`mä), peninsula, Kagoshima prefecture, SW Kyushu, Japan. It gives its name to a famous porcelain, Satsuma ware, which was first manufactured there by Korean artisans in the 16th cent. As a feudal province, Satsuma was controlled by the powerful Shimazu clan, which exacted tribute from the Ryukyu Islands from the 17th to the 19th cent. and developed Satsuma into one of the most advanced areas in 19th-century Japan. Kagoshima, the capital of Satsuma, was a center of Western influence in Japan. In 1877, Takamori Saigo led the Satsuma clansmen in a rebellion against the imperial government. This rebellion, suppressed by the imperial army, was the last serious internal threat to the Meiji restoration.Satsuma
Japanese feudal domain (han) in southern Kyushu noted for its role in Japan's modernization. Satsuma (part of modern-day Kagoshima prefecture) was ruled by the Shimazu family from the end of the 12th century to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. In 1609 the family had conquered the Ryukyu Islands, and trade with the Ryukyus continued during the Tokugawa period, when the rest of the country was forbidden contact with the outside world. This trade both enriched Satsuma and provided experience with foreign affairs that would prove useful in the 19th century when Western powers started pressuring Japan to end its isolation. The domain also developed expertise in Western learning: Shimazu Shigehide (1745–1833) founded schools of medicine, mathematics, and astronomy; Shimazu Nariakira (1809–58) adopted Western-style military techniques and armaments. These advantages, along with a traditional enmity toward the Tokugawa family, put the men of Satsuma in a prime position to become leaders in the movement to overthrow the shogunal government. See also Okubo Toshimichi; Saigo Takamori.
satsuma
Satsuma
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