Satsuma Province
Encyclopedia
was an old province of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...

 on the island of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. Its abbreviation is Sasshū (薩州).

During the Sengoku Period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, Satsuma was a fief of the Shimazu
Shimazu family
The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...

 daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

, who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their castle
Kagoshima Castle
is a Japanese castle in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The other name of this castle is Tsurumarujo.-History:This castle was constructed by Shimazu Iehisa in 1601. In 1600 Shimazu Yoshihiro, the father of Iehisa, was defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara as a daimyo of the western...

 at Kagoshima
Kagoshima, Kagoshima
is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyūshū island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some margin...

 city.

In 1871, with the abolition of feudal domains
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...

 and the establishment of prefectures after the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the provinces of Satsuma and Ōsumi
Osumi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga and Satsuma Provinces.Osumi's ancient capital was near modern Kokubu...

 were combined to eventually establish Kagoshima Prefecture.

Satsuma was one of the main provinces that rose in opposition to the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 in the mid 19th century. Because of this, the oligarchy
Meiji oligarchy
The Meiji oligarchy was the name used to describe the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the ....

 that came into power after the "Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

" of 1868 had a strong representation from the Satsuma province, with leaders such as Ōkubo Toshimichi
Okubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...

 and Saigō Takamori
Saigo Takamori
was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...

 taking up key government positions.

Satsuma is well-known for its production of sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

es, known in Japan as 薩摩芋 (satsumaimo or "Satsuma potato"). On the other hand, Satsuma mandarins (known as mikan in Japan) do not specifically originate from Satsuma but were imported into the West through this province in the Meiji era.

See also

  • Satsuma han
    Satsuma han
    The Satsuma domain was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan, and played a major role in the Meiji Restoration and in the government of the Meiji period which followed...

  • Shimazu clan
    Shimazu clan
    The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...

  • Japanese battleship Satsuma
    Japanese battleship Satsuma
    |-External links:**...

  • History of Kagoshima Prefecture
    History of Kagoshima Prefecture
    -Etymology:The name of Kagoshima came from Kagoshima Shrine situated in Hayato Cho, Kirishima. There are several views such as a boat of Hoori who was enshrined there was built in Kagoyama Mountain, or Kagoshima means a kami mountain or an island where kami lives, Kagoshima came from Sakurajima,...

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