Provinces of Japan

Provinces Of Japan

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, districts; earlier called kōri).

The provinces were originally established by Ritsuryō 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 daimyo's 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 Hokkaidō and Ryūkyū 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 Hokkaidō and Okinawa produced the current total of 47 prefectures.

Provinces are classified into Kinai (within the capital), and seven or eight dō (routes, or circuits), collectively known as the goki shichidō. However, dō in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as Tōkaidō from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe. Also, Hokkaidō in this context should not be confused with Hokkaidō Prefecture, although these two overlap geographically.