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Kagoshima was the chief [[jokamachi|castle town]] of [[Satsuma han]], home to [[Kagoshima castle]], and is today the capital of [[Kagoshima prefecture]].

Kagoshima was the chief [[jokamachi|castle town]] of [[Satsuma han]], home to [[Kagoshima castle]], and is today the capital of [[Kagoshima prefecture]].

The region first appeared on European maps as "Cangoxina."<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima.</ref>

People are known to have lived in the region since the [[Jomon Period|Jômon Period]]. The region would have been on the distant peripheries of the [[Yamato state|Yamato]] and [[Nara Period|Nara]] states, but began to be more fully incorporated into the state in the mid-[[Heian period]]. A fortress called [[Tofukuji castle|Tôfukuji]] was established as early as [[1053]], by the [[Haseba clan|Haseba]] [[samurai]] clan. This Tôfukuji fortress, along with the neighboring branch shrine of [[Kasuga Shrine]] established nearby, formed the core of what would later develop into the fuller castle-town of Kagoshima. The area was incorporated into the [[Shimazu-sho|Shimazu-shô]] ''[[shoen|shôen]]'' estate sometime in the 11th or 12th century, and the [[Shimazu clan]] appointed ''[[jito|jitô]]'' or other representatives to administer the territory beginning in the 1180s.

During the [[Edo period]], the population of the city was around 58,000.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 28.</ref> Samurai comprised a significant proportion of the city's population, perhaps as much as 90% at times, and lived chiefly in three sections of the city: six neighborhoods of Kanmachi (上町), twelve in Shimomachi (下町), and four in Nishidamachi (西田町).  

Roughly 5,000 [[Chonin|commoner townsmen]] also lived in the castle town, but as the domain government exercised strong control over the local economy, a very significant portion of merchants and the like operating in the city were either low-ranking samurai or ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'' (merchants in the service of the lord/domain).<ref name="reimei">Gallery labels, Reimeikan Museum of History & Culture, Kagoshima.</ref><ref>Plaques on-site at [[Kagoshima castle]].</ref>

 

 

The region first appeared on European maps as "Cangoxina."<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima.</ref> Once Tsurumaru (Kagoshima) castle was built, the city began to grow all the moreso. During the [[Edo period]], the population of the city was around 58,000.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 28.</ref> Samurai comprised a significant proportion of the city's population, perhaps as much as 90% at times, and lived chiefly in three sections of the city: six neighborhoods of Kanmachi (上町), twelve in Shimomachi (下町), and four in Nishidamachi (西田町). Roughly 5,000 [[Chonin|commoner townsmen]] also lived in the castle town, but as the domain government exercised strong control over the local economy, a very significant portion of merchants and the like operating in the city were either low-ranking samurai or ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'' (merchants in the service of the lord/domain).<ref name="reimei">Gallery labels, Reimeikan Museum of History & Culture, Kagoshima.</ref><ref>Plaques on-site at [[Kagoshima castle]].</ref>

Kagoshima was also home to the [[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]], a branch office of the [[government of the Ryukyu Kingdom]], and Ryukyuan officials are said to have wandered the city freely, at least at certain times; indeed, the people of the city are said to have been quite accustomed to Ryukyuan personal and cultural presence, and most Edo period depictions of the city or its port show Ryukyuan ships in the harbor. Contact with Ryûkyû meant some considerable influence from Ryukyuan culinary culture, for example, and the predominance of sweet potatoes and pork in local cuisine stems from this Ryukyuan influence. However, for the [[Shimazu clan]] at least, if not for the common people of the city, Ryukyuan influence also meant the introduction of elements of elite Chinese culture. In contrast to [[Nagasaki]], where the Chinese influence was that of commoner merchants from southern China, Kagoshima enjoyed, indirectly via Ryûkyû, elite cultural influences from the Beijing Imperial Court itself. Chefs at the Ryûkyû-kan, for example, prepared food such as would be prepared in the Ryukyuan royal court, or the Chinese Imperial court.<ref>"Kagoshima wo aruku" 鹿児島を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.</ref>

Kagoshima was also home to the [[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]], a branch office of the [[government of the Ryukyu Kingdom]], and Ryukyuan officials are said to have wandered the city freely, at least at certain times; indeed, the people of the city are said to have been quite accustomed to Ryukyuan personal and cultural presence, and most Edo period depictions of the city or its port show Ryukyuan ships in the harbor. Contact with Ryûkyû meant some considerable influence from Ryukyuan culinary culture, for example, and the predominance of sweet potatoes and pork in local cuisine stems from this Ryukyuan influence. However, for the [[Shimazu clan]] at least, if not for the common people of the city, Ryukyuan influence also meant the introduction of elements of elite Chinese culture. In contrast to [[Nagasaki]], where the Chinese influence was that of commoner merchants from southern China, Kagoshima enjoyed, indirectly via Ryûkyû, elite cultural influences from the Beijing Imperial Court itself. Chefs at the Ryûkyû-kan, for example, prepared food such as would be prepared in the Ryukyuan royal court, or the Chinese Imperial court.<ref>"Kagoshima wo aruku" 鹿児島を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.</ref>

One of the chief central commercial districts of the city, today known as Tenmonkan, can be said to trace its history as such back to [[1615]], when [[Shimazu Iehisa]] designated forty-eight merchants, including fishmongers, salt sellers, and the like, to establish a market. Known originally as Nayashû (納屋衆), the market later came to be known as Nayanbaa (納屋馬場), and from the [[Meiji period]] up through 1935, when a new "Central Market" (''chûô ichiba'') was established, Nayanbaa remained the chief fish market for the city's residents. Today, Naya-dôri remains one of the major avenues in the broader Tenmonkan district, filled with shops, restaurants, and the like. The district takes its name from the [[Tenmonkan]], an astronomical observatory and research center originally begun as the Meijikan by [[Shimazu Shigehide]] in [[1779]]. At that time, the district was one of samurai residences, surrounded by high stone walls; reception halls known as the Hanaoka yashiki and Otsukiya were also located within the district.<ref>Signs and plaques on-site in Tenmonkan & Naya-dôri areas.</ref> During the Taishô period, Tenmonkan became the center of Taishô urban culture in Kagoshima, with cafés, jazz bars, and cinemas.<ref name=reimei/>

One of the chief central commercial districts of the city, today known as Tenmonkan, can be said to trace its history as such back to [[1615]], when [[Shimazu Iehisa]] designated forty-eight merchants, including fishmongers, salt sellers, and the like, to establish a market. Known originally as Nayashû (納屋衆), the market later came to be known as Nayanbaa (納屋馬場), and from the [[Meiji period]] up through 1935, when a new "Central Market" (''chûô ichiba'') was established, Nayanbaa remained the chief fish market for the city's residents. Today, Naya-dôri remains one of the major avenues in the broader Tenmonkan district, filled with shops, restaurants, and the like. The district takes its name from the [[Tenmonkan]], an astronomical observatory and research center originally begun as the Meijikan by [[Shimazu Shigehide]] in [[1779]]. At that time, the district was one of samurai residences, surrounded by high stone walls; reception halls known as the Hanaoka yashiki and Otsukiya were also located within the district.<ref>Signs and plaques on-site in Tenmonkan & Naya-dôri areas.</ref> During the Taishô period, Tenmonkan became the center of Taishô urban culture in Kagoshima, with cafés, jazz bars, and cinemas.<ref name=reimei/>

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