南九洲 鹿儿岛，樱岛，指宿

Coral珊瑚

鹿儿岛是我们此行日本的最后一站。与我们前面所见的番主不同，他们没有豪华的城，却是一个英雄辈出的城。“真正的防御在武士，而不在城墙。”鹿儿岛城（鹤丸城）是 岛津氏 与 萨摩藩 的主城，建于1601年前后。它不像其他日本名城那样高大华丽，而以朴实坚固著称，体现岛津家重武士、不重奢华的风格。如今仅存石墙、护城河与御楼门。

萨摩藩 真正成为“藩”的形式，是在1600年关原之战后、进入德川幕府时代开始的。

1602年，岛津家久 被德川家正式承认为萨摩、大隅、日向部分地区的统治者，萨摩藩由此确立，藩厅设于鹿儿岛城。

不过，统治当地的 岛津氏 其实更早，早在12世纪末镰仓时代便已进入南九州，后来逐渐统一鹿儿岛一带，因此岛津家统治这片土地前后长达约700年。

鹿儿岛（旧 萨摩藩）出了许多影响日本历史的人物，例如：

* 西乡隆盛

“最后的武士”、明治维新英雄

* 大久保利通

明治政府核心改革者、日本近代化推动者

* 小松带刀

萨长同盟的重要协调者

* 岛津义弘

战国名将、“鬼岛津”

* 东乡平八郎

日本“海军之父”、对马海战英雄

* 岛津齐彬

推动西化与工业改革的先驱藩主

因此鹿儿岛常被称为：“维新英雄之乡”。

There are two identical notes on the monuments at the birthplaces of Okubo and Saigo, two of the most important figures in Meiji Restoration. The note, written in 1890, is purely in Chinese characters. It is surprisingly modern for a Chinese reader today. It is much easier to read than a formal writing from China at the same time. Why?

There are probably several reasons. First, Chinese have adopted many Japanese words invented around that time as our own words. We feel their writing is modern because we have adopted many of their words. Second, our writing styles are similar. We reason more in our writings, as opposed to the old Chinese writings that relied heavily on the ancient authorities.

Today, Japanese have moved away from that style of writing. They need translation to modern version to understand the text. A Chinese like me, on the other hand, can understand and resonate with the text easily.

by Jing Chen

Where are the islands? By Jing Chen

Many Japanese places have island in their names. But many of them are not islands. What happened?

The Japanese word for island is shima. We have Hiroshima, Kashima, Yashima, Shimabara. These places are not islands today. But they were islands not long ago. For example, a famous battle was fought at Yashima at the year 1185. It was an island then, less than a thousand years ago.

Japanese landscape is often very steep, often bombarded by volcanoes and earthquakes. Many great changes of landscape are very recent. Shimabara was hit by volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis in 1792. That volcano, earthquakes and tsunamis killed over 15,000 people. A volcano eruption at Sakurajima in 1914 threw out so much lava. It connected the jima (shima) to the mainland.

Because of active geological activities, Japanese landscapes are very dynamic.

Kagoshima _by Jing Chen

Kagoshima is the south most major city in Japan. Being on the edge, it’s a natural catalyst for Japan’s change.

Being on geographical edge, it is also on geological edge. The region is full of volcanoes and hot springs, as is often the case along tectonic borders. This gives a sense of constant change, even eruptive changes, contrasting what we are led to believe the everlasting eternity of the current system.

The expansion, and the foreign expansion of the Kagoshima clan, or more precisely, the Satsuma clan, started early. In 1609, they conquered Ryukyu (琉球）. For many years, they were the only clan allowed to engage in international trade, gaining a great amount of wealth and outside experience. Interestingly, the conquest of Ryukyu was a hidden conquest, so the lucrative trade relation between China and Ryukyu could be maintained. One would wonder how much China’s wealth have gone to unknown parties from ancient times to today, due to arrogance and ignorance of the Chinese government.

The Kagoshima clan was the most important force in Meiji Restoration. Among the three Greats of Meiji Restoration, two were from Kagoshima. They were Saigo Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi, both born from Kajiya-cho, a tiny low class samurai neighborhood. Many key players in the early stage of Japan’s modernization drive were born in this tiny neighborhood, including Oyama and Togo, the greatest war heroes of Japan. In Russo Japanese war of 1905, Japan defeated Russia. This was the first time nonwhite defeated white in a major war in modern history. Togo and Oyama became folk heroes in the nonwhite world. Many Turkish boys born at that time were named Togo. Japanese people made the greatest contribution, and ultimate sacrifice, for making the world a more equal place. During WWII, whole Kagoshima was leveled by US bombing. Today, Kagoshima has almost no ancient buildings, only new buildings with ancient styles.

History is always written by the winners. Today, there is little mention of these great people who made the world a better place for the majority, though not for the ruling minority. But nostalgia runs deep among the locals. In particular, Saigo Takamori, who died as a failed rebel, has a strong emotional connection to many people.

Yesterday, we went to Ibusuki, a southern town at the Kagoshima area. Public transport is sporadic. We hired a tour taxi. The driver, a very old man, was very nice. When I mentioned Saigo Takamori to him, he became very friendly. He drove us to Eel Pond, which is not on the tour schedule. He said that Saigo once vacationed there with 13 dogs. As he drove along, he pointed to us the sculptures of the first, second, third, … dogs. Apparently, Saigo is very sacred to the locals, and to the driver. Then he showed us the house Saigo once stayed. The whole village is a giant steam field. Steam is everywhere. Locals use hot steam to cook. There is even a public steam kitchen for tourists to cook their food. The experience is truly amazing.