Han ( Japanese : 藩 , "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Han or Bakufu-han (daimyo domain) served as a system of de facto administrative divisions of Japan alongside the de jure provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s.
41-611: The Seibu Sayama Line ( 西武狭山線 , Seibu Sayama-sen ) is a commuter railway line in Saitama Prefecture , Japan, operated by the private railway operator Seibu Railway . The 4.2 km (2.6 mi) line extends from Nishi-Tokorozawa Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Seibukyūjō-mae Station in Tokorozawa, Saitama . All stations are located in Tokorozawa, Saitama . Abbreviations here are for
82-452: A few municipalities to Tokyo in the 1890s/1900s (see below) and several smaller, 20th century changes through cross-prefectural municipal mergers or transfers of neighbourhoods, Saitama had reached its present extent. In the modern reactivation of districts as administrative unit in 1878/79, Saitama was subdivided into originally 18 districts based on the ancient divisions of Musashi, but with only nine (joint) district government offices, and
123-527: A governor ([ken-]chiji) who is directly elected to four-year terms since 1947. The current incumbent is Motohiro Ōno , a former DPFP member of the Diet who was elected in August 2019 with centre-left support (CDP, DPFP, SDP) and 47.9% of the vote against centre-right supported (LDP, Kōmeitō) former baseball player Kenta Aoshima (44.9%) and three other candidates. Also as in all prefectures, prefectural by-laws,
164-556: Is bordered by Tokyo , Chiba , Ibaraki , Tochigi , Gunma , Nagano , and Yamanashi Prefectures. It is located central-west of the Kanto region, measuring 103 km from east to west and 52 km from north to south. At 3,797.75 km , it ranks as the ninth-smallest prefecture. The eastern border with Chiba Prefecture is defined by the Edo River . The northern and north-western border lines with Gunma Prefecture are marked by
205-414: Is situated in a rich natural environment. The region is very popular among residents of Saitama and neighboring prefectures for short trips, as it is easily accessible via the railroad network. Kobaton ( コバトン ) is the prefectural mascot, a Eurasian collared dove, which is also the prefectural bird. Kobaton was made originally as the mascot of the fifty-ninth annual national athletic meeting held in
246-640: The Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600, but his new feudal system was maintained after Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603. The han belonged to daimyo , the powerful samurai feudal lords, who governed them as personal property with autonomy as a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogun . Ieyasu's successors further refined the system by introducing methods that ensured control of
287-453: The Kantō region of Honshu . Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km (1,466 sq mi ). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture to the north, Nagano Prefecture to the west, Yamanashi Prefecture to the southwest, Tokyo to the south, Chiba Prefecture to the southeast, and Ibaraki Prefecture to
328-573: The North Tama and North Toshima districts of Tokyo. In the creation of modern cities, towns and villages in 1889, these districts were subdivided into originally 40 towns and 368 villages . The first city in Saitama was only established in 1922 when Kawagoe Town from Iruma District became Kawagoe City . The prefectural capital, Urawa in North Adachi, remained a town until 1934. After
369-615: The Ritsuryō (or ryō-system; ritsu stands for the penal code, ryō for the administrative code) Imperial administration of antiquity (see Provinces of Japan and the 5 (go) capital area provinces (ki)/7 (shichi) circuits (dō) system) which was nominally revived in the Meiji restoration but has lost much of its administrative function since the Middle Ages. Saitama District (Saitama-gun) was one of Musashi's 21 ritsuryō districts . In
410-787: The Tone River and the Kanagawa River and the drainage divides of the Arakawa River and Kanagawa River. The southwestern border is defined by the drainage divides of the Arakawa River, Tama River , and Fuefuki River . The eastern section of the southern border line, however, does not overlap with any geological feature. The topography of Saitama Prefecture is largely divided by the Hachiōji Tectonic Line, which runs through Kodama , Ogawa , and Hannō , into
451-716: The domains were disbanded and replaced with a new Meiji system of prefectures which were directly subordinate to the national government in Tokyo . However, in 1872, the Meiji government created the Ryukyu Domain after Japan formally annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom , a vassal state of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma since 1609. The Ryūkyū Domain was governed as a han headed by the Ryukyuan monarchy until it
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#1732788087642492-455: The replacement of -han with -ken , the associated territorial consolidation (removal of feudal era ex-/enclaves) and first wave of prefectural mergers in 1871/72, Oshi and Iwatsuki prefectures were merged into Urawa; after consolidation, it consisted of the entire Saitama District and Northern parts of Adachi and Katsushika (But at that time, "major and minor districts", 大区, daiku and 小区, shōku , served as administrative subdivisions) and
533-670: The samurai noble warrior class in Japan. This situation existed for 400 years during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333), the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336), and the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573). Han became increasingly important as de facto administrative divisions as subsequent Shoguns stripped the Imperial provinces ( kuni ) and their officials of their legal powers. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ,
574-563: The 2022 election) in the House of Councillors . The latest prefecture-wide election was the House of Councillors by-election in October 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Motohiro Ōno; it was won by the previous governor Kiyoshi Ueda who has a centre-left background (DPJ member of the House of Representatives for Saitama's 4th district before his term as governor), but without full-scale party backing and without any other major party-backed candidate in
615-545: The Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s, the number of municipalities in Saitama had shrunk to 95, including 23 cities by then. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s pushed the number below 70. After World War II , as Tokyo expanded rapidly and modern transportation allowed longer commutes, the lack of available land in Tokyo led to the rapid development of Saitama Prefecture, where the population has nearly tripled since 1960. Most of
656-538: The Greater Tokyo Area, offering transfers to and from Shinkansen high-speed lines. The Musashino serves as a freight bypass line as well as a passenger line. Chichibu Railway the northwestern, Seibu Railway the southwestern, Tobu Railway the midwestern and the eastern, the New Shuttle and Saitama Railway the southeastern parts of the prefecture respectively. The Tsukuba Express line crosses
697-682: The Kantō Mount Range, including the Hiki Hills and Sayama Hills. The latter are mainly surrounded by alluvial flood plains. In the southeastern portion of the prefecture, the Ōmiya Plateau stands in a southeastward direction, sandwiched by the Furutone River to the east and the Arakawa River to the west. The western side of the prefecture belongs to the Kantō Mountain Range with Chichibu Basin located in its center. The area to
738-533: The Shogun ordered the daimyos to make a census of their people or to make maps , the work was organized along the borders of the provinces. As a result, a han could overlap multiple provinces which themselves contained sections of multiple han . In 1690, the richest han was the Kaga Domain , located in the provinces of Kaga , Etchū and Noto , with slightly over 1 million koku . In 1868,
779-678: The Tokugawa Shogunate was overthrown in the Meiji Restoration by a coalition of pro- Imperial samurai in reaction to the Bakumatsu . One of the main driving forces of the anti-Tokugawa movement was support for modernization and Westernization in Japan. From 1869 to 1871, the new Meiji government sought to abolish feudalism in Japan, and the title of daimyo in the han system was altered to han-chiji ( 藩知事 ) or chihanji ( 知藩事 ) . In 1871, almost all of
820-519: The Western part of present-day Saitama. In 1873, Iruma was merged with Gunma (capital: Takasaki Town, Gunma District) to become Kumagaya (capital: Kumagaya Town, Ōsato District). But Kumagaya was split up again in 1876: The area of Kōzuke province came back as a second Gunma prefecture, and the territories in Musashi province/former Iruma prefecture were merged into Saitama. Except for the transfer of
861-458: The budget and the approval of important prefectural administrative appointments such as the vice-governors or members of the public safety commission, are the prerogative of the assembly which is elected directly to four-year terms on an independent electoral cycle. That may or may not be synchronized with the gubernatorial term; currently, it is not, as it is still part of the unified local election cycle (Saitama gubernatorial elections already left
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#1732788087642902-466: The cities in the prefecture are closely connected to downtown Tokyo by metropolitan rail, and operate largely as residential and commercial suburbs of Tokyo. In 2001, Urawa City was merged with Ōmiya City and Yono City to create Saitama City ( Saitama-shi ; but unlike the district or the prefecture written with Kana ) as the new enlarged capital. It became the prefecture's first (and so far only) designated major city in 2003. Saitama Prefecture
943-403: The daimyo and the imperial court. For instance, relatives and retainers were placed in politically and militarily strategic districts while potentially hostile daimyo were transferred to unimportant geographic locations or their estates confiscated. They were also occupied with public works that kept them financially drained as the daimyo paid for the bakufu projects. Unlike Western feudalism,
984-530: The east of the prefecture, are largely disused following the introduction of motorised land transport. Traces of water transport are found on the Tone River , which forms the border between Saitama and Gunma Prefecture, and on the Arakawa River , which includes a tourist attraction in Nagatoro . See Mass media in Saitama Prefecture . Like all prefectural administrations, Saitama's is headed by
1025-692: The fifth year of the Keiun era (708), deposits of copper were reported to have been found in the Chichibu District of what is now Saitama Prefecture. The Saitama area was historically known as a fertile agricultural region which produced much of the food for the Kantō region. During the Edo period , many fudai daimyōs ruled small domains within the Saitama area. At the end of the early modern Edo period , large parts of present-day Saitama were part of
1066-427: The northeast. Saitama is the capital and largest city of Saitama Prefecture, with other major cities including Kawaguchi , Kawagoe , and Tokorozawa . According to Sendai Kuji Hongi ( Kujiki ), Chichibu was one of 137 provinces during the reign of Emperor Sujin . Chichibu Province was in western Saitama. The area that would become Saitama Prefecture in the 19th century is part of Musashi Province in
1107-410: The number of districts was formally merged down to nine in 1896/97: North Adachi , Iruma , Hiki , Chichibu , Kodama , Ōsato , North Saitama , South Saitama , and North Katsushika . Niikura (also known as Niiza, Shiki or Shiragi) , one of the original 1878/79 modern districts, was first merged into North Adachi in 1896, but a substantial part of its former territory was subsequently transferred to
1148-444: The output of their han contributed to their prestige or how their wealth were assessed. Early Japanologists such as Georges Appert and Edmond Papinot made a point of highlighting the annual koku yields which were allocated for the Shimazu clan at Satsuma Domain since the 12th century. The Shogunal han and the Imperial provinces served as complementary systems which often worked in tandem for administration. When
1189-436: The preeminent warlord of the late Sengoku period (1467–1603), caused a transformation of the han system during his reforms of the feudal structure of Japan. Hideyoshi's system saw the han become an abstraction based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields, rather than delineated territory. Hideyoshi died in 1598 and his young son Toyotomi Hideyori was displaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu after
1230-476: The prefecture in 2004, and was inaugurated as mascot of the prefecture in 2005 with an inauguration ceremony and a letter of appointment from the governor. A wheelchair-using version of Kobaton also exists. Han system The concept of han originated as the personal estates of prominent warriors after the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, which also saw the rise of feudalism and
1271-481: The race. Saitama Prefecture has a number of sister city relationships with states and a province as listed below (in chronological order). The sports teams listed below are based in Saitama. Most of the popular tourist sites in Saitama are located in the northwestern part of the prefecture, which is known as the Chichibu Region. This region mostly consists of a hilly and moderately mountainous area, and
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1312-936: The shogunate domain ( baku-ryō ) or the often subsumed holdings of smaller vassals ( hatamoto -ryō) around Edo, major areas were part of the fiefdoms ( -han ) Kawagoe (ruled by Matsui/ Matsudaira , fudai ), Oshi (Okudaira-Matsudaira, fudai ) and Iwatsuki ( Ōoka , fudai ); few territories were held by domains seated in other provinces. In the Meiji Restoration , after being briefly united with other rural shogunate territories in Musashi under Musashi governors (Musashi chikenji) , many former shogunate/hatamoto territories in Northwestern Musashi became Ōmiya Prefecture (大宮県, Ōmiya-ken ), soon renamed to Urawa (浦和県, -ken ) in 1868/69, with some territories held by other short-lived prefectures ( Iwahana [ ja ] /later mainly Gunma and Nirayama [ ja ] /later mainly Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Tokyo). In
1353-459: The southeastern corner of the prefecture. Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport are the closest major civil airports. Commuter helicopter flights from Kawajima to Narita Airport are offered. Honda Airport for general aviation , and the JASDF's Iruma Air Base and Kumagaya Air Base . Rivers and canals, including those developed in the Edo period (17th – 19th centuries) in
1394-440: The table below, not formally used. Local ( 各停 , Kakutei ) Stops at all stations. Limited Express ( 特急 , Tokkyū ) (LE) :Ikebukuro to Seibu Chichibu, trains named Chichibu ( ちちぶ ) , Musashi ( むさし ) , with supplementary limited express charge. The line and its two stations opened on 1 May 1929, initially electrified at 1,200 V DC. This was raised to 1,500 V DC in 1952. Station numbering
1435-587: The towns and villages in each district : Radial transportation to and from Tokyo dominates transportation in the prefecture. Circular routes were constructed as bypasses to avoid congestion in central Tokyo. The Jōban , Kan-etsu , Shuto , Tōhoku , and Tokyo-Gaikan expressways form parts of the nationwide expressway network. National highway Routes 4 , 16 , and 17 are important routes in Kantō region. Ōmiya Station in Saitama City forms East Japan Railway Company 's northern hub station in
1476-641: The unified cycle in 1949). In the last round in April 2019 , the LDP maintained its outright majority with 48 of the 93 seats in the assembly. As in most prefectures, the Saitama assembly was established legally in 1878 and first convened 1879. In the National Diet , Saitama's directly elected delegation consists of 15 members of the House of Representatives and currently seven (four per class, but only raised from three in 2019, so it will only grow to eight after
1517-575: The value of a Japanese feudal domain was now defined in terms of projected annual income rather than geographic size. Han were valued for taxation using the Kokudaka system which determined value based on output of rice in koku , a Japanese unit of volume considered enough rice to feed one person for one year. A daimyo was determined by the Tokugawa as a lord heading a han assessed at 10,000 koku (50,000 bushels ) or more, and
1558-562: The west of the basin features high peaks such as Mount Sanpō (2,483 m; 三宝山, Sanpō-yama according to the GSI, but often read Sanpō-zan ) on the Western border with Nagano, Saitama's highest mountain, and Mount Kōbushi (2,475 m), in which the Arakawa River has its source. Most of the land is contained in Chichibu Tama Kai National Park . The area to east of the basin consists of relatively low mountains. These are
1599-461: The western mountain area and the eastern lowland area. The altitude, highest on the western side, gradually lowers eastward from mountain ranges to hills to plateaus to lowlands. The eastern lowlands and plateaus occupy 67.3% of the area. The eastern side, part of the Kantō Plain , can be further divided into nine separate expanses of hills and ten plateaus. The former occupy small areas neighboring
1640-591: Was introduced on all Seibu Railway lines during fiscal 2012, with Seibu Sayama Line stations numbered prefixed with the letters "SI" (part of the Seibu Ikebukuro group of lines). This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Misplaced Pages Saitama Prefecture Saitama Prefecture ( 埼玉県 , Saitama-ken ) is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in
1681-890: Was renamed to Saitama . The government of the prefecture was to be set up in Iwatsuki Town, Saitama District in November 1871 by the Dajōkan ordinance to set up the prefecture, but ultimately remained in Urawa's previous prefectural government seat in Urawa Town in Adachi District. Kawagoe Prefecture was consolidated with other territories into Iruma Prefecture [ ja ] (入間県, Iruma-ken ; government seat unchanged from Kawagoe domain/prefecture: Kawagoe Town, Iruma District) which consisted of 13 districts of Musashi in