List of Famous people born in Kagoshima Prefecture

Count Makino Nobuaki was a Japanese politician and imperial court official. As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito’s Chief counselor on the monarch’s position in Japanese society and policymaking. In this capacity, he significantly contributed to the militarization of Japanese society by organizing support for ultranationalist groups and swaying Hirohito to sanction the Imperial Army’s unauthorized aggression in China. Even after his retirement in 1935, he remained a close advisor to the throne through the end of World War II.

Shimazu Yoshihiro was the second son of Shimazu Takahisa and the younger brother of Shimazu Yoshihisa. Traditionally believed to be the seventeenth head of the Shimazu clan, he was a skilled general during the Sengoku period who greatly contributed to the unification of Kyūshū.

Marshal-Admiral the Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō, served as a gensui or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. As Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he successfully confined the Russian Pacific naval forces to Port Arthur before winning a decisive victory over a relieving fleet at Tsushima in May 1905. Western journalists called Tōgō "the Nelson of the East".

Shimazu Tadayoshi was a Japanese daimyō of the late Edo period, who ruled the Satsuma Domain as its 12th daimyō. He succeeded his father, Hisamitsu, in 1887. In 1897, he got sick and died, and was succeeded by his son, Shimazu Tadashige, who would be the 13th and last daimyō of Satsuma Domain.

Isamu Akasaki is a Japanese engineer and physicist, specializing in the field of semiconductor technology and Nobel Prize laureate, best known for inventing the bright gallium nitride (GaN) p-n junction blue LED in 1989 and subsequently the high-brightness GaN blue LED as well.

Zusho Hirosato was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served as karō of the Satsuma Domain. He was also known as Shōzaemon (笑左衛門).

Yumi Nakashima is a Japanese vocalist, guitarist and singer-songwriter. She was a guitarist, vocalist and composer in the Japanese rock band GO!GO!7188 under the name; Yuu (ユウ). She is also a songwriter, composer, guitarist and vocalist in the band Chirinuruwowaka. On March 1, 2004, she released the solo album Ten no Mikaku under the name Yuu (ゆう).

Manabu Kitabeppu , is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, the first-round draft pick of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1975 and one of the most famous Japanese right-handed pitchers. He was known as the "Precision Machine" because from his perfect control pitching, and his nickname was Pei-San (ペイさん).

Kōichi Shiota is a Japanese politician currently serving as the governor of Kagoshima Prefecture.

Yuji Iiyama is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and current coach for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played with the Fighters from 2001 to 2017, announcing his retirement in September 2017.