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Created page with "*''Japanese'': 山川 ''(Yamakawa)'' Yamakawa was an important port near the southern tip of Satsuma province, particularly for ships traveling between Satsuma and the [[..."
*''Japanese'': 山川 ''(Yamakawa)''
Yamakawa was an important port near the southern tip of [[Satsuma province]], particularly for ships traveling between Satsuma and the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]]. Yamakawa guarded the entrance to Kagoshima Bay, and ships destined for [[Kagoshima]] generally were made to make port first at Yamakawa, for cargo inspections and taxation. Today, Yamakawa has been incorporated into the city of [[Ibusuki]].
Yamakawa was the first port on mainland [[Kyushu]] where [[Francis Xavier]] made landfall in [[1549]]; it is also said to have been the place where the [[Satsuma sweet potato]] (''Satsuma imo'') was first introduced. Markers commemorating these two events can still be found at the harbor today.
Yamakawa was also the port from which [[Satsuma han]] forces departed in [[1609]] for their [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]]. Following this invasion, as was also the case previously, ships from the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] regularly stopped at Yamakawa on their way to and from [[Kagoshima]]. Port offices known as ''bansho'' performed cargo inspections and collected taxes.
Yamakawa remained a major port into the [[Bakumatsu]] era, if not later, and was one of a number of key ports throughout the archipelago to be equipped with coastal defenses. The American ship ''[[Morrison]]'', for example, was driven away from Yamakawa with cannon fire in [[1837]].
{{stub}}
==References==
*"Ibusuki shi Yamakawa o aruku" 指宿市山川を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.
[[Category:Cities and Towns]]
Yamakawa was an important port near the southern tip of [[Satsuma province]], particularly for ships traveling between Satsuma and the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]]. Yamakawa guarded the entrance to Kagoshima Bay, and ships destined for [[Kagoshima]] generally were made to make port first at Yamakawa, for cargo inspections and taxation. Today, Yamakawa has been incorporated into the city of [[Ibusuki]].
Yamakawa was the first port on mainland [[Kyushu]] where [[Francis Xavier]] made landfall in [[1549]]; it is also said to have been the place where the [[Satsuma sweet potato]] (''Satsuma imo'') was first introduced. Markers commemorating these two events can still be found at the harbor today.
Yamakawa was also the port from which [[Satsuma han]] forces departed in [[1609]] for their [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]]. Following this invasion, as was also the case previously, ships from the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] regularly stopped at Yamakawa on their way to and from [[Kagoshima]]. Port offices known as ''bansho'' performed cargo inspections and collected taxes.
Yamakawa remained a major port into the [[Bakumatsu]] era, if not later, and was one of a number of key ports throughout the archipelago to be equipped with coastal defenses. The American ship ''[[Morrison]]'', for example, was driven away from Yamakawa with cannon fire in [[1837]].
{{stub}}
==References==
*"Ibusuki shi Yamakawa o aruku" 指宿市山川を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.
[[Category:Cities and Towns]]