Satsuma Domain

Kagoshima Domain
(1869–1871)
鹿児島藩

Satsuma Domain
(1602–1869)
薩摩藩
Domain of Japan
1602–1871
Former site of Kagoshima Castle in Kagoshima
Flag of Satsuma Domain
Flag[a]
Mon of the Shimazu of Satsuma Domain
Mon of the Shimazu

Maximum extent of Satsuma Domain during the Sengoku period, 1586
CapitalKagoshima Castle
Government
Daimyō 
• 1602–1638
Shimazu Iehisa (first)
• 1858–1871
Shimazu Tadayoshi (last)
Historical eraEdo period
• Established
1602
1871
Contained within
 • ProvinceSatsuma, Ōsumi, Hyūga
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Satsuma Province
Ōsumi Province
Kagoshima Prefecture
Miyakojō Prefecture
Today part ofWhole:
Kagoshima Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture
Miyazaki Prefecture
Partial:
Fukuoka Prefecture
Oita Prefecture
Map of Japan, 1789—the Han system affected cartography
A 150-pound Satsuma cannon, cast in 1849. It was mounted on Fort Tenpozan at Kagoshima. Caliber: 290 mm, length: 4220 mm

The Satsuma Domain (薩摩藩, Satsuma-han Ryukyuan: Sachima-han), briefly known as the Kagoshima Domain (鹿児島藩, Kagoshima-han), was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871.

The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, located in the south of the island of Kyushu. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the Tozama daimyō of the Shimazu clan, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in the provinces of Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system and its value peaked at 770,000 koku, the second-highest domain in Japan after the Kaga Domain.[1][2][3]

The Satsuma Domain was one of the most powerful and prominent of Japan's domains during the Edo period, conquering the Ryukyu Kingdom as a vassal state after the invasion of Ryukyu in 1609, and clashing with the British during the bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863 after the Namamugi Incident. The Satsuma Domain formed the Satchō Alliance with the rival Chōshū Domain during the Meiji Restoration and became instrumental in the establishment of the Empire of Japan. The Kagoshima-han was dissolved in the abolition of han and establishment of ken in 1871 by the Meiji government when Kagoshima-han became Kagoshima-ken, with some parts of the domain separated as part of Miyakonojō Prefecture (Miyakonojō-ken). The first prefectural governor of Kagoshima was Ōyama Tsunayoshi until 1877 when he was executed in the Satsuma Rebellion. Since the 1880s, the former territory of Kagoshima Domain is now part of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefecture which was ultimately split from Kagoshima in 1883.


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