Shimazu Nariakira cherished Sengan-en and built Japan's first modern industrial complex, the Shuseikan, on the adjacent land. He launched reverberatory furnaces, blast furnaces, and glassworks in succession, driving Satsuma's modernization. As the enlightened lord who discovered future Meiji Restoration leaders Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, this garden is also the greatest stage for understanding Nariakira's legacy.