Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

was under Japanese rule after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

, as per the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...

of 1895. There were still several changes until the Japanese political system was adopted in 1920. This system was ''de facto'' abolished in 1945 and ''de jure'' in 1952.

Introduction

Administrative divisions of

by types and times. Like the administrative divisions in

mainland Japan is a term to distinguish the area of Japan from its outlying territories. It was an official term in the pre-war period, distinguishing Japan and its colonies in the Far East. After the end of World War II, the term became uncommon, but sti ...

, most of them are translated to "

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 ...

" in English.

Early years (1895–1901)

The political divisions changed frequently between 1895 and 1901.

Chō (1901–1920)

The former system was abolished 11 November 1901, and twenty local administrative offices (''chō'') were established. Usage of ''Ken'' divisions was discontinued.

Structural hierarchy

Prefectures

* Shinkō, Byōritsu, Toroku, Ensuikō were split and merge with the two Chō in the right.

Demographics

Population of Formosa according to census taken 31 December 1904, arranged by district.

Shū and Chō (1920–1945)

Under a "Dōka policy" ( 同化) in which the Japanese considered the Taiwanese to be separate but equal, the political divisions in Taiwan became similar to the

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...

used in

in 1920.

Structural hierarchy

Prefectures

* Hōko Prefecture was divided from Takao Prefecture in 1926

Cities

There were 11 cities in

in 1945. Most of them are still the most populous municipalities in the country today. The ōaza (大字) in the city center may be named chō (町).

Demographics

The 1941 ( Shōwa 16) census of Taiwan was 6,249,468. 93.33% of the population were Taiwanese which consisted of both

Han Taiwanese Han Taiwanese, Taiwanese Han (), Taiwanese Han Chinese, or Han Chinese are Taiwanese people of full or partial ethnic Han descent. According to the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, they comprise 95 to 97 percent of the Taiwanese population, which als ...

and "civilized"

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese peo ...

. Tainan had the largest population followed by Taichū and Taihoku. The largest concentration of ethnic Japanese were in Taihoku followed by Takao and Tainan.

Changes in 1945

When the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

began to rule

in 1945, the government simply changed the names of the divisions, and named the Aboriginal areas. Those changes were not recognized by the Allies after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

. * Most of the cities in Taiwan became provincial cities, but

Yilan Yilan may refer to: China * Yilan County, Heilongjiang (依兰县), county of central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China * Yilan Town, Heilongjiang (依兰镇), seat of Yilan County * Yilan, Jilin (依兰镇), town in Yanji Taiwan ...

(宜蘭市 Giran) and Hualien (花蓮市 Karen) became the first two county-administered cities in the ROC. * The more basic or are merged to the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in provincial cities, and/or reformed to

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

( ''or'' ).

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taiwan Former administrative divisions of countries

Introduction

Early years (1895–1901)

Chō (1901–1920)

Structural hierarchy

Prefectures

Demographics

Shū and Chō (1920–1945)

Structural hierarchy

Prefectures

Cities

Demographics

Changes in 1945

See also

References

Bibliography