1 / 4Shochu & Satsuma kiriko glassPhoto: Dime Gontar from Kiev, Ukraine / CC BY 2.0
Tap a photo to see it large. 4 photographs, every one credited.
Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
Sweet-potato shochu is this prefecture’s wine, and Satsuma kiriko — deep-cut colored crystal once made for the lords — is the take-home that outlives the bottle.
- It is not only a photo stop: glass that died for a century, and pottery made by prisoners of war.
- 4 hr door to door needs a 6-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
- No single published ride covers this one. Budget for a taxi both ways, or fold it into a guided day.
Why Shochu & Satsuma kiriko glass is famous
Glass that died for a century, and pottery made by prisoners of war
Satsuma kiriko is cut glass in coloured overlay, developed under the Shimazu in the 1850s, destroyed along with the domain workshops in the 1860s, and revived from surviving pieces only in 1985. The signature is a gradation in the cut edge that machine glass cannot reproduce. Kagoshima ships more shochu than anywhere in Japan except neighbouring Miyazaki.
One craft was killed by a British bombardment and rebuilt in 1985 by reverse-engineering museum specimens. The other was founded by Korean potters brought here against their will in 1598, and their descendants are still working.
Around eighty, as prisoners of the Korean campaigns; the Miyama kiln is founded
State industry under Shimazu Nariakira, alongside the cannon foundry
The patronage that funded the glass begins to unravel
The glass works is damaged; production later ceases and the technique is lost
The kiriko glassworks and its shop sit next to Sengan-en, so the garden visit covers both. Miyama's kilns need a car and half a day.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day timed from the official timetables, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~4h round tripSakurajima by ferry
An active volcano commuted to by city ferry every 20 minutes.
See the detail
See · ~4h with bus/taxiSengan-en garden
The Shimadzu lords built their garden so Sakurajima itself is the backdrop — borrowed scenery at its most audacious.
See the detail
Eat · ~2.5h via shuttleShirokuma at Tenmonkan Mujaki
The original “polar bear” shaved ice — condensed milk, fruit, a face you will photograph before you eat it.
See the detail