Kagoshima Prefecture is located in the southernmost tip of Japan on Kyushu Island. Only about a third of its 1.6 million people live in the capital, yet Kagoshima is the center of its economy and culture. Government administration for the city and surrounding municipality has been conducted at this city hall since 1937. Of greater interest is the history of this site. In 1877, the imperial forces were headquartered here at a rice granary previously operated by the Satsuma Domain. When the Satsuma army tried to retake it, their defeat marked the end of the Satsuma Rebellion and the samurai while securing the rule of the Meiji Restoration that controlled Japan until 1912.
