​    The province of Kagoshima is one of the two main locations of EDO BLOOD.  It is situated on the southwest end of the Japanese island of Kyushu.  It is bordered by the Yellow Sea to the west, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, Okinawa Prefecture to the south and Kumamoto Prefecture to the north.  Mitsui sailed the Yellow Sea with The Captain on her way to China to train with Sung.

    Kagoshima’s climate is classified as subtropical, being cool and dry in the winter and hot and humid in the summer.  In her new home in China, the weather is one of the things Mitsui finds most difficult to adjust to.
    Kagoshima is a large, wealthy province with a very busy port, but what the region is most famous for is the Sakurajima volcano.  In Mistui’s time, the last known eruption was in the late 1400s so, to her, it’s just a large mountain range.

    The Kagoshima of Mitsui’s time is also known for some of the fiercest warriors in all of Japan and the best of these were in the service of Daimyo Shimazu.  Kenji Natsuke, Mitsui’s sworn enemy was the Commander of the Daimyo’s Guard, in the service of Daimyo Shimazu.  A combination of several factors, including Kenji’s legendary power and skill (even before he became a vampire) and Daimyo Shimazu’s wisdom (on and off the battlefield) helped Kagoshima Prefecture rise to the height of wealth and splendor during Japan’s Edo Period.