The government approved of the direct rule of the prefecture over Amami Islands even after the establishment of Kagoshima Prefecture, in order to raise fund for restoration of Kagoshima's mainland, which had been ruined by the Seinan War.
奄美諸島では鹿児島県設置後も、西南戦争で荒廃した県本土の復興資金調達のため、県の直接統治が政府により承認されていた。