Former Shuseikan Reverberatory Furnace Site

The Shuseikan Project was launched in 1851 by Shimazu Nariakira, the 28th head of the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma domain. Blast furnaces and reverberatory furnaces for making iron, a cotton cloth spinning factory, a glass factory and other facilities were built, and a wide range of projects were carried out that were the forerunners of industrialization during the Meiji period. Japan's industrialization was achieved with astonishing speed ahead of other Asian regions, and it was Kagoshima, as well as the region centered on Kyushu and Yamaguchi, that promoted it. In 2015, with the aim of spreading awareness and protecting the value of this precious heritage, it was registered as a World Cultural Heritage site as "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining." In Kagoshima, the "Former Shuseikan" and "Terayama charcoal kiln site""Sekiyoshi Waterway" have been registered as constituent assets.

The remains of the foundation of the former Shuseikan reverberatory furnace were built to cast cannons. Fuel was burned and the heat and flames were reflected off the walls to melt the iron.

Details

Tel 099-247-1511
Address 9700-1 Yoshino-cho, Kagoshima City (inside the scenic Sengan-en Garden)

Access

People who viewed this page also viewed these articles: