SATSUMA STUDENTS DISPATCH PROJECT:
Simultaneously promoting “Global Human
Resources Training for Young People”, “Cultivationof a Love of Hometown”, and “InternationalExchange with the UK” using the great
achievements of our predecessors as aspringboard
Background to the Project
Global human resources training coming
out of Kagoshima, the region that built thefoundation for modern Japan
Kagoshima Prefecture is the home of Saigo
Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, statesmen
who made great achievements in theestablishment of the Meiji Restoration—thefoundation of modern Japan. With 2018
marking the 150th anniversary of the Meiji
Restoration, to strengthen initiatives such asrelaying Kagoshima’s appeal to the world andtraining human resources who will become
future leaders, Kagoshima Prefecture,
tourism industry related enterprises, andeconomic organisations have joined together
to establish the “Meiji Restoration 150th
Anniversary Project Committee” and hold adiverse array of more than 500 events andpromotions.
Of these, one project of particular note is
the “Satsuma Students Dispatch Project”,
through which high school students travel tothe UK in a commemoration of the history of
the 19 students who were dispatched to theUK in the final days of the Tokugawa
Shogunate.

Kagoshima Prefecturewith local young people, thereby vicariously
experiencing the efforts and achievements oftheir predecessors.
1. Dispatch Destination: UK (Camden Boroughin London, Manchester, etc.)
2. No. of Tour Participants: 19 (15 high school
students and 4 chaperones)
3. Dispatch Period: 28th July (Sat) – 6th August(Mon), 2018
4. Programme Details(1) Visits to University College London(UCL)2 and other sites(2) Local activities (following the footstepsof the Satsuma Students, courtesy callsto Camden Council Office and otherrelated organisations, tours of cuttingedge fields led by the UK, exchange
meetings with young British people,homestays, etc.)(3) Follow-up after return to Japan(preparation of report, participation inprojects related to the 150th
Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration)(4) Post-trip training (Debriefing meeting,etc.)
1Participation in FY2019: 3 high school
students; 1 chaperone
2A university with which Japan has deep
historical ties. Because this university had noenrollment restrictions based on gender,religion, or race, many Japanese students
studied there during the final days of theTokugawa Shogunate through the Meiji
Restoration.
Even today, records of the “SatsumaStudents” remain in the school register andthere is a monument to them on theuniversity campus.

Project Aims
The project aims to nurture global humanresources who will lead Kagoshima Prefecturein the future, as well as deepen exchange
between Kagoshima and the UK.
Project Outline (FY2018 Program Details1)
Over a ten-day period, high school
students trace the footprints of the “SatsumaStudents” in the UK and undertake exchange1

Kagoshima has friendship agreements—aswell as the staff of the UK Satsuma Domain(now the Zaiei Kagoshima Kenjinkai).

Visit to University College London
Courtesy call on the Mayor of Camden

Features1. Simultaneously
cultivating
youngpeople’s international sensibilities andlove of their hometown while unravelingthe history of their home prefectureHigh school students, who are the sameage as the “Satsuma Students” at the timeof their study abroad, trace the footstepsof their predecessors and participate inexchanges with young local people,
thereby cultivating not only theirinternational sensibilities but also theirinterest in and affection for their own
hometown.
2. Further deepening friendship between
Kagoshima and the UK throughrewarding partnerships with Britishcounterparts.
A rewarding programme was achieved
through cooperation with Camden Boroughin London, Manchester City, and University
College London (UCL)—with which

At the Science and Industry Museum inManchester
Results of the Project
Enhancement
ofparticipants’international sensibilities and the realisationof a deepening love for their home prefecture
At the debriefing meeting following thegroup’s return to Japan, the high school
students made comments such as “Having
gained an understanding of the efforts andachievements of the Satsuma Students, I
strongly felt that this time we should be theones to encourage the development offriendship” and “I intend to work hard andbecome a person who is capable of playing anactive role on the world stage”, indicating thatthe trip had provided the high school students
2with an opportunity to consider their own
future paths and boosted their motivation to
devote themselves to their studies.

Contact
Division in Charge: International Affairs
Division
Phone: ＋81-99-286-2217
E-mail: kokusaiseisaku@pref.kagoshima.lg.jp

Issues and Responses
What form should exchange take during andafter the COVID-19 pandemic?
Due to the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, the project could not be carried out
in FY2020. However, discussions are currently
being held with local government agencies
and other organisations in the UK regarding
measures to enable the “Satsuma Students”
exchange programs between Kagoshima andthe UK to continue in future.

Key Terms◆Meiji Restoration
Facing external pressure from Westerncountries to open its doors to trade in the mid1800s, the greatest issue for Japan wasmaintaining its independence as a nation. To
achieve this, Japanese people sought totransform their country from a decentralised
state under the Shogunate system, building aunified nation through centralisation. TheSatsuma Domain played a central role in thismovement, working together with the Choshu
Domain to establish a new government
centred on the emperor and overthrowing theTokugawa Shogunate in 1868. This series ofevents is known collectively as the “MeijiRestoration”.
◆Satsuma Students
Strongly impacted by the Bombardment ofKagoshima (August 15–17, 1863), in 1865 theSatsuma Domain dispatched 19 envoys andstudents to the UK aboard the steamship
Australian with the aim of adopting aspects ofWestern culture and modernising the domain.
These students wrote back to Japan fromcountries throughout Europe detailing theresults of their studies and information about
the situations in different countries, providing
suggestions for the direction in which thedomain should proceed. On their return toJapan, the students became driving forces forthe modernisation of Japan centred in fields
such as diplomacy, business, and education.

Future Developments
Kagoshima Prefecture is aiming to further
deepen exchange with the UK in the future
based on Kagoshima’s history.
In addition to the “Satsuma Students,”
Kagoshima Prefecture has other historicaloverseas connections, such as the visit by theMayor of Manchester to elementary schools
in Minamitane Town (2019), a relationshipthat stems from the Ingi-chickens that werebrought to Kagoshima by sailors on board theBritish ship the Drumeltan, which ran agrounddue to strong winds off Tanegashima Island.
In the future, Kagoshima intends toinvigorate its exchange with the UK bypromoting similar exchange programmes thatare based on historical events.
Reference URLs
http://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/kohokocho/kouhoushi/kohosi/gurakago/h30/documents/68
694_20181210094113-1.pdf(Kagoshima Prefecture Newsletter Gurafu
Kagoshima (November 2018 issue): available
in Japanese only)
https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/reimeikan/josetsu/theme/kinsei/paris/index.html(Kagoshima Prefecture Official Website“Students studying Abroad in Britain and theParis Exposition” is available in Japanese withmultilingual translation services provided)
http://ssmuseum.jp/contents/en/(SATSUMA STUDENTS MUSEUM)
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