![The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States 35 Echigo Province, Oyashirazu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/The_Famous_Scenes_of_the_Sixty_States_35_Echigo_Province%2C_Oyashirazu.jpg)
was an
old province in north-central
Japan
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 ...
, on the shores of the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
. It bordered on
Uzen,
Iwashiro,
Kōzuke,
Shinano, and
Etchū Provinces.
[ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in .] It corresponds today to
Niigata Prefecture, minus the island of
Sado.
Its abbreviated form name was , with
Echizen and
Etchū Provinces. Under the ''
Engishiki'' classification system, Echigo was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital.
Echigo and
Kōzuke Province were known as the
Jōetsu region
is a geographical region within Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It includes of the cities of Jōetsu, Itoigawa and Myōkō.
History
The historical Jōetsu region is in the area of the old provinces of Kōzuke and Echigo
was an old provinc ...
.
History
In the late 7th century, during the reign of
Emperor Monmu
was the 42nd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文武天皇 (42) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession.
Monmu's reign spanned the years from 697 through 707.
Traditional narrative
Befo ...
, the ancient province of was divided into three separate provinces:
Echizen,
Etchū, and Echigo. The new Echigo Province consisted of
Iwafune and
Nutari Districts, and was one of two border provinces of the
Yamato state
The was a tribal alliance centered on the Yamato region (Nara Prefecture) from the 4th century to the 7th century, and ruled over the alliance of noble families in the central and western parts of the Japanese archipelago. The age is from the ...
with the
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 ...
(the other being
Mutsu). In 702, Echigo was given the four districts of
Kubiki,
Koshi,
Uonuma and
Kanbara from Etchū. When Japan extended its territory northward in 708,
Dewa District Dewa may refer to:
* Dewa, India, a town in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
* Dewa Province, a province in Japan
* Dewa (band), an Indonesian rock band
* Dewa (people), a Sri Lankan people/population
* Dewa, Togo
* Dubai Electricity and Water Authori ...
was established under Echigo. But this district was transformed into
Dewa Province in 712.
Sado Province
was a province of Japan until 1871; since then, it has been a part of Niigata Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sado''" in . It was sometimes called or . It lies on the eponymous Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata Prefectur ...
was temporarily merged with Echigo between 743 and 752. Since the division of Sado in 752, the territory of Echigo remained constant to the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
.
The
provincial capital of Echigo was located in Kubiki District, in what is now the city of
Jōetsu, but its exact location is now unknown. The temple of , also in Jōetsu, claims to be the successor of the
provincial temple
were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794).
History
Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in each ...
of Echigo Province; however, its records date only to 1562 when it was relocated to its present location by
Uesugi Kenshin. Two
Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
s vie for the title of ''
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 Echigo Province:
Yahiko Shrine in
Yahiko, and
Kota Shrine in Jōetsu.
Echigo was ruled directly by the
Hōjō clan
The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...
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 ...
, followed by the
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 ...
from the start of the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
to the late
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, 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 Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
. Under the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
of the
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 characteriz ...
, Echigo was divided among several
feudal domains. The
Hokurikudō
is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through the old Japanese geographical region.Nussbaum, "''Hokurikudō''" in Both were situated along the northwestern edge of Honshū. ...
highway passed through the province, and numerous
post stations were established. The port of Niigata was also of major importance in the coastal ''
kitamaebune
The was a shipping route (and also the ships involved) in Japan from the Edo period to the Meiji era. The route went from Osaka through the Seto Inland Sea and the Kanmon Straits to ports in Hokuriku on the Sea of Japan and later to Hokkaidō.
...
'' trading system.
The area became a battleground during the
Battle of Hokuetsu
The was a battle of the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, which occurred in 1868 in the northwestern part of Japan, in the area of modern Niigata Prefecture.
Background
The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favourable to the restora ...
in the
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
of the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. Following the establishment of the
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 o ...
, the various domains became prefectures with the
abolition of the han system
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...
in 1871. These various prefectures merged to form Niigata Prefecture in 1876.
Historical districts
* Echigo Province
**
Dewa District Dewa may refer to:
* Dewa, India, a town in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
* Dewa Province, a province in Japan
* Dewa (band), an Indonesian rock band
* Dewa (people), a Sri Lankan people/population
* Dewa, Togo
* Dubai Electricity and Water Authori ...
(出羽郡) - split off to become
Dewa Province
**
Iwafune District (岩船郡)
**
Kanbara District (蒲原郡)
***
Higashikanbara District (東蒲原郡)
***
Kitakanbara District (北蒲原郡)
***
Minamikanbara District (南蒲原郡)
***
Nakakanbara District (中蒲原郡) - dissolved
***
Nishikanbara District (西蒲原郡)
**
Koshi District (古志郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province; now dissolved
***
Kariwa District (刈羽郡) - split from Koshi District during
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. ...
, formerly known as Mishima District
***
Santō District (三島郡) - split from Koshi District during
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 characteriz ...
**
Kubiki District (頸城郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province
***
Higashikubiki District (東頸城郡) - dissolved
***
Nakakubiki District (中頸城郡) - dissolved
***
Nishikubiki District (西頸城郡) - dissolved
**
Nuttari District (沼垂郡) - merged into Kanbara District (period unknown)
**
Uonuma District (魚沼郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province
***
Kitauonuma District (北魚沼郡) - dissolved
***
Minamiuonuma District (南魚沼郡)
***
Nakauonuma District (中魚沼郡)
Bakumatsu period domains
Notes
References
*
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 retirem ...
.
OCLC 58053128* Papinot, Edmond. (1910). ''Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
OCLC 77691250
External links
{{Japan Old Province
History of Niigata Prefecture