The works were tremendously difficult and 51 samurai died and 33 people died of disease during the construction works. Hirata Yukie committed seppuku for the great burden to the Satsuma han. Ironically, floods increased after the works and modern technology completed the works in the Meiji period under the direction of Johannis de Rijke (1842–1913) a Dutch civil engineer and advisor to Japanese government. Toward the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, namely the bakumatsu in which the Shimazu clan played an important role, there have been a chain of events such, bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the Anglo-Satsuma War (Satsu-Ei Sensō), which took place on 15–17 August 1863 during the Late Tokugawa shogunate, Meiji Restoration (1868), abolition of the han system (1871) and Satsuma Rebellion (1877). In 1872, the Ryukyu islands were made the Ryukyu han. The Sword Abolishment Edict and the abolishment of the Samurai system were issued in 1876, and samurai were angered and became furious. Saigō Takamori, the hero and leader of Meiji Restoration left the central Meiji Government and returned to Kagoshima, with dissatisfied samurai. In 1877, Satsuma Rebellion army went up to Kumamoto, but could not invade the Kumamoto Castle and Saigō committed seppuku at his native place Kagoshima. In 1883, Kagoshima Prefecture was founded after the re-establishment of Miyazaki Prefecture. In 1914, Mt. Sakurajima erupted and the island of Sakurajima connected with the Osumi Peninsula. On June 17, 1945, Kagoshima city was attacked by B-29 bombers with 2316 persons killed, while in the same year, suicide attack planes departed from Kagoshima Prefecture. At the end of the war, islands southernmore than 30 parallel went into American control. In 1953, Amami islands were returned to Kagoshima Prefecture. In 1972, the Kamoike Airport was abolished and a new airport was established in Kirishima City. In 1993, 1993 Kagoshima Heavy Rain occurred, with the death toll of 71, but about 2,500 people who were either in 1200 cars or buses, including those on the trains and inhabitants were saved by fishing boats and ferries which carried them to Kagoshima through the Sakurajima Bay.