Editing Satsuma Province (section)

==History==
[[File:Tea Storage Jar with Paulownia and Thunder Pattern LACMA M.2007.130a-b.jpg|thumb|Satsuma earthenware tea storage jar (''chatsubo'') with paulownia and thunder pattern, late Edo period, circa 1800-1850]]
Satsuma's provincial capital was [[Satsumasendai, Kagoshima|Satsumasendai]]. During the [[Sengoku period]], Satsuma was a [[fief]] of the [[Shimazu family|Shimazu]] ''[[daimyō]]'', who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their [[Kagoshima Castle|castle]] at [[Kagoshima, Kagoshima|Kagoshima]] city. They were the initial patrons of [[Satsuma ware]], which was later widely exported to the West.

In 1871, with the [[Abolition of the han system|abolition of feudal domains]] and the establishment of [[prefectures]] after the [[Meiji Restoration]], the provinces of Satsuma and [[Ōsumi Province|Ōsumi]] 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 19th century. Because of this, the [[Meiji oligarchy|oligarchy]] that came into power after the [[Meiji Restoration]] of 1868 had a strong representation from the Satsuma province, with leaders such as [[Ōkubo Toshimichi]] and [[Saigō Takamori]] taking up key government positions.

Satsuma is well known for its production of [[sweet potato]]es, known in Japan as 薩摩芋 (Satsuma-Imo or "Satsuma potato"). Satsuma mandarins (known as [[Citrus unshiu|''mikan'']] in Japan) do not specifically originate from Satsuma but were imported into the West through this province in the Meiji era.