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60-512: As the political borders changed all the time, ancient ritsuryō provinces , essentially static except for some modernizing adjustments in the North where the giant provinces of Mutsu and Dewa (both Tōsan Circuit ) were split up and a new circuit ( Hokkai Circuit ) with 10 provinces was added on Ezo , remained the primary geographic frame of reference even in Meiji Japan until around the turn of

120-801: A gokenin for the Kamakura shogunate . At the fall of the shogunate in the 14th century, the Edo clan took the side of the Southern Court , and its influence declined during the Muromachi period . In 1456, a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan started to build a castle on the former fortified residence of the Edo clan and took the name Ōta Dōkan . Dōkan lived in the castle until his assassination in 1486. Under Dōkan, with good water connections to Kamakura, Odawara and other parts of Kanto and

180-534: A complete list of not only -fu/-ken , but all -fu/-han/-ken at two points in time, see the List of Japanese prefectures by population#1868 to 1871 , it also indicates the (often disjoint) territorial extent of the prefectures and domains in this period by listing the provinces the prefectures/domains extended to and the number of exclaves. After the Daimyo of the northern domains were stripped of their social status in

240-725: 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

300-526: A fishing village in Musashi Province in 1457 into the largest metropolis in the world, with an estimated population of 1 million by 1721. Edo was repeatedly devastated by fires, the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 being the most disastrous, with an estimated 100,000 victims and a vast portion of the city completely burnt. The population of Edo was around 300,000, and the impact of the fire

360-504: A refuge. The estate of the upper residence was attributed by the shogunate according to the status of the clan and its relation with the Shogun. The middle residence ( 中屋敷 , naka-yashiki ) , a bit further from the castle, could house the heir of the lord, his servants from his fief when he was in Edo for the sankin-kotai alternate residency, or be a hiding residence if needed. The lower residence ( 下屋敷 , shimo-yashiki ) , if there

420-562: A very late large territorial change was the transfer of the Tama area from Kanagawa to Tokyo in 1893. (Comparatively smaller changes through cross-prefectural municipal mergers or transfers of single neighbourhoods, border corrections through land changes, etc. continue to the day.) After the 1871/72 mergers, prefectures are contiguous, compact territories resembling or even identical to the ritsuryō provinces in many places. The prefectures (-fu/-ken) listed below were all established before

480-607: 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

540-666: Is no mention of Edo in historical records, but for a few settlements in the area. That name for the area first appears in the Azuma Kagami chronicles, which have probably been used since the second half of the Heian period . Edo's development started in the late 11th century with a branch of the Kanmu- Taira clan ( 桓武平氏 ) called the Chichibu clan ( 秩父氏 ) coming from the banks of the then- Iruma River , present-day upstream of

600-600: 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

660-530: The Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei alliance. Areas in Kanto did not initially receive a proper prefecture name and suffix, even though they had appointed officials for the areas. When initially creating prefecture suffixes, the Seitaisho proclaimed all areas with a jōdai (castle minder), namely Osaka , Sunpu and Kyoto , the shoshidai or a bugyō were given the prefectural suffix fu , while any other area

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720-603: The Boshin War , the following Prefectures were created. These were mostly in name only, and did not function as proper entities. Provinces of Japan Provinces of Japan ( 令制国 , Ryōseikoku ) were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government . Each province

780-640: The Seitaisho ( 政体書 ) was proclaimed, drafted by Fukuoka Takachika and Soejima Taneomi , which established central government in Japan under the Meiji government. The act dissolved the Tokugawa era court houses, creating government controlled prefectural governors called chifuji ( 知府事 ) and chikenji ( 知県事 ) . All other areas still under the power of a daimyo, han , were left as they were with no structure changes, and an independent justice system. On June 14, 1868, Hakodate-fu and Kyoto-fu were established as

840-690: The Tokugawa shogunate . Edo grew to become one of the largest cities in the world under the Tokugawa. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 the Meiji government renamed Edo as Tokyo ( 東 京 , "Eastern Capital") and relocated the Emperor from the historic capital of Kyoto to the city. The era of Tokugawa rule in Japan from 1603 to 1868 is known as the Edo period . Before the 10th century, there

900-453: The court nobles , its Buddhist temples and its history; Osaka was the country's commercial center, dominated by the chōnin or the merchant class. On the contrary, the samurai and daimyō residences occupied up to 70% of the area of Edo. On the east and northeast sides of the castle lived the Shomin ( 庶民 , "regular people") including the chōnin in a much more densely populated area than

960-503: The de facto capital of Japan. However, the new Meiji government soon renamed Edo to Tōkyō (東京, "Eastern Capital") and the city became the formal capital of Japan when the emperor moved his residence to the city. Very quickly after its inception, the shogunate undertook major works in Edo that drastically changed the topography of the area, notably under the Tenka-Bushin ( 天下普請 ) nationwide program of major civil works involving

1020-491: The machi , where single floor nagayas , the uranagayas ( 裏長屋 , litt. "backstreet long houses") were located. Rentals and smaller rooms for lower ranked shonin were located in those back housings. Edo was nicknamed the City of 808 towns ( 江戸八百八町 , Edo happyaku yachō ) , depicting the large number and diversity of those communities, but the actual number was closer to 1,700 by the 18th century. Edo's municipal government

1080-476: The 1880s, Nirayama's former territory is split between Shizuoka , Yamanashi , Tokyo , Kanagawa and Saitama . It was the convention to name prefectures and han after the location of their [actual or in some cases: planned] prefectural/domain government, either by town/village or later often by ritsuryō district (e.g. Mie, Saitama, Inba, Gunma). ken created in 1871 are generally named after their precursor han . In June 1868, an interim constitution called

1140-656: The Arakawa river. A descendant of the head of the Chichibu clan settled in the area and took the name Edo Shigetsugu ( 江戸重継 ) , likely based on the name used for the place, and founded the Edo clan . Shigetsugu built a fortified residence, probably around the edge of the Musashino Terrace , that would become Edo castle. Shigetsugu's son, Edo Shigenaga ( 江戸重長 ) , took the Taira's side against Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 but eventually surrendered to Minamoto and became

1200-413: The center of the city's commercial center and the starting point of the gokaidō (thus making it the de facto "center of the country"). Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here. Shippers managed ships known as tarubune to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes. The northeastern corner of

1260-451: The century – just as they had been throughout the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Ignoring minor territories such as Imperial Court lands or spiritual (shrine/temple) holdings, pre-restoration Japan was subdivided two types of territories: 1. the bakufu/shogunate territories ( baku-ryō , subsequently also called ten-ryō , "Imperial territories") held by the Tokugawa directly through local administrators ( daikan , bugyō , etc.) or

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1320-543: The city and of the Sumida River , a massive network of canals was dug. Fresh water was a major issue, as direct wells would provide brackish water because of the location of the city over an estuary. The few fresh water ponds of the city were put to use, and a network of canals and underground wooden pipes bringing freshwater from the western side of the city and the Tama River was built. Some of this infrastructure

1380-544: The city was considered dangerous in the traditional onmyōdō cosmology and was protected from evil by a number of temples including Sensō-ji and Kan'ei-ji , one of the two tutelary Bodaiji temples of the Tokugawa. A path and a canal, a short distance north of Sensō-ji, extended west from the Sumida riverbank leading along the northern edge of the city to the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Previously located near Ningyōchō,

1440-403: The city's fresh water distribution system, garbage collection area and communal bathrooms. A typical machi was of rectangular shape and could have a population of several hundred. The machi had curfew for the night with closing and guarded gates called kidomon ( 木戸門 ) opening on the main street ( 表通り , omote-dori ) in the machi . Two floor buildings and larger shops, reserved to

1500-417: The city. Besides the large concentration in the northeast side to protect the city, the second Bodaiji of the Tokugawa, Zōjō-ji occupied a large area south of the castle. The samurai and daimyōs residential estates varied dramatically in size depending on their status. Some daimyōs could have several of those residences in Edo. The upper residence ( 上屋敷 , kami-yashiki ) , was the main residence while

1560-440: The country with domains, pledged into submission to the new Satsuma-Chōshū-dominated Imperial government, but still governed by their Tokugawa period feudal rulers, constitutes the -fu/-han/-ken system. Some of the current prefectures of Japan were created in this period, but they looked very different from what they are today, still with many disjoint feudal period ex- and enclaves as the domains remained mostly untouched and only

1620-530: The country, Edo expanded as a jōkamachi , with the castle bordering a cove (now Hibiya Park ) opening into Edo Bay , and the town developing along the Hirakawa River running into the cove, and on Edomaeto ( 江戸前島 ) , the stretch of land on the eastern side of the cove (now roughly where Tokyo Station is). Some priests and scholars fleeing Kyoto after the Ōnin War came to Edo during that period. After

1680-626: The death of Dōkan, the castle became one of strongholds of the Uesugi clan, which fell to the Later Hōjō clan at the battle of Takanawahara in 1524, during the expansion of their rule over the Kantō area. When the Hōjō clan was finally defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, the Kanto area was given to rule to Toyotomi's senior officer Tokugawa Ieyasu , who took his residence in Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged as

1740-428: The district was rebuilt in this more remote location after the great fire of Meireki. Danzaemon, the hereditary position head of eta , or outcasts, who performed "unclean" works in the city resided nearby. Temples and shrines occupied roughly 15% of the surface of the city, equivalent to the living areas of the townspeople, with however an average of one-tenth of its population. Temples and shrines were spread out over

1800-652: The ex-shogunate/Imperial lands became prefectures. Some examples: Other prefectures only existed under the fu/han/ken system. For example, Nirayama-ken replaced the Nirayma daikan, the shogunate administrator of shogunate possessions in Izu, Suruga, Sagami and Musashi provinces, seated in Nirayama in Izu Province . Its main part was merged into Ashigara Prefecture in 1871/72 while exclaves went to other prefectures. Since

1860-585: The first two prefectures under the new changes. At the time, the Imperial government army forces were fighting the Republic of Ezo in the Battle of Hakodate , and despite the proclamation, the city of Hakodate had not fallen yet. By end of June, 11 prefectures had been created, including Edo -fu. In July and August 1869 during the abolition of the han system , the government issued hanseki hokan ( 版籍奉還 ) to

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1920-433: The higher-ranking members of the society, were facing the main street. A machi would typically follow a grid pattern and smaller streets, Shinmichi ( 新道 ) , were opening on the main street, also with (sometimes) two-floor buildings, shop on the first floor, living quarter on the second floor, for the more well-off residents. Very narrow streets accessible through small gates called roji ( 路地 ) , would enter deeper inside

1980-453: 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 , the fiefs became known as han . Imperial provinces and shogunal domains made up complementary systems. For example, when

2040-430: The lord was in Edo and was used for official duties. It was not necessarily the largest of his residences, but the most convenient to commute to the castle. The upper residence also acted as the representative embassy of the domain in Edo, connecting the shogunate and the clan. The shogunate did not exercise its investigative powers inside the precincts of the residential estate of the upper residence, which could also act as

2100-571: The now pacified daimyō workforce. The Hibiya cove facing the castle was soon filled after the arrival of Ieyasu, the Hirakawa river was diverted, and several protective moats and logistical canals were dug (including the Kanda river), to limit the risks of flooding. Landfill works on the bay began, with several areas reclaimed during the duration of the shogunate (notably the Tsukiji area). East of

2160-518: The paramount warlord of the Sengoku period following his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600. He formally founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 and established his headquarters at Edo Castle . Edo became the center of political power and the de facto capital of Japan, although the historic capital of Kyoto remained the de jure capital as the seat of the emperor. Edo grew from

2220-475: 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 was divided into provinces from 1869 to 1882. No order has ever been issued explicitly abolishing

2280-402: The provinces at different times can be found at: Edo Edo ( Japanese : 江戸 , lit.   '"bay-entrance" or " estuary "'), also romanized as Jedo , Yedo or Yeddo , is the former name of Tokyo . Edo, formerly a jōkamachi (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province , became the de facto capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of

2340-532: 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

2400-408: 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 the Ritsuryō reforms as both administrative units and geographic regions. From

2460-625: 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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2520-550: The remaining Han, asking them to voluntarily return their domains, and later were ordered to by the Court, on threat of military action. The Daimyo who agreed to this were appointed as chihanji ( 知藩事 , "domain governors") , who had to follow the laws and instructions of the central government. Many territories that became the first prefectures were territories confiscated from domains in the Boshin War, especially domains part of

2580-418: The replacement of all domains (-han) with prefectures (-ken) , i.e. under the fu/han/ken system. Disestablishment is only listed if prior to August 29, 1871, the time when all remaining domains were turned into prefectures. For the >300 prefectures immediately after that, look somewhere else. For the 75 prefectures after the 1871/72 wave of prefectural mergers, see the List of Japanese prefectures . For

2640-690: The residence of their lord. The hatamoto samurais, in direct service of the Shogun, would have their own residences, usually located behind the castle on the Western side in the Banchō area. In a strict sense of the word, chōnin were only the townspeople who owned their residence, which was actually a minority. The shonin population mainly lived in semi-collective housings called nagaya ( 長屋 , litt. "Long house") , multi-rooms wooden dwellings, organized in enclosed machi ( 町 , "town" or "village") , with communal facilities, such as wells connected to

2700-413: The restoration, such as Shizuoka Domain which was granted to the Tokugawa after their fall and submission to the new government, or Tonami Domain which was created from parts of Morioka and left to a child heir of Aizu after the main territory of Aizu had been vanquished. The subnational administration in this period from 1868 to 1871 when centrally governed prefectures coexisted as primary subdivision of

2760-484: The same geographical jurisdiction in spite of their name but rotated roles on a monthly basis. Despite their extensive responsibilities, the teams of the Machi-Bugyō were rather small, with 2 offices of 125 people each. The Machi-Bugyō did not have jurisdiction over the samurai residential areas, which remained under the shogunate direct rule. The geographical jurisdiction of the Machi-Bugyō did not exactly coincide with

2820-423: The same until 1943, when Tokyo-fu and Tokyo-shi were merged to form Tokyo-to . After three major merger/reorganization waves and many smaller mergers, splits and border changes between the initially >300 prefectures (down to 75 by 1872, to <40 in the late 1870s), they took generally their present forms in the 1890s. The last change involving an entire prefecture was the separation of Kagawa from Ehime in 1888,

2880-608: The samurai class area, organized in a series of gated communities called machi (町, "town" or "village"). This area, Shitamachi (下町, "lower town" or "lower towns"), was the center of urban and merchant culture. Shomin also lived along the main roads leading in and out of the city. The Sumida River, then called the Great River (大川, Ōkawa ), ran on the eastern side of the city. The shogunate's official rice-storage warehouses and other official buildings were located here. The Nihonbashi bridge ( 日本橋 , lit. "bridge of Japan") marked

2940-665: The shogun's residence, creating a large green space beside the castle, now the Fukiage gardens of the Imperial Palace . During the Edo period, there were about 100 major fires, mostly begun by accident and often quickly escalating and spreading through neighborhoods of wooden nagaya that were heated with charcoal fires. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in the Meiji Restoration by supporters of Emperor Meiji and his Imperial Court in Kyoto , ending Edo's status as

3000-516: The shogunate's minor vassals (sometimes grouped separately as hatamoto -ryō ) and 2. other families' feudal domain holdings ( han-ryō ). In the Boshin War and the beginning Meiji Restoration, the conquered/surrendered shogunate lands and a few rebel/shogunate loyalist domains such as Aizu / Wakamatsu or Morioka / Morioka were organized in prefectures (urban -fu and rural -ken ) while all other feudal domains (-han) were allowed to continue to exist until 1871. Some domains were only newly created in

3060-493: 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

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3120-459: 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;

3180-536: The very beginning of the shogunate daimyōs , later hatamoto ) officials appointed to keep the order in the city, with the word designating both the heading magistrate, the magistrature and its organization. They were in charge of Edo's day-to-day administration, combining the role of police, judge and fire brigade. There were two offices, the South Machi-Bugyō and the North Machi-Bugyō, which had

3240-421: Was any, was on the outskirts of town, more of a pleasure retreat with gardens. The lower residence could also be used as a retreat for the lord if a fire had devastated the city. Some of the powerful daimyōs residences occupied vast grounds of several dozens of hectares. Maintenance and operations of those residential estates could be extremely expensive. Samurai in service of a specific clan would normally live in

3300-469: Was carefully attributed depending on their position as tozama , shinpan or fudai . It was this extensive organization of the city for the samurai class which defined the character of Edo, particularly in contrast to the two major cities of Kyoto and Osaka , neither of which were ruled by a daimyō or had a significant samurai population. Kyoto's character was defined by the Imperial Court,

3360-472: Was designated ken . The first two urban prefectures ( 府 , fu ) were created on June 14, 1868: Kyoto -fu and Hakodate -fu. By the end of 1868, ten fu had been established: Kyoto, Hakodate, Osaka , Nagasaki , Edo (later Tokyo), Kanagawa , Watarai , Nara , Echigo (later Niigata) and Kōfu . Due to some prefectures gaining non-urban land or being amalgamated into other territories, in 1869 three remained: Kyoto-fu, Osaka-fu and Tokyo-fu. This remained

3420-469: 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 the Heian period (794 to 1185) until the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The provinces coexisted with the han (domain) system,

3480-485: Was tremendous. The fire destroyed the central keep of Edo Castle, which was never rebuilt, and it influenced the urban planning afterwards to make the city more resilient, with many empty areas to break spreading fires, and wider streets. Reconstruction efforts expanded the city east of the Sumida River, and some daimyō residences were relocated to give more space to the city, especially in the immediate vicinity of

3540-536: Was under the responsibility of the rōjū , the senior officials who oversaw the entire bakufu – the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The administrative definition of Edo was called Gofunai ( 御府内 , litt. "where the government is") . The Kanjō-bugyō (finance commissioners) were responsible for the financial matters of the shogunate, whereas the Jisha-Bugyō handled matters related to shrines and temples. The Machi-bugyō ( 町奉行 ) were samurai (at

3600-504: Was used until the 20th century. The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle, which was positioned at the tip of the Musashino terrace . The area in the immediate proximity of the castle consisted of samurai and daimyō residences, whose families lived in Edo as part of the sankin-kōtai system; the daimyō made journeys in alternating years to Edo and used the residences for their entourages. The location of each residence

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