|
The most ancient historical remains to be found in
Kagoshima are on Tanegashima Island, where life marks and pitfalls that
date back to the Paleolithic stone age have been discovered. Life marks
dating back to the Jomon period can also be seen all around Kagoshima.
A pit dwelling site from 9,500 years ago was discovered at Uenohara,
Kirishima City in 1997, giving a glimpse into a world where even in
those days, human beings had already made a village and settled down in
Kagoshima.
The ruins of the Yayoi Culture, which had been a largely
agrarian culture dependant on rice crops, can be found everywhere in
Japan. However, Kagoshima Prefecture was known for having both dry
field crops and rice crops due in part to the abundance of Shirasu
(volcanic ejecta) that covered the land throughout the Prefecture.
Japan had been unified into the Yamato Imperial Court
from the second half of the third century to the beginning of the
fourth century. Moreover, the southern part of Kyushu was under
influence of the Yamato Imperial Court in the second half of the fourth
century.
The Osumi and Satsuma local governments were established
during the 8th century. Subsequently, the Hayato and Kumaso people
(Japanese of Polynesian ancestry living in southern Kyushu) became part
of the Ritsuryou Government.
At the end of twelfth century, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo
established samurai's administration, and they ruled Japan instead of
the nobles. The Shimazu family extended influences little by little
since then, and they soon rule almost the same area as present
Kagoshima in the second half of the sixteenth century.
Kagoshima is the southern gateway to Japan , therefore
trade with China , Korea , Ryukyu and the Asia-Pacific region has been
flourishing for many years, and western culture was introduced during
the sixteenth century.
The first gun had been brought into Japan when the
Portuguese who rode on the Chinese ship had drifted ashore on
Tanegashima Island about 1543. Saint Francis Xavier, the Jesuit
missionary, had come to Kagoshima and introduced Christianity to Japan.
Kagoshima had concentrated enthusiasm on positively
adopting western culture under the leadership of lord of Satsuma clan
when Japan's isolation system had collapsed in the second half of the
nineteenth century. Building reverberatory furnace and machine shops of
every kind, sending young men to England for studying are some
examples.
In this way, Kagoshima became powerful and had strong influence over
Japan, which results in the overthrow of old government and establish
new one.
New Japanese government of Meiji had changed old society, and had
pressed on making modern unified nation. Able people in Kagoshima such
like Takamori Saigoh and Toshimichi Okubo had fulfilled their
responsible role in this government.
Kagoshima has produced many talented people, such as politicians,
including the Prime Minister of Kiyotaka Kuroda, Masayoshi Matsukata,
Gonbei Yamamoto and others, and a military man of Heihachiro Togoh and
others, cultured men of Kiyoteru Kuroda (a painter) and others.
|
