Japan · Kagoshima-ken · Kagoshima
Murasakibaru, Kagoshima — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Murasakibaru is a chōchō of Kagoshima, running 1- to 7-chōme on a shirasu plateau by the university's Kōrimoto campus, a housing estate from 1956.
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Where to stay in Murasakibaru
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Murasakibaru is one of Kagoshima's hill estates, counted with Kōtokujidai, Sakuragaoka, Hoshigamine and Seiryō on the plateaus above the city. Tagamidai lies north, Tōso from the north round to the east, and Usuki from the south round to the west. Kagoshima Television has its head office here.
About Murasakibaru
What are the main landmarks in Murasakibaru?
Kagoshima Television keeps its head office at the centre of Murasakibaru, and the prefecture's television and FM transmitters stand with it. Three city schools sit in the estate: Murasakibaru Junior High in the north, Murasakibaru Elementary in the southeast and Nishi-Murasakibaru Elementary in the southwest. Nishi-Murasakibaru Junior High is next door in Nishi-Murasakibaru-chō.
What is the history of Murasakibaru?
The name is said to come from the plain at the boundary of the villages of Tagami, Kōrimoto and Usuki. Farming came early, and the plateau was fought over from the middle ages: Shimazu Ujihisa met Hatakeyama Kuninaga here in 1364, and Shimazu Tadayoshi beat Shimazu Sanehisa on the same ground in 1537. The largest battle of the Satsuma Rebellion in the Kagoshima area, the Battle of Murasakibaru, was fought near here in 1877.
Development began in 1956. Murasakibaru became a chōchō in 1970.
Where is Murasakibaru?
Murasakibaru sits on a shirasu plateau southwest of the Kōrimoto campus of Kagoshima University. Tagamidai lies to the north, Tōso from the north round to the east, and Minamikōrimoto-chō, Minamishin-machi and Hinode-chō to the east. Usuki and Hiroki close the west.
More areas in Kagoshima
Updated September 2026