Kagoshima City (鹿児島市) is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyushu Island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some margin.  It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern world" (東洋のナポリ) for its bay location (Aira Caldera), hot climate and impressive stratovolcano, Sakurajima (桜島).  As of March 1, 2010, the city had an estimated population of 605,640 and a density of 1,110 persons per sq. sq. km.  The total area is 546.06 sq. km.  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 (トンカツ; 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 [仙巌園] (Iso-teien: 磯庭園) Japanese garden is just outside the city.  The St. Xavier church (鹿児島ザビエル教会) is a reminder of the first Christians who came to Japan.
  Kagoshima was the center of the territory of the Shimazu clan (島津氏) of 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.  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 Ryukyu (琉球王国); 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 daimyo of Satsuma for the murder of Charles Lennox Richardson in Namamugi Village on the Tokai-do Highway the previous year (生麦事件) and its refusal to pay an indemnity in compensation (Anglo-Satsuma War [薩英戦争]; the Bombardment of Kagoshima, August 15-17, 1863).
  Kagoshima was the birthplace and scene of the last stand of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛), 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.  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 Heihachiro Togo (東郷平八郎).  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 did spread ash throughout the municipality; but relatively little disruption ensued.
  Shinkansen (新幹線; the Japanese bullet train) service opened on 13 March 2004 between Kagoshima-Chuo Station and Shin-Yatsushiro Station.  By the end of March 2011, the direct Shinkansen service between Kagoshima-Chuo and Hakata will be available.   (Referred to the site of "Wikipedia.")
  
  

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Kyushu Shinkansen

Kyushu Shinkansen Line (九州新幹線) is now available between Shin-Yatsushiro Station (新八代駅), Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅): The whole route will be available between Fukuoka Station and Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅) in March 2011.

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(Sunday 21 March) Newest Shinkansen coach stops at Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅).

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(Sunday 21 March) Inside the newest Shinkansen coach

Kagoshima-Chuo Station

Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City is the central station in southern Kyushu Railway.

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(Sunday 21 March) Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Ferris wheel over Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Sculpture titled "Wakaki Satsuma no Gun-zo" (「若き薩摩の群像」; "Young Group of Satsuma") in front of Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Sakurajima Island (桜島), viewed from Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

Fukuwauchi

Fukuwauchi (ふくわうち) is a Japanese restaurant near Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City.

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(Sunday 21 March) Entrance to the Shopping Street near Kagoshima-Chuo Station (鹿児島中央駅), Kagoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Fukuwauchi in the Shopping Street near Kagoshima-Chuo Station

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(Sunday 21 March) "Kuro-buta Tonkatsu Udon-set" (黒豚トンカツうどんセット), Fukuwauchi

Kagoshima Tram

"Kagoshima Shiden" (鹿児島市電; Kagoshima City Tram/Street Railway) runs in central Kagoshima City.

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(Sunday 21 March) A streetcar of "Kagoshima Shiden" (鹿児島市電; Kagoshima City Tram/Street Railway) stops at Takamibaba (高見馬場), Kagoshima City.

Xavier Park

Xavier Park (ザビエル公園) is located in front of the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), Kagoshima City. This is the Introduction Site of Christianity in Japan in 1549. For further information of St. Francis Xavier [Francisco Javier, 1506-1552], 1. go to the "Juan Goto and Crypto-Christians" page. 2. go to the "Sakai City" page. 3. go to the "Shimonoseki City" page. 4. go to the "Yamaguchi City" page. 5. go to the "Hioki City" page. 6. go to the "Nagasaki City" page. 7. go to the "Oita City" page.

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(Sunday 21 March) Information board of Saint Francis Xavier and the Jesuits, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Signpost of the Introduction Site of Christianity in Japan, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Inscription stone for the group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) The group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) The group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) The group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) The group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Xavier of the group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Special Christian telephone booth, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument of Xavier's Visiting Kagoshima (ザビエル来鹿記念碑), Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Bust of Saint Francis Xavier behind the above monument of Xavier's Visiting Kagoshima (ザビエル来鹿記念碑), Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Bust of Saint Francis Xavier behind the above monument, Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) The group statue of Xavier, Yajiro and Bernard and the Monument of Xavier's Visiting Kagoshima (ザビエル来鹿記念碑), Xavier Park

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(Sunday 21 March) Xavier Park

The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church

The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会) is located in the opposite side of the above Xavier Park. Their address is 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City (鹿児島市照国町13-42). "St. Francis Xavier, missionary of the Society of Jesus, was born in 1506 and died in 1552. he engaged in missionary works in various places around Asia. In 1549, he landed in Kagoshima and for the first time brought Christianity to Japan. The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church always commemorates this. The statue of Xavier was a donation from Italy, as a dedication to the old church which was built in 1949. November 25, 2007." (Quoted from the inscription beneath the statue of Xavier below.)

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(Sunday 21 March) The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) "Zabieru-koen-mae" (Xavier Park) bus stop at the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Information board of the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Statue of Xavier donated from Italy (see above). "St. Francis Xavier, missionary of the Society of Jesus, was born in 1506 and died in 1552. he engaged in missionary works in various places around Asia. In 1549, he landed in Kagoshima and for the first time brought Christianity to Japan. The Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church always commemorates this. The statue of Xavier was a donation from Italy, as a dedication to the old church which was built in 1949. November 25, 2007." (Quoted from the inscription beneath the statue of Xavier.)

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(Sunday 21 March) Small chapel (小聖堂) of the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Picture of Francis Xavier and the six Jesuits guided by one Kagoshima man, Paulo Yajiro who joined them in Malacca, the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Picture of Ninshitsu (忍室) and Francis Xavier, the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City. Ninshitsu (忍室) was the Buddhist priest in charge of the Shimazu family temple, Fukusho-ji (島津家菩提寺 福昌寺). He wrote of Xavier as a polite and intelligent man of great education. Their intimate association is recorded in Discussions Between a White Monk and a Black Monk (「白坊主 (Xavier)と黒坊主 (忍室) の語らい」).

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(Sunday 21 March) Great Chapel (大聖堂), the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) Map showing Xavier's Journey to the East, the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church (鹿児島カテドラル・ザビエル教会), 13-42 Shogoku-cho, Kasgoshima City

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(Sunday 21 March) "Fumie" (踏み絵), a plate with a crucifix or other Christian symbol to be trodden on in order to prove oneself a non-Christian during the early Edo Period in the early seventeenth century. Courtesy of the Kagoshima Cathedral Xavier Church.

Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier

Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier (ザビエル上陸記念碑) is located in Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園) facing Sakurajima Island (桜島) across the sea. Xavier landed here on August 15, 1549. The monument, made by Louis Francen of Belgium, was placed on April 23, 1978. The Pope's Jesuit envoy to East Asia, Francisco Xavier, became the first Christian missionary to Japan in 1549. Setting sail from Lisbon for India, Malacca and the Moluccas, Xavier eventually arrived at Kagoshima with six other Jesuit missionaries having survived hunger and epidemic on the way. their guide to Japan was a Kagoshima man, Paulo Yajiro (パウロ・ヤジロー), who had joined them at Malacca, and on reaching Kagoshima they were welcomed by Lord Takahisa Shimazu who allowed them to engage in missionary activities in his dominions, expecting trade benefits from Portugal.

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(Sunday 21 March) Inscription of the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) "Sotetsu" (蘇鉄), or cycads; Japanese sago [fern] palms near the monument

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(Sunday 21 March) A view from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) A view from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) A view from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) A view from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) A view from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

Sakurajima Island

Sakurajima Island (桜島) can be seen from the Monument to the Arrival of Francisco Xavier, Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園) across the sea. It is located in the middle of Kagoshima Bay (鹿児島湾): It consists of three active volcanos and has an area of 77 sq. km. It has often erupted and finally it connected to the Osumi Peninsula (大隅半島) at the result of the 1914 eruption. It is a symbol of Kagoshima.

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(Sunday 21 March) Sakurajima Island (桜島), viewed from Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Sakurajima Island (桜島), viewed from Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

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(Sunday 21 March) Sakurajima Island (桜島), viewed from Gion-no-su Park (祇園之洲公園)

JR Kagoshima Station

JR Kagoshima Station (JR鹿児島駅) and Kagoshima-eki-mae Den-tei (鹿児島駅前電停; Kagoshima-eki-mae Tram Stop)

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(Sunday 21 March) Kagoshima-eki-mae Den-tei (鹿児島駅前電停; Kagoshima-eki-mae Tram Stop)

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(Sunday 21 March) Kagoshima-eki-mae Den-tei (鹿児島駅前電停; Kagoshima-eki-mae Tram Stop)

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(Sunday 21 March) JR Kagoshima Station (JR鹿児島駅)

Kotsuki-gawa River

Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川) runs through the centre of Kagoshima City.

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(Sunday 21 March) Korai-bashi Bridge (高麗橋) over the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Korai-bashi Bridge (高麗橋) over the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Signpost of "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) A lower samurai house in Futatsu-ya (二つ家) style, "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川). It included an "Omote," which was mainly used as parlor with higher status, and adjacent to it was a "Nakae," which was used for daily life and included a kitchen. Another feature of this style was connected rooms under two different roofs. Roofs in those days were mostly thatched with stwar or daylilies, and partly with boards or roof tiles. Lives of low-ranking samurai in those days were frugal. They could not even afford rice, and it is said that they lived off making umbrella ribs, special product combs or helping out with agricultural work. However, such a poor life in lower samurai class produced great men like Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛) and Toshimich Okubo (大久保利通).

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(Sunday 21 March) A lower samurai house in Futatsu-ya style, "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) A lower samurai house in Futatsu-ya style, "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) A lower samurai house in Futatsu-ya style, "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) A lower samurai house in Futatsu-ya style, "Rekishi Road 'Ishin Furusato no Michi" (歴史ロード "維新ふるさとの道": the Historic Road of the Meiji Restoration) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

Birthplace of Takamori Saigo

Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川). As as son of a lower samurai, he was born here. His childhood name was Kichinosuke (吉之助). As he grew, he promoted to one of the leaders of the Satsuma clan and greatly contributed to defeat the Tokugawa Shogunate at Boshin War (戊辰戦争) in 1867. He got several important positions in the Japanese army and in the central government but he resigned those posts later. He came back to Kagoshima and establish a private school. However, his students who harbored a discontented mood against the new government, raised an army against the government in 1877: It is later called "Seinan War" (西南戦争). After series of severe battles, they finally capitulated: Saigo committed suicide with a sword at Shiroyama (城山) in 1877. Even now, however, the majority of Japanese like him very much, as the popular statue of Ueno Park, Tokyo shows.

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(Sunday 21 March) Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Information board of the Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Birthplace of Takamori Saigo (西郷隆盛, 1827-1877) off the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

Museum of the Meiji Restoration

Museum of the Meiji Restoration (維新ふるさと館) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Old map of Kagoshima Castle Town (鹿児島城下絵図), Museum of the Meiji Restoration (維新ふるさと館) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Museum of the Meiji Restoration (維新ふるさと館) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

Monument to the Postwar Reconstruction

Monument to the Postwar Reconstruction (戦災復興記念碑) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Inscription stone of the Monument to the Postwar Reconstruction (戦災復興記念碑) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Monument to the Postwar Reconstruction (戦災復興記念碑) by the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

Statue of Toshimichi Okubo

Statue of Toshimichi Okubo (大久保利通, 1830-1878) by the Takami-bashi Bridge (高見橋) over the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川). Like Takamori Saigo, Okubo was born to a lower samurai house in Kagoshima. His childhood name was Ichizo (一蔵) and he was a good friend of Saigo. His great contribution to the Meiji Restoration secured him several important positions of the new central government. After Seinan War (西南戦争), he became the first Minister of Home Affairs. However, he soon was assassinated by Ichiro Shimada (島田一郎) and his group in Tokyo in 1878, one year after Saigo's death.

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(Sunday 21 March) Statue of Toshimichi Okubo (大久保利通, 1830-1878) by the Takami-bashi Bridge (高見橋) over the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

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(Sunday 21 March) Statue of Toshimichi Okubo (大久保利通, 1830-1878) by the Takami-bashi Bridge (高見橋) over the Kotsuki-gawa River (甲突川)

        

Copyright (c) 2010 Eishiro Ito.  All rights reserved.