The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, located in the south of the island of Kyushu. The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the "tozama" "daimyō" of the Shimazu clan, who had ruled the Kagoshima area since the 1200s, and covered territory in the provinces of Satsuma, Ōsumi, and Hyūga. The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the "Kokudaka" system and its value peaked at 770,000 "koku", the second highest domain in Japan after the Kaga Domain.