<prompt> Translate the following text to EnglishKumamoto ni mji wa kale wa ngome ambayo ilikuwa na umuhimu mkubwa kwa Tokugawa shogun kama counterweight kwa uwepo wa hasira huru Shimazu ukoo chini katika Kagoshima.  <response>: Halfway back along Kyushus west coast, Kumamoto is an old castle town that was of considerable importance to the Tokugawa shoguns as a counterweight to the presence of the annoyingly independent Shimazu clan down in Kagoshima. 