Sengan-en was built in the early Edo Period as a residence for the Shimazu family and passed down through generations as a daimyo garden.
The answer lies more than 150 years ago, during the turbulent years from the late Edo Period into the Meiji era, in a bold modernization effort known as the Shuseikan Project.
The 28th head of the Shimazu family, Shimazu Nariakira, was known for his broad vision and determination. At the time, Western powers, strengthened by the Industrial Revolution, were expanding into East Asia, posing a threat of colonization. Deeply concerned by this situation, Nariakira believed Japan needed to modernize as a unified nation, and he took the initiative himself.
His first step was to prepare for naval threats by producing iron cannons and Western-style ships. Immediately after becoming lord of Satsuma, he ordered the construction of a reverberatory furnace for casting cannons. The site chosen was the land adjacent to Sengan-en.
Soon, factories, shipyards, glass workshops, and even steam-engine research facilities were built around the furnace, forming a modern industrial complex unlike anything Japan had seen before. Nariakira’s vision extended beyond military power. He believed that fostering industry and building a strong, prosperous nation was the key to standing on equal terms with foreign powers.
The factory complex he named Shuseikan continued after his death and became a foundation of Japan’s modernization.
This history was later recognized internationally, and the site was registered as part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.”