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 ...

in the area of the

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in

Saikaidō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. Saikaido was one of the main circuits of the Gokishichidō system, which was originally established during the Asuka period ...

. It did not include the regions of Tsushima and

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japanese ...

that are now part of modern Nagasaki Prefecture.

History

The name "Hizen" dates from 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). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

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'' (� ...

'' ''Kokugunri'' system reforms, when the province was divided from Higo Province. The name appears in the early chronicle ''Shoku Nihongi'' from 696 AD. The ancient

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

of Hizen was located near

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

City. During the late

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 ...

, the province was the site of much early contact between Japan and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

merchants and missionaries.

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...

, and later

became major foreign trade centers, and a large percentage of the population converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

directed the

invasion of Korea An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

from the city of

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, in Hizen, and after the suppression of foreign contacts and prohibition against the ''

Kirishitan The Japanese term , from Portuguese ''cristão'' (cf. Kristang), meaning "Christian", referred to Catholic Christians in Japanese and is used in Japanese texts as a historiographic term for Catholics in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries. M ...

'' religion, the

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular polic ...

also took place in Hizen province.

List of han

During 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 ...

, Hizen Province was divided among several ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

s'', but dominated by the

Nabeshima clan is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nabeshima", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p.38 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The clan controlled Saga Do ...

, whose domain was centered at the castle town of

. At the end of 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 ...

, Hizen was divided between the following ''han'': During this period, the port of Nagasaki remained a

tenryō 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 ...

territory, administered for the Tokugawa government by the

Nagasaki bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually '' fudai'' ''daimyōs'', but this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyōs''.Beasley, Wi ...

, and contained the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

trading post of

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

. After 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 ...

in 1868 came 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, whereby all daimyo were obliged to surrender their domains to 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 o ...

, which then divided the nation into numerous

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, which were consolidated into 47 prefectures and 3 urban areas by 1888. The former Hizen province was divided into modern

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

and a portion of

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

. At the same time, the province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Hizen is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and (b) between Japan and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

.US Department of State. (1906)
''A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements'' (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759

Historical districts

Fujitsu District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of February 1, 2009, the district has an estimated population of 10,075 and a density of 136 persons per km2. The total area is 74.21 km2. Municipalities * Tara, whose borders are effecti ...

(藤津郡) ** Kanzaki District (神埼郡) ** Kii District (基肄郡) – merged with Mine and Yabu Districts to become

Miyaki District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. In February 2009, the district had an estimated population of 54,233 and a density of 625 per km2. The total area is 86.82 km2. Municipalities * Kamimine * Kiyama * Miyaki History Miyaki Di ...

(三養基郡) on March 26, 1896 **

Kishima District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of February 1, 2009, the district has an estimated population of 45,085 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The ...

(杵島郡) ** Mine District (三根郡) – merged with Kii and Yabu Districts to become Miyaki District on March 26, 1896 **

Ogi District was a Districts of Japan, district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 45,910 and a population density, density of 478.98 persons per km2. The total area was 95.85 km2. Former towns an ...

(小城郡) – dissolved ** Saga District (佐賀郡) – dissolved ** Yabu District (養父郡) – merged with Kii and Mine Districts to become Miyaki District on March 26, 1896 *

** Sonogi District (彼杵郡) *** Higashisonogi District (東彼杵郡) *** Nishisonogi District (西彼杵郡) *** Nagasaki-shi (長崎市) ** Takaki District (高来郡) *** Kitatakaki District (北高来郡) – dissolved *** Minamitakaki District (南高来郡) – dissolved * Mixed ** Matsuura District (松浦郡) ***

Higashimatsuura District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. At the present it has only one town. As of April 1, 2021, the district has an estimated population of 5,211 and a density of 145 persons per square kilometre. The total area is . Municipalities ...

(東松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture; transferred to Saga Prefecture in 1883 (along with Nishimatsuura District) *** Kitamatsuura District (北松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture *** Minamimatsuura District (南松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture *** Nishimatsuura District (西松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture; transferred to Saga Prefecture in 1883 (along with Higashimatsuura District)

Maps

Keichō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (1837 copy) (Takeo City Library and Historical Museum).jpg, ''

Keichō was a after ''Bunroku'' and before ''Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disasters ...

Kuniezu The were a series of Japanese provincial land maps, created during the Edo period, which the Tokugawa shogunate ordered be created by every province. They are sometimes contrasted with , which were national maps created by the shogunate. In 19 ...

'' - Hizen Province (1837 copy of lost c.1605 original) ( Takeo City Library and Historical Museum) Shōhō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (Chōkokan).jpg, ''

Shōhō was a after ''Kan'ei'' and before ''Keian''. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 412./ref> Change of era * 1644 : The ...

'' - Hizen Province (1647) ( Chōkokan) Genroku Kuniezu - Hizen Province (Chōkokan).jpg, ''

Genroku was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from the ninth month of 1688 to the third month of 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415. The period was ...

'' - Hizen Province (1701) ( Chōkokan) Tenpō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (National Archives of Japan).jpg, ''

Tenpō was a after ''Bunsei'' and before ''Kōka.'' The period spanned from December 1830 through December 1844. The reigning emperor was . Introduction Change of era * December 10, 1830 () : In the 13th year of ''Bunsei'', the new era name of ''T ...

'' - Hizen Province, with Chikuzen in pink and Chikugo in yellow (1838) (

National Archives of Japan The preserve Japanese government documents and historical records and make them available to the public. Although Japan's reverence for its unique history and art is well documented and illustrated by collections of art and documents, there is al ...

)

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

Other websites

* National Archives of Japan

{{Authority control History of Nagasaki Prefecture History of Saga Prefecture Former provinces of Japan