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Satsuma (薩摩国; -no Kuni) was an
old province of
Japan that is now the western half of present day
Kagoshima prefecture on the island of
Kyushu. Its abbreviation is Sasshū (薩州).
In
1871 with the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of
prefectures (Haihan Chiken) after the
Meiji Restoration, the provinces of Satsuma and Osumi were combined to
eventually establish Kagoshima prefecture.
Satsuma was one of the main provinces that rose in opposition to the
Tokugawa shogunate in the mid-1800's. Because of this, the
oligarchy that came into power after the "Meiji
Restoration" of
1868 had a strong representation from the Satsuma province, with
leaders such as
Okubo Toshimichi and
Saigo Takamori taking up key government positions.
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