a residence for foreign engineers and technical experts invited to help develop modern industries.
The Shimazu family ruled south Kyushu for seven centuries through the Meiji Restoration (the late 19th century), which set Japan on its path toward becoming a modern capitalist nation. The Shimazu family was known for their progressive spirit, taking interest in foreign countries and actively embracing cultures and industrial technologies of the West, chiefly through their close association with the Dutch trading post in Dejima in northwest Kyushu. Western influence inspired them to develop modern industries such as steelmaking, shipbuilding and spinning, which would go on to form the industrial foundation for contemporary Japan and pave the way for the country’s rise to economic superpower status a century later.
Long serving as Japan’s southern gateway to the world, Kagoshima has a unique cosmopolitan tradition. The 650 - year - old Kagoshima port, close to the city center, has been the main access point to the chain of islands lying to its south and a key base for maritime transport bound for other regions in Japan and abroad, especially Southeast Asia. Kagoshima is a city that has always known how to blend the most modern of outside influences with deeply - rooted local customs. |
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| The name, Tenmon - Kan, comes from an observatory (tenmon - dai) of the Satsuma domain (now Kagoshima Prefecture and part of neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture) which stood here during the Edo period. Today the area is a bustling shopping and entertainment district. |
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