SATSUMA, a province in the s. of Japan. on the island of. Kiushitt; pop. 1,200,000. The ancient. possessions of the hereditary lords of Satsuma extended over a large part of .Tiushiti, but from the 16th c. their fief was greatly restricted. They were humbled by T.Iiko, and again by Iyeyasu. In 1609 they conquerzd and occupied the Loo Choo islands. Alwayb: rot:ye and jealous of the Yedo usurpation, they were the first to rise against it in the restoration of 1868, since which time, having handed over their power to tie mikado, their lands have formed the Kagoshima. ken or prefecture, after the name of their chief cite, at which Xavier first landed in 1540, and which in 1863 was bombarded by a British fleet, in revenge for the killing of a British subject near redo, by men in the procession of Shimadzu Saburo. An indemnity of £100,000 was paid the British.
Is 1877 about 30,000 rebels, mostly from Satsuma, actuated by the idea that Japan was dishonored by not going to war with Corea, and that the mikado's ministers in Tokic were ruining the country ny extravagance and or•ression, rose in arms against the impe rial government. To suppress this rebellion cost the nation 20,000 lives and ii50,000,000. The surface of Satsuma is mountainous, and the ,soil not very good: but manufactures and commerce flourish, and the mines are rich. Satsuma faience has long Levu noted for the rainless of its gilding and painted decoration. The white clay was first discovered in 1624, and the characteristic decoration in gold and bright colors began Shout 1690; Nearly all the matchless ceramic triumphs of Satsuma have been the work of Corean captives or their descendents.