was a
province of Japan comprising modern-day
Yamagata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
and
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its geographic area is 1 ...
, except for the city of
Kazuno and the town of
Kosaka. Dewa bordered on
Mutsu and
Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
Early period
Prior to the
Asuka period
The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...
, Dewa was inhabited by
Ainu
Ainu or Aynu may refer to:
*Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East
*Ainu languages, a family of languages
**Ainu language of Hokkaido
**Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands
**Sakhalin Ainu la ...
or
Emishi
The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...
tribes, and was effectively outside of the control of the
Yamato dynasty
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
.
Abe no Hirafu conquered the native
Emishi
The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...
tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro in 658 and established a fort on the
Mogami River. In 708 AD was created within Echigō Province. The area of Dewa District was roughly that of the modern Shōnai area of Yamagata Prefecture, and was gradually extended to the north as the Japanese pushed back the indigenous people of northern
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...
. Dewa District was promoted to the status of a province () in 712 AD, and gained Okitama and Mogami Districts, formerly part of Mutsu Province.
A number of military expeditions were sent to the area, with armed colonists forming settlements with wooden palisades across central Dewa in what is now the Shōnai area of
Yamagata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
. The capital of the new province was initially established at Dewanosaku (出羽柵), a fortified settlement in what is now part of
Sakata, Yamagata
is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 106,244 in 39,320 households, and a population density of 180 people per km2. The total area of the city is .
History
The area of present-day Sakata was ...
, which served as a vital military stronghold in the expansion of Yamato control and settlement in the region. In 733, the capital was moved north, and a new military settlement, later named “
Akita Castle”, was built what is now in the Takashimizu area of the city of Akita.
Abe no Yakamaro was sent as
Chinjufu-shōgun. In 737, a major military operation began to connect Akita Castle with
Taga Castle on the Pacific Coast. Over the next 50 years, additional fortifications were erected at Okachi in Dewa Province and Monofu in
Mutsu Province involving a force of over 5000 men. The road was greatly resented by the Emishi tribes, and after an uprising in 767, pacification expeditions were carried out in 776, 778, 794, 801 and 811.
During the
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara, Nara, Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remai ...
, under the ''
Engishiki
The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178.
History
In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of th ...
'' classification system, Dewa was ranked as a "greater country" (上国). Under the ''
ritsuryō
, , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki' ...
'' system, Dewa was classed as a “far country” (遠国). The name of the province was originally pronounced “Idewa”. The
Ichinomiya
is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14.
The term gave rise t ...
of Dewa Province was the
Chōkaisan Omonoimi Jinja in what is now
Yuza, Yamagata.
During the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
, in 878, a major rebellion known as the erupted in the region against Yamato rule. Another major uprising occurred in 939, as part of East Japan war
Tengyō no Ran. Towards the end of the Heian period, the province was organized into eleven districts. It was later a battleground in the
Gosannen War
The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū.
History
The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power w ...
and the
Former Nine Years War.
Medieval period
Following the destruction of the
Northern Fujiwara clan by the forces of the
Kamakura shogunate
The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459.
The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yo ...
in 1189, many Fujiwara partisans fled to the mountains of Dewa and continued to resist central authority. The area was divided into numerous
shōen
A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4'').
Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the privat ...
during the
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, which developed into the centers of numerous rival samurai clans. In 1335,
Shiba Kaneyori received the Dewa Province as a fief from
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...
, but ruled it only in name. By the end of the
Sengoku period
The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...
, the
Mogami clan had emerged as the strongest local force in the southern portion of the province, whereas the
Akita clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan of northern Honshū that claimed descent from Abe no Sadato of the Abe clan. The Akita clan was originally known as the . In the Kamakura period, they were installed in the Tsugaru district of Mutsu Province to ...
dominated the northern portion of the province. Both clans sided with
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fel ...
at the
Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara ( Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
, and were thus secured in their holdings at the start of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...
.
Early modern period
During the early
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
, both the Mogami and the Akita were dispossessed, and their territories broken up into smaller
domains, the largest of which were held by the
Sakai clan and
Uesugi clan
The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...
s. During the
Bakumatsu period
was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...
, all of the domains in the area joined the
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei
The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black ...
supporting the Tokugawa shogunate. Following the defeat of the pro-Tokugawa forces, the new
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...
reorganized Dewa province into in the north, and in the south in 1868.These provinces became Akita Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture on August 2, 1876.
[ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)]
"Provinces and prefectures"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 780.
Historical districts
*
Ugo Province
is an old province of Japan in the area of Akita Prefecture and some parts of Yamagata Prefecture (specifically Akumi District).Newland, Amy Reigle. (2005). ''The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints,'' p. 428. It was sometimes calle ...
**
Akumi District (飽海郡)
**
Akita District (秋田郡)
**
Hiraka District (平鹿郡)
**
Kawabe District (河辺郡)
**
Ogachi District (雄勝郡)
**
Semboku District (仙北郡)
**
Yamamoto District (山本郡)
**
Yuri District
was a rural district located in southern Akita Prefecture, Japan.
On October 1, 2005, the towns of Kisakata, Konoura and Nikaho were merged to create the city of Nikaho. Therefore, Yuri District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
H ...
(由利郡)
*
Uzen Province
**
Tagawa District
is a district located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 90,560 and a density of 292.98 persons per km2. The total area is 309.13 km2.
Towns and villages
*Aka
* Fukuchi
*Itoda
*Kawara ...
(田川郡) (former Dewa District (出羽郡))
**
Kubiki District (櫛引郡)
**
Mogami District (最上郡)
**
Murayama District (村山郡)
**
Okitama District (置賜郡)
Bakumatsu period domains
Highways
*
Ushū Kaidō – a subroute of the
Ōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government off ...
and
Sendaidō with 57
post stations connecting what is now
Koori, Fukushima
270px, Koori Post Office on the former Ōshū Kaidō
270px, former Date District Office
is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,679 in 4599 households, and a population density of 270 pe ...
with
Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...
*
Yonezawa Kaidō
Yonezawa City Hall
is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,707 in 33,278 households, and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Yonezawa is most famous for i ...
– connecting what is now
Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima
is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Geography
Aizuwakamatsu is located in the wes ...
with
Yamagata.
*
Sendai Kaidō
is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...
– connecting what is now
Sakata, Yamagata
is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 106,244 in 39,320 households, and a population density of 180 people per km2. The total area of the city is .
History
The area of present-day Sakata was ...
with
Sendai
is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...
.
*
Ushū Hamakaidō
was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
Early peri ...
– connecting Sakata with
Niigata.
Notes
References
* Kōdansha. (1993). ''Japan: an Illustrated Encyclopedia.'' Tokyo: Kōdansha
OCLC 193352222*
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''Cambridge:
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...
.
OCLC 58053128* Terry, Thomas Philip. (1914). ''Terry's Japanese Empire: including Korea and Formosa, with Chapters on Manchuria, the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Chief Ocean Routes to Japan: a Guidebook for Travelers.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin
OCLC 123254449*
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''(''
Nihon Odai Ichiran
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
External links
{{coord, 39, 00, 59, N, 140, 19, 02, E, display=title, region:JP_type:adm1st_source:dewiki
Former provinces of Japan
History of Akita Prefecture
History of Yamagata Prefecture
1868 disestablishments in Japan
States and territories established in the 700s
708 establishments
States and territories disestablished in 1868