Kagoshima

Kagoshima lies on a sheltered bay in southern Kyushu, facing the volcanic island of Sakurajima. The Shimazu made the town their seat and ruled a domain extending across Satsuma, Ōsumi and part of Hyūga. In 1549 the Jesuit Francis Xavier landed here and was received by Shimazu Takahisa, the first Jesuit mission to Japan. Soon after the Battle of Sekigahara, around 1601, Shimazu Iehisa began building Kagoshima Castle. In 1609 his forces invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom, bringing it under Satsuma's control while its rulers continued to maintain relations with China.