文明３年(1471)から10年の間に5回もの噴火が記録されています。なかでも文明8年（1476）の9月12日の噴火が最も大きく、桜島の東側黒神付近から溶岩が噴出しました。この噴火で島の南西部に新しい島ができ、桜島本島とつながり今の燃崎ができました。沖小島や烏島も当時溶岩が湧き出してできた島と伝えられています。

Records show that during the third(1471) and tenth (1478) year of the Bunmei era, Sakurajia erupted voilently five times. On September 12, in the eight year (1476) of the Bunmei era, the largest eruption occurred. Lava gushed out of the east side of Sakurajima, near the Kurokami district. In this eruption, new islands and Moezakiwas created and Sakurajima joined itself to the mainland. This area is now known as Moezaki. It has been said that Okikojima and Karasujima were created at that time.

安永8　(1779)年10月1日、南岳の南側中腹から爆発が起こり、井戸水が沸騰、海水は紫色に変わり、激しい鳴動が小石や灰を一面に飛ばしました。あたりは真っ暗、火山雷まで引き起こり、支社は140人余りに及びました。噴火口は高免と古里の2ヶ所で当時の模様を描いた絵が残されています。
この噴火で海底噴火や隆起が起こったため、６つの島が現れました。現在でも残っているのは新島(燃島)、岩ばかりの硫黄島、獅子島、中之島といった島々です。この噴火で、住民たちは宮崎県の山田町谷頭（たにがしら）などへ移住しました。谷頭には30数家が移り住み、十字路の一角に移住の記念碑が建っています。高さ２ｍばかりの粗末な自然石で、正面には”しまうつりの碑”、左側には安永8年に桜島が噴火したこと、裏には移住者の氏名が刻まれています。桜田、桜森、島森、新島と桜島に縁のある姓で、明治になって農民も姓が許されるようになったとき桜島を懐かしく思って付けられたのでしょう。記念碑の根元には桜島の溶岩が積んであります。

On October 1, eighth year (1779) of the Anei era, an explosion from the southern side of Minami-dake caused well waters to boil and the sea turned violent. The rumbling from the volcano was tremendous. Small rocks and ash spewed out Of the volcano. The whole area grew pitch black and volcanic lightning could be seen. More than 140 people died in this eruption. Pictures drawn at the time of Komen and Furusato, the two areas where the eruption started can still be seen today. This explosion caused the ocean bed to rise and created six new islands. Of these six islands, Shinjima (also know as moejima), the rocky island Ioujima, Shishijima, and Nakanoshima still exist today. Due to this eruption, many residents of Sakurajima relocated. 30 families are recorded to have moved to Yamada town's Tanigashira district in Miyazaki Prefecture. A monument in memory of the relocation stands on the crossroad of Tnigashira. The front of the 2m tall simple natural stone monument reads,"Memory of the relocation."the story of the Anei eruption is carved into the stone. On the back side are the names of those who relocated to the area. Before the Meiji era people who were in the lower class were not given surnames. When the farmers were able to choose their names in the Meiji era, the relocated people chose names such as Sakurada, Sakuramori, Shimamori, and Shinjima to remind them of their homeland.

　文明溶岩は桜島の東と西へ流出し、安永溶岩は島の北東部と南側へ流れ出しました。大正溶岩はおびただしい量が特徴で、島の南東部と西に流出しました。桜島の溶岩は比較的流速が遅く、海岸に達するまで２〜３日を要しました。海中に突入した溶岩は瀬戸海峡を埋め、桜島と大隅半島を陸続きにしました。
　島には、京都大学防災研究所付属桜島火山観測所があり、地殻変動やタイダルゲージング（潮位の観測）、地面測定などトップレベルの観測をしています。

The Bunmei lave flowed from the east and west sides of Sakurajima. The Anei lava floweddown the north eastern and southern sides of the island. The Taisho lava, characterised by its vast amount, flowed from Sakurajima in this eruption was relatively slow and took two or three days to reach the sea. It engulfed the Seto Strait and joined Sakurajima to the Osumi peninsula. The Sakurajima volcano Research Center Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University is located on Sakurajima.

　度重なる噴火の歴史は、桜島の植生郡にも大きな変化をもたらしました。海抜５０ｍあたりまではアコウ樹の多いアコウ帯となっています。噴火活動が無ければシイやカシに覆われた森林となるところが、火山活動によって植物の破壊と復旧が繰り返したり、裸地に植物が侵入し定着する過程をたどったりします。こうして繰り返す植生は、世界的に貴重な学術資料として、桜島全体が”植物博物館”となっています。

Due to the history of continuous eruptions, Sakurajima's vegetation goes through great changes. Were there no volcanic activity on Sakurajima, the island would probably be covered with chinquapin and oak trees However, due to the excessive volcanic activity, there is repetitive destruction and restoration of plant life. After an eruption, plant life is able to re-grow naturally. This cycle of view and makes Sakurajima a treasure trove of plant life