was a
province of
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 ...
which consisted of the
Iki Islands, now a part of modern
Nagasaki Prefecture.
[ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Iki''" in .] Its abbreviated name was . Iki is classified as one of the provinces of the
Saikaidō. Under the ''
Engishiki'' classification system, Iki was ranked as an "inferior country" (下国) and a "far country" (遠国).
History
The Iki Islands have been inhabited since the
Japanese Paleolithic
The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...
era, and numerous artifacts from the
Jōmon,
Yayoi and
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...
s have been found by archaeologists, indicating continuous human occupation and activity. In the Chinese ''Weizhi Worenchuan'' (Japanese 魏志倭人伝, ''Gishi
Wajinden''), part of the
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
dating from the 3rd century AD, mention is made of a country called "Ikikoku", (一支国), located on an archipelago east of the
Korean Peninsula. Archaeologists have tentatively identified this with the large Yayoi period settlement of
Harunotsuji (原の辻), one of the largest to have been discovered in Japan, where artifacts uncovered indicate a close contact with the Japanese islands and the Asian mainland. It is also mentioned in the ''
Weilüe,'' the ''
Book of Liang'' and the ''
Book of Sui.''
The islands were organized as Iki Province under the ''
Ritsuryō'' reforms in the latter half of the seventh century, and the name "Iki-no-kuni" appears on wooden markers found in the imperial capital of
Nara.
The exact location of the provincial capital is not known, but is traditionally believed to have been in the former town of
Ashibe, in former Ishida District. where the ruins of the
''Kokubun-ji'' of Iki Province have been discovered. Two shrines vie for the title of ''
Ichinomiya'' of the province: the , in former town of
Gonoura and the , in Ashibe
After 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 July 1871, Iki Province became part of "Hirado Prefecture" from 1871, which then became part of Nagasaki Prefecture.
Historical districts
*
Iki District
**
Iki District (壱岐郡) - absorbed Ishida District on April 1, 1896; now dissolved
**
Ishida District (石田郡) - merged into Iki District on April 1, 1896
Notes
References
*
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
OCLC 58053128* Papinot, Edmond. (1910). ''Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
OCLC 77691250
External links
*
{{Japan Old Province
History of Nagasaki Prefecture
Former provinces of Japan