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Kagoshima (鹿児島市, Kagoshima-shi, Japanese: , Satsugū dialect: かごっま, Kagomma) is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
The name Kagoshima (鹿児島) literally means deer child island or young-deer island. In the Kagoshima dialect, local names for the city include “かごっま (Kagomma), “かごんま (Kagonma)”, “かごいま (Kagoima)” and “かごひま (Kagohima)”.

Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the Naples of the Eastern world for its bay location (Aira Caldera), hot climate, and emblematic stratovolcano, Sakurajima. The city was officially founded on April 1, 1889.

Kagoshima Prefecture (also known as the Satsuma Domain) was the center of the territory of the Shimazu clan for many centuries. It was a busy political and commercial port city throughout the medieval period and into the Edo period (1603–1868) when it formally became the capital of the Shimazus fief, the Satsuma Domain. The official emblem is a modification of the Shimazus kamon designed to resemble the character 市 (shi, city). Satsuma remained one of the most powerful and wealthiest domains in the country throughout the period, and though international trade was banned for much of this period, the city remained quite active and prosperous. It served not only as the political center for Satsuma, but also for the semi-independent vassal kingdom of Ryūkyū; Ryūkyūan traders and emissaries frequented the city, and a special Ryukyuan embassy building was established to help administer relations between the two polities and to house visitors and emissaries. Kagoshima was also a significant center of Christian activity in Japan prior to the imposition of bans against that religion in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Kagoshima was the birthplace and scene of the last stand of Saigō Takamori, a legendary figure in Meiji Era Japan in 1877 at the end of the Satsuma Rebellion.

The 1914 eruption of the volcano across the bay from the city spread ash throughout the municipality, but relatively little disruption ensued.

Kagoshima Prefecture has a distinct and rich food culture.
Popular cuisine incorporating local agriculture include Sweet Potato ,kibinago sashimi (silver-striped herring), buri Amberjack, kampachi yellowtail, Black Label Products such as kuro-ushi Wagyu beef, kuro-buta Berkshire pork dishes, and kuro-Satsuma jidori chicken (sometimes served as raw, chicken sashimi); smoked eel, keihan, and miki (fermented rice milk consumed among residents of the Amami Islands). Satsuma-age, or deep-fried fish cake, comes in great variety in Kagoshima.

Hyōroku mochi Bontan Ame (ボンタンアメ), Satsuma Imo Caramel (さつまいもキャラメル), and green tea-flavored Hyōroku mochi, Minami shirokuma shaved ice desserts, karukan (sweet cakes made from steamed yams and rice flour), jambo-mochi, kokutō brown sugar from the Amami Islands, getanha brown sugar cake, etc.

Points of interest:
Ishibashi Park
Kagoshima Aquarium
Kagoshima Botanical Garden
Museum of the Meiji Restoration
Sengan-en Garden
Tenmonkan shopping arcade















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Sakurajima and Kagoshima city in Japan