Provinces of Japan

Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国, countries). The English-language term provinces is used to encompass all of these units. Each province was divided into gun earlier kōri (郡, counties).

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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 each domains of sengoku-daimyo. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces as administrative units were totally replaced with daimyos' fiefs. In the Edo period, the fiefs became known as han. The provinces remained as a geographical units and people referred often a certain place with a couple of province and han.

Related Topics:
Muromachi period - Sengoku - Daimyo - Toyotomi Hideyoshi - Fief - Edo period

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At the Meiji restoration, the han were legitimized as administrative units but quickly replaced by fu (urban prefectures) and ken (rural prefectures). Provinces as part of the address system, meanwhile, were not abolished but, on the contrary, augumented. 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 by 1885 of 45. Adding Hokkaido and Okinawa produces the current total of 47 prefectures.

Related Topics:
Meiji restoration - 1871 - Hokkaido - Ryukyu Province - 1881 - 1885 - Hokkaido - Okinawa

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To date, no official order has been issued abolishing provinces. Provinces are nonetheless today considered obsolete. However, their names are still widely used as parts of natural feature names, company names, and brands. In the early 2000s, the governor of Nagano Prefecture proposed the renaming of his prefecture as "Shinshu" (a name derived from Shinano Province).

Related Topics:
2000s - Nagano Prefecture - Shinano Province

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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.

Related Topics:
Circuit - Tokaido - Tokyo - Kyoto - Kobe - Hokkaido Prefecture

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