In samurai heydays, the Satsuma domain was the power base of the Shimazu clan, a strong opponent of the Shogun far away in Edo/Tokyo. To prevent rebellion, the Shogun forbade the Shimazu’s to build castles. Instead, they invented the fumoto, fortified samurai neighbourhoods that were spread out all over the territory. The Shogun wasn’t done with Satsuma and when Edo came to an end it was to a large extent thanks to the intellectuals and warriors of Satsuma. To this day many bukeyashiki samurai residences remain in Kagoshima, the modern name for Satsuma.