Ibusuki

Ibusuki occupied the southern Satsuma Peninsula, where the districts around Ibusuki, Yamagawa and Imaizumi formed part of the Shimazu domains. In 1592 the importance of Yamagawa harbour led to the separation of Fukumoto and Narikawa villages from Ibusuki district to create Yamagawa district. Port administration could thus reshape the boundaries of the surrounding countryside.

A further reorganisation followed in 1744, when the Imaizumi Shimazu house was established as one of the domain's highest-ranking collateral families. Such houses could provide an heir if the ruling Shimazu line lacked a successor. Villages from Ibusuki and Ei districts were assigned to the new Imaizumi territory. In 1754 the family built a residence facing the sea at Iwamoto. The coast consequently became both a setting for harbour administration and a seat of aristocratic authority within the Satsuma domain.