KagoshimaLeisure

Kagoshima Shimazu Family Cemetery (鹿児島島津家墓所)

Flow of the course

About 75 min here

About 15 min to the next stop

Next stop: Soak your feet and ease your fatigue at a communal bathhouse fed by sulfur springs beneath Shibi Shrine

About this spot

A cemetery in Satsuma-cho's Toroi district, remaining on the former grounds of Sokoji (宗功寺), the ancestral temple of the Miyanojo Shimazu family. In 2020, it became a designated cultural property forming part of the nationally designated historic site 'Kagoshima Shimazu Family Cemetery.' It holds 33 graves of successive family heads and their relatives, starting with the 2nd-generation head Shimazu Tadanaga (島津忠長), who governed this area as the Miyanojo jito (local administrator). The sight of massive gravestones known as sekibyo (stone mausoleums) lined up in neat rows is striking, and the site ranks among the largest of its kind in Kyushu. It's a place where families can take in the quiet atmosphere unique to this samurai-history-steeped ground. In summer, when the greenery is at its brightest, simply walking in the shade of the trees feels refreshingly cool.

Tips

About 5 minutes by car from central Satsuma-cho. The grounds have some uneven terrain, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Don't forget to stay hydrated in summer.