When people think about Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture, what usually comes to mind are the world heritage site of Yakushima, Tanegashima Space Center, Mt. Kirishima, Sakurajima, and more! However, you may want to learn about more than just natural landmarks! To give you something new to talk about, we will give you a crash course on famous celebrities from Kagoshima! Women from Akita Prefecture and Okinawa are famous for their beauty across Japan, but there are also many more famous people from Kagoshima than a lot of people are aware of!
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1.) Sakura Miyasaki
Sakura Miyasaki began her career as a trainee for idol group HKT48 in 2011 and later joined the Korean-Japanese idol group Iz*One in 2018. She has mainly worked in Fukuoka, Tokyo and now South Korea, but when she still lived in Kagoshima, she was already attending a musical school! You can purchase from Iz*One’s official Japanese store through Buyee. If you are a fan of Sakura Miyasaki or Iz*One, we recommend you check out the link below.
2.) Takehiko Inoue
In Japan there is nearly nobody who does not know Kagoshima Prefecture-born manga creator Takehiko Inoue, and there are fans worldwide of his most famous work, ‘Slam Dunk’! This basketball manga covers the challenges and triumphs of its bad boy protagonist, Hanamichi Sakuragi. The Japanese circulation of the series has exceeded 120 million copies! You can see more Slam Dunk merchandise below.
3.) Mika Nakashima
The song ‘Yuki no Hana’ is well-known across Japan, and the singer of that song, Mika Nakajima, is also from Kagoshima! She was raised in Kagoshima until she graduated junior high school, and then decided to move to Hukuoka to pursue her dreams of a modeling and singing career! The link below features many of her CDs and other goods.
4.) Princess Mononoke
Although ‘Princess Mononoke’ not a person who actually exists, it is said that the models for the mystical forests featured in the Studio Ghibli movie that bears the same name are the forests of the island of Yakushima, in Kagoshima Prefecture. The Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine is a nature park in Yakushima where you can see these same forests for yourself!
5.) Yuki Kashiwagi
As a current member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, and a former member of other groups NMB48 and NGT48, Yuki Kashiwagi may currently be the most famous person from Kagoshima. Fans of Yuki Kashiwagi should click below to see more AKB48 idol merch!
Welcome to the World of Kagoshima
You’ve read about many of the renowned names that got their start in Kagoshima. This is only a sample of the culture of Kagoshima however! If you continue to study it more, we are sure that you will not be disappointed!
