Provinces of Japan
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Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国, countries), usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun (郡, counties; earlier called kōri).
The provinces were originally established as both administrative units and geographic regions. In the late Muromachi period, however, their function as administrative units was effectively and gradually supplanted by the domains of the sengoku-daimyo. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces were totally replaced as administrative units by daimyos' fiefs. In the Edo period, the fiefs became known as han. The provinces remained as geographical entities and people often referred to a certain place by coupling the name of the province with the name of the han.
At the Meiji restoration, the han were legitimized as administrative units but quickly replaced by prefectures (urban prefectures were called fu and rural prefectures ken). Provinces as part of the system of addresses were not abolished but, on the contrary, augmented. As of 1871, the number of prefectures was 304, while the number of provinces was 68, not including Hokkaido and Ryukyu Province. The boundaries between the many prefectures were not only very complicated, but also did not match those of the provinces. Prefectures were gradually merged to reduce the number to 37 by 1881; a few were then divided to give a total of 45 by 1885. Adding Hokkaido and Okinawa produced the current total of 47 prefectures.
To date, no official order has been issued abolishing provinces. Provinces are nonetheless today considered obsolete, although their names are still widely used in names of natural features, company names, and brands. In the early 2000s, the governor of Nagano Prefecture proposed the renaming of his prefecture to "Shinshu" (a name derived from Shinano Province).
Provinces are classified into kinai (within the capital), and seven or eight do (routes, or circuits). Note that, however, do in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as Tokaido from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe. Also, Hokkaido in this context should not be confused with Hokkaido Prefecture, although these two overlap geographically.
List of Provinces
Early eighth century
- See also: Gokishichido
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Early ninth century to Meiji restoration
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After Meiji restoration (
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Some brief periods
- Chichibu (some time before 645, merged into Musashi)
- Aizu (some time before 645, merged into Mutsu)
- Ho (some time before 645, merged into Mikawa)
- Shinaga (some time before 645, merged into Sagami)
- Izumi Gen (circa 716 to circa 738, divided from Kawachi)
- Yoshino Gen (circa 716 to circa 738, divided from Yamato)
- Suwa (circa 721 to circa 738, divided from Shinano)
- Iwaki (circa 718 to circa 724, divided from Mutsu)
- Iwase (circa 718 to circa 724, divided from Mutsu)
Today
These province names are considered to be mainly of historical interest. They are also used for the name of items most of which was popularized in or after Edo period. Examples include sanuki udon, iyokan, and awa odori.Some of the province names are used to indicate distinct parts of the current prefectures alog with their cultural and geographical characteristics. In many cases these names are also in use with directional letters, e.g. Hoku-Setsu (北摂) meaning Northern (北) Settsu (摂津) area.
See also
External links
Detailed maps of the provinces at different times can be found at:
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