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25-619: Gokishichidō ( 五畿七道 , "five provinces and seven circuits ") was the name for ancient administrative units organized in Japan during the Asuka period (AD 538–710), as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese. Though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi period (1336–1573), they did remain important geographical entities until

50-420: A constitution or other law. Common responsibilities of this level of government which are not granted to lower levels are maintaining national security and exercising international diplomacy , including the right to sign binding treaties . Essentially, the central government has the power to make laws for the whole country, in contrast with local governments. The difference between a central government and

75-509: A federal government is that the autonomous status of self-governing regions exists by the sufferance of the central government and are often created through a process of devolution . As such they may be unilaterally revoked with a simple change in the law. An example of this was done in 1973 when the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 abolished the government of Northern Ireland which had been created under

100-725: 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 (in or near the capital, then Kyoto) and seven or eight dō (routes, or circuits ), collectively known as the Gokishichidō . However, dō in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as the Tōkaidō from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe . Also, Hokkaidō in this context should not be confused with Hokkaidō Prefecture , although these two overlap geographically. No order has ever been issued explicitly abolishing

125-607: Is based on the Gokishichidō ( 五畿七道 ) , which includes short-lived provinces. Provinces located within Hokkaidō are listed last. Equivalent to Shikoku and its surroundings, as well as a nearby area of Honshu Equivalent to Kyushu and its surroundings Equivalent to Hokkaido and its surroundings. Originally known as the Ezo Region , before being renamed and organized as 11 provinces (1869–1882). Detailed maps of

150-456: Is not comprehensively possible to describe circuits in terms of prefectures. For example, present-day Hyōgo in its borders since 1876 extends into five provinces ( Harima , Tajima , Awaji , Settsu , Tamba ) and thus into three circuits (San'yō, San'in, Nankai) as well as the ancient capital region. A few Japanese regions, such as Hokuriku and San'yō , still retain their ancient Gokishichidō names. Other parts of Japan, namely Hokkaidō and

175-491: Is the common or national government of a federation . The United States is considered the first modern federation. After declaring independence from Britain, the U.S. adopted its first constitution, the Articles of Confederation in 1781. This was the first step towards federalism by establishing the confederal Congress. However, Congress was limited as to its ability to pursue economic, military, and judiciary reform. In 1787,

200-600: Is true for some city names, for example to distinguish Yamato-Koriyama, Nara from Koriyama, Fukushima . Simplified names of provinces ( -shū ) are also used, such as Shinshū soba and Kishū dog . 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. The districts are still considered prefectural subdivisions, but following mergers or divisions of

225-641: The Government of Ireland Act 1920 . It is common for a federal government to be brought into being by agreement between a number of formally independent states and therefore its powers to affect the status of the balance of powers is significantly smaller (as in the United States ). Thus federal governments are often established voluntarily from 'below' whereas devolution grants self-government from above. There are, and have been, many countries which have delegated powers, some include: A federal government

250-671: The Heian period (794 to 1185) until the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The provinces coexisted with the han (domain) system, the personal estates of feudal lords and warriors, and became secondary to the domains in the late Muromachi period (1336 to 1573). The Provinces of Japan were replaced with the current prefecture system in the Fuhanken sanchisei during the Meiji Restoration from 1868 to 1871, except for Hokkaido , which

275-465: The Ritsuryō reforms as both administrative units and geographic regions. From the late Muromachi period , however, they were gradually supplanted by the domains of the sengoku daimyō . Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Azuchi–Momoyama period, the provinces were supplemented as primary local administrative units. The local daimyōs ' fiefs were developed. In the Edo period ,

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300-650: The Ryukyu Islands , were not included in the Gokishichidō because they were not colonized by Japan until the 19th century, just as the Gokishichidō geographic divisions and the feudal han domains were being replaced with the modern system of prefectures . Initially the government tried to organize Hokkaidō as an eighth dō (hence the name), but it was soon consolidated into a single prefecture. Provinces of Japan Provinces were established in Japan in

325-508: The federated states . The structure of central governments varies. Many countries have created autonomous regions by delegating powers from the central government to governments on a sub-national level, such as regional, state, provincial, local and other instances. Based on a broad definition of a basic political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and government through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by

350-425: The -han (early modern feudal domains) in 1871, -dō/circuits and provinces were per se not abolished by the abolition of domains; but the prefectures that sprang from the domains became the primary administrative division of the country and were soon merged and reorganized to territorially resemble provinces in many places. "Hokkai circuit" (Hokkai-dō) was the only -dō that would survive as administrative division, but it

375-530: The 19th century. The Gokishichidō consisted of five provinces in the Kinai ( 畿内 ) or capital region, plus seven dō ( 道 ) or circuits , each of which contained provinces of its own. When Hokkaido was included as a circuit after the defeat of the Republic of Ezo in 1869, the system was briefly called Gokihachidō ( 五畿八道 , "five provinces and eight circuits") . The abolition of the han system abolished

400-532: The Kinai region in different directions. Running through each of the seven areas was an actual road of the same name, connecting the imperial capital with all of the provincial capitals along its route. The seven dō were: The Gokishichidō roads should not be confused with the Edo Five Routes (五街道 Gokaidō ), which were the five major roads leading to Edo during the Edo period (1603–1867). The Tōkaidō

425-616: The fiefs became known as han . Imperial provinces and shogunal domains made up complementary systems. For example, when the shōgun ordered a daimyō to make a census or to make maps, the work was organized in terms of the boundaries of the provincial kuni . At the Meiji Restoration , the han were legitimized as administrative units by the reform known as the Fuhanken Sanchisei , but they were gradually replaced by prefectures between 1868 and 1871 (urban prefectures were called fu and rural prefectures ken ). Provinces as part of

450-450: The late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government . Each province was divided into districts ( 郡 , gun ) and grouped into one of the geographic regions or circuits known as the Gokishichidō (Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits). Provincial borders often changed until the end of the Nara period (710 to 794), but remained unchanged from

475-429: The provinces at different times can be found at: Central government List of forms of government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state . Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government , which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or delegated to it by the federation and mutually agreed upon by each of

500-532: The provinces they may be shared among several prefectures (such as the original Adachi District of Musashi , which is now divided between Adachi Ward in Tokyo and Kita-Adachi District in Saitama ). Many of these old provincial districts have been dissolved as their chief towns have been merged into larger cities or towns. See individual prefecture pages for mergers and abolitions of districts. The following list

525-625: The provinces, but they are considered obsolete. Nevertheless, their names are still widely used in names of natural features, company names, and brands. These province names are considered to be mainly of historical interest. They are also used for the names of items, including family names , most of which were popularized in or after the Edo period . Examples include sanuki udon , iyokan , tosa ken , Chikuzenni , and awa odori . Japan Rail and other railway stations also use them in names to distinguish themselves from similarly named stations in other prefectures, such as Musashi-Kosugi Station . The same

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550-459: 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 or the Ryūkyū Islands . 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;

575-427: Was divided into provinces from 1869 to 1882. No order has ever been issued explicitly abolishing the provinces, but they are considered obsolete as administrative units. The provinces are still used in general conversation, especially in navigation and transportation, and referenced in products and geographical features of the prefectures covering their former territories. The provinces were originally established by

600-481: Was later increasingly treated as "Hokkai prefecture" (Hokkai-dō); finally after WWII, the -dō was fully regarded as a prefecture: from 1946, the prefectures (until then only -fu/-ken) were legally referred to as -dō/-fu/-ken, from 1947 as -to/-dō/-fu/-ken. The five Kinai provinces were local areas in and around the imperial capital (first Heijō-kyō at Nara , then Heian-kyō at Kyōto ). They were: The seven dō or circuits were administrative areas stretching away from

625-525: Was one of the five routes, but the others were not. Many prefectures were merged and reorganized in the 1870s and 1880s to resemble provinces, so many modern prefectures can be assigned to an ancient circuit. For example, the Western provinces of the Tōkai circuit (Tōkai-dō) are now part of prefectures that are often grouped together as the Tōkai region (Tōkai-chihō) . But there are still deviations, so that it

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