Kagoshima

Kagoshima (kä'gō`shĭmä), city (1990 pop. 536,752), capital of Kagoshima prefecture, extreme S Kyushu, Japan, on Satsuma Peninsula and Kagoshima Bay. An important port, it has a navy yard. The city's industries produce Satsuma porcelain ware, textiles, and metal and wood products, and its hot springs make it a popular tourist attraction. It is the seat of two universities and is historically important as the castle town of the Shimazu family and as the birthplace of Takamori Saigo, Toshimichi Okubo, and Heihachiro Togo. The center of the Satsuma Rebellion, the city was destroyed in 1877. In 1914 it suffered damage from the eruption of a volcano on Sakurajima, then an island in the bay, and it was bombed (1945) in World War II. It was at Kagoshima that St. Francis Xavier landed in 1549. Kagoshima prefecture (1990 pop. 1,797,766), 3,515 sq mi (9,104 sq km), is largely mountainous, with gold, silver, iron, and copper mines. There is some lumbering and agriculture in the rough interior, while fishing is important along the coast. Kagoshima prefecture is the site of two Japanese rocket launch centers.

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Kagoshima

a port in SW Japan, on S Kyushu. Pop.: 544 840 (2002 est.)

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Kagoshima 

a prefecture in Japan, on the southernmost part of Kyushy Island. The prefecture includes other islands, such as Koshiki-retto and Osumi. Area, 9, 141.6 sq km; population, 1.7 million (1970, 50 percent urban). Its major city and administrative center is Kagoshima. The primary branch of the prefecture’s economy is agriculture, which is of national significance. Livestock raising predominates; the growing of fruits (tangerines), vegetables, and tobacco is being developed. Kagoshima ranks first in Japan in the yield of sweet potatoes and in the number of cattle (240, 700 head in 1968). Industries include fishing, maritime trade, and forestry. The prefecture also has food-flavoring (53 percent of the industrial manufacturing, 1968), woodworking (15 percent), and textile (7 percent) enterprises.

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Kagoshima 

a city and port in Japan, on the southern part of Kyushu Island on Satsuma peninsula; administrative center of Kagoshima Prefecture. Population, 403, 400 (1970). Transportation junction. Textile (cotton and silk mills), chemical, metallurgical, and food-flavoring industries are located in Kagoshima. Porcelain (Satsuma ware) is also manufactured. There is fishing in the southern Japanese waters. Kagoshima is the site of a university, and there is a center for space research in the region.