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The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence occurred on the Futagawa–Hinagu fault zone near the Aso volcano on Kyushu island. The sequence was initiated with two major (M_w  6.0) foreshocks, and the mainshock (M_w ) occurred 25 h after the second major foreshock. We combine GPS, strong motion, synthetic aperture radar images, and surface offset data in a joint inversion to resolve the kinematic rupture process of the mainshock and coseismic displacement of the foreshocks. The joint inversion results reveal a unilateral rupture process for the mainshock involving sequential rupture of four major asperities. The slip area of the foreshocks and mainshock and the aftershock loci form a detailed complementary pattern. The mainshock rupture terminates near the rim of the caldera, leaving a ~10 km long gap of aftershocks. This area is characterized by high temperature and low shear wave velocity, density …