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. The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 by the first Kamakura Shogun Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national Jurisdictions one "metropolis" (都 to) Tokyo; one " circuit For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. Each province was divided into gun (郡, districts; earlier called kōri). The was most recently used as an administrative unit in Japan between 1878 and 1921 and is roughly equivalent to the County of the United States, ranking at the level below
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. The Muromachi period ( Japanese: 室町時代 Muromachi-jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era The ( were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces were totally replaced as administrative units by daimyo's fiefs. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing In the Edo period, the fiefs became known as han. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 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). The, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan 's political and social structure 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 Hokkaidō and Ryūkyū Province. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's The Ryukyu Islands, in Japanese called the (literally Southwest Islands are a chain of Japanese islands in the western Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit 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. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Adding Hokkaidō and Okinawa produced the current total of 47 prefectures. WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's is one of Japan 's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1000 km long which extends southwest from Kyūshū
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 "Shinshū" (信州, a name derived from Shinano Province). WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.
Provinces are classified into kinai (within the capital), and seven or eight dō (routes, or circuits). In Law, a circuit is an appellate judicial district used in the Court systems of several nations Note that, however, dō in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as Tōkaidō from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe. The was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1 Also, Hokkaidō in this context should not be confused with Hokkaidō Prefecture, although these two overlap geographically. WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's
Today
These province names are considered to be mainly of historical interest. They are also used for the names of items, including family surnames, most of which were popularized in or after the Edo period. A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 Examples include sanuki udon, iyokan, and awa odori. is a type of thick Wheat -based Noodle popular in Japanese cuisine. The iyokan (伊予柑 also known as anadomikan (穴門みかん is a Japanese Citrus fruit The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Bon festival in Tokushima city (徳島市 Tokushima-shi the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on
Some of the province names are used to indicate distinct parts of the current prefectures along with their cultural and geographical characteristics. In many cases these names are also in use with directional characters, 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:
The was an administrative reorganization enacted in 701 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. The following provinces of Ancient Japan were in effect from 7th century until the Meiji Period.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic