Kagoshima 鹿児島
—  Core city  —
鹿児島市 · Kagoshima City
From top left: Kagoshima with Sakurajima in background, Statue of Saigō Takamori, Kagoshima Castle, Sengan-en, Statue of Ōkubo Toshimichi, Night view from Mt. Shiroyama
Flag Seal
Location of Kagoshima in Kagoshima
Kagoshima
Coordinates: 31°36′N 130°33′E / 31.600°N 130.550°E / 31.600; 130.550Coordinates: 31°36′N 130°33′E / 31.600°N 130.550°E / 31.600; 130.550
Country	Japan
Region	Kyushu
Prefecture	Kagoshima
Government
• Mayor	Hiroyuki Mori
Area
• Total	547.05 km2 (211.22 sq mi)
Population (January 1, 2010)
• Total	605,855
• Density	1,107.49/km2 (2,868.4/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Symbols
- Tree	Camphor
- Flower	Kyōchikutō
Phone number	099-224-1111
Address	11-1 Yamashita-machi, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken 892-8677
Website	www.city.kagoshima.lg.jp

Kagoshima (鹿児島市, Kagoshima-shi^?) is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu in Japan, and 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 impressive stratovolcano, Sakurajima.

As of 1 January 2010, the city had an estimated population of 605,855 and a population density of 1,107.49 persons per km². The total area is 546.71 km². In 2003, the city had an estimated population of only 554,136 and a population density of 1,911.41 persons per km². The total area was 289.91 km².

The city's total area nearly doubled between 2003 and 2005 as a result of five towns—the towns of Kōriyama and Matsumoto, both from Hioki District, the town of Kiire, from Ibusuki District, and the towns of Sakurajima and Yoshida, both from Kagoshima District—merging into Kagoshima on November 1, 2004.

Kagoshima is approximately 40 minutes from Kagoshima Airport, and the city features large shopping districts and malls, is served by trams, and has many restaurants featuring Satsuma Province regional cuisine: kibi (a kind of tiny fish), tonkatsu (caramelized pork, as opposed to the breaded version encountered elsewhere in Japan), smoked eel, and karukan (sweet cakes made from steamed yams and rice flour). A large, modern aquarium has been installed on the old docks overlooking the volcano. The Sengan-en (Isoteien) Japanese garden is just outside the city.

The St. Xavier church is a reminder of the first Christians who came to Japan.

One of the best places to see the city (and the active volcano across the bay) is from the Amuran Ferris wheel on top of Amu Plaza Kagoshima, the shopping centre attached to the main Kagoshima-Chūō Station.

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

Kagoshima was the center of the territory of the Shimazu clan of samurai for many centuries. It was a busy political and commercial port city throughout the medieval period and into the Edo period (1603–1867) when it formally became the capital of the Shimazu's fief, the Satsuma Domain. The official emblem is designed Shimazu's kamon to shape of the character "市"(shi, means "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; Ryukyuan 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. (See 'Bombardment of Kagoshima').

Kagoshima was the birthplace and scene of the last stand of Saigō Takamori, a legendary figure in Meiji 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.^{[citation needed]} A statue was erected outside of the train station as a tribute to them. The city was officially founded on 1 April 1889.

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 1914 eruption of the volcano across the bay from the city spread ash throughout the municipality, but relatively little disruption ensued.^[1]

On the night of June 17, 1945 the 314th bombardment wing of the American Air Force (120 B-29s) dropped 809.6 tons of incendiary and cluster bombs destroying 2.11 square miles 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.^[2]

On August 6, 1993, heavy torrential rain caused extensive flooding and landslides in the area including Ryugamizu, where 49 people lost their lives from the disaster.^{[citation needed]}

Shinkansen (bullet train) service opened on 13 March 2004 between Kagoshima-chūō and Shin-Yatsushiro.

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

Today, Kagoshima is home to a distinctive dialect of Japanese, differing from the usual Kyushu dialects with its pronunciations of the yotsugana.

Mergers [edit]

• On August 1, 1934 - the Villages of Yoshino, Nakagōriu and Nishitakeda, all from Kagoshima District, were merged into Kagoshima.^[3]
• On October 1, 1950 - the Villages of Ishiki and Higashisakurajima, all from Kagoshima District, were merged into Kagoshima.^[3]
• On April 29, 1967 - the Cities of Kagoshima and the Taniyama, merged and became city of new Kagoshima.^[4]
• On November 1, 2004 - the Towns of Yoshida, Sakurajima, from Kagoshima District; Matsumoto, Koriyama, from Hioki District; Kiire from Ibusuki District, were merged into Kagoshima.

Climate [edit]

Kagoshima has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), marked by cool, relatively dry winters, warm, wet springs, hot, wet summers and mild, wet falls.

Points of interest [edit]

Tenmonkan G3

• Ishibashi Park
• Kagoshima Aquarium
• Kagoshima Botanical Garden
• Museum of the Meiji Restoration
• Sengan-en Garden
• Tenmonkan shopping arcade

Festivals [edit]

• Kagoshima Ohara Festival

Kagoshima Ohara Dancing Festival in November

Neighboring municipalities [edit]

An image taken from the International Space Station showing Kagoshima and its surroundings on January 10, 2013

Kagoshima City Hall

• Cities: Aira, Hioki, Ibusuki, Minamikyūshū, Minamisatsuma, Satsumasendai, Tarumizu

Transport [edit]

Railways [edit]

All lines are operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu)

• Kyushu Shinkansen
  • Kagoshima-Chuo 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 [edit]

• Kagoshima city tram Taniyama Line
• Kagoshima city tram Korimoto Line

Highways [edit]

• National Route 3
• National Route 10
• National Route 58
• National Route 224
• National Route 225
• National Route 226
• National Route 328
• Kyushu Expressway
• Minami-Kyushu Expressway
• Ibusuki Skyline

Bus [edit]

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

Ferry/jetfoil [edit]

• 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)

Airport [edit]

Kagoshima Airport in Kirishima (35 km NE of Kagoshima)

Sister cities [edit]

Kagoshima is twinned with the following four cities overseas.^[6]

• Naples, Italy (since 3 May 1960)
• Perth, Australia (since 23 April 1974)
• Changsha, China (friendship relationship, since 30 October 1982)
• Miami, United States (since 1 November 1990)

It has also been twinned with Tsuruoka, Yamagata in Japan since 7 November 1969.^[6]

See also [edit]

• 1993 Kagoshima Heavy Rain
• Kagoshima ramen
• Sakurajima daikon
• Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla

References [edit]

• Amu Plaza Visitors Guide (2006) available in Amu Plaza, Chūō Station, Kagoshima, Japan
• 角川日本地名大辞典 46 鹿児島県. Kadokawa Shoten. 1983-03-08. ISBN 4-04-001460-X. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kagoshima, Kagoshima

• Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau official website in English
• Kagoshima travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website (Japanese)
• Kagoshima Visitor's Guide from the Kagoshima Internationalization Council

v t e Kagoshima Prefecture Subprefectures Ōshima Kumage Cities Aira Akune Amami Hioki Ibusuki Ichikikushikino Isa Izumi Kagoshima (capital) Kanoya Kirishima Makurazaki Minamikyūshū Minamisatsuma Nishinoomote Satsumasendai Shibushi Soo Tarumizu Districts Aira Izumi Kagoshima Kimotsuki Kumage Ōshima Satsuma Soo See also: Cities and towns and villages by district