or is an old 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 ...

that is now

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

. Shinano bordered on

Echigo was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa,

Mino Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

, which became an important city of the province. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

–era Japanese

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

''Shinano'' was named after this old province.

Historical record

In 713, the road that traverses

and Shinano provinces was widened to accommodate increasing numbers of travelers through the

Kiso District is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of November 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 34,759. The total area is 1,546.26 km2. Historically, the district was once known as Nishichikuma District (西筑摩郡) ...

of modern Nagano Prefecture. In the

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 ...

, Shinano Province was often split among fiefs and castle towns developed, including Komoro, Ina, and Ueda. Shinano was one of the major centers of

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

's power during his wars with

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as ...

and others.

Suwa taisha , historically also known as Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''Suwa-jinja'') or , is a group of Shinto shrines in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine complex is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Shinano Province and is considered to be one of the oldest sh ...

was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (''

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 ...

'') for the province."Nationwide List of ''Ichinomiya''," p. 2.
retrieved 2011-08-010 In 1871, during 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 ...

, 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) ...

and the establishment of

prefecture 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 ...

s (''Haihan Chiken'') 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 ...

, Shinano Province's ex-domains/1871 prefectures and ex-shogunate territories/1868 prefectures (mainly Ina

], Okutono Domain, Okutono, Iwamurada Domain, Iwamurada, Komoro Domain, Komoro, Ueda Domain, Ueda, Matsushiro Domain, Matsushiro, Suzaka Domain, Suzaka, Iiyama Domain, Iiyama, Suwa Domain, Suwa/Takashima, Takatō Domain, Takatō, Iida,

) and Takayama/Hida which covered

Hida Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Gifu Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in . Hida bordered on Echizen, Mino, Shinano, Etchū, and Kaga Provinc ...

were administratively merged into Nagano (initially Nakano Prefecture in 1870) and Chikuma

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 ...

. The seat of the prefectural government of Nakano was Nakano town from Takai District (became Nakano City in 1954), Nagano's prefectural capital was Nagano town in Minochi District (→

Nagano City is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, wi ...

in 1897), and Chikuma's capital was Matsumoto town,

Chikuma district Chikuma District was a district located in Shinano Province. The district was centered at the current city of Matsumoto, then capital of Shinano, but on January 14, 1879, the district split off into Higashi-chikuma and Nishi-chikuma Districts ( ...

(

Matsumoto City is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a core city since 1 April 2021. , the city had a population of 239,466 in 105,207 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city ...

from 1907). In the second wave of prefectural mergers in 1875/76, Chikuma was split again: the Western part covering Hida Province was merged into Gifu, and the Eastern part in Shinano became part of Nagano. Since that time, Nagano is essentially contiguous to Shinano.

Historical districts

Shinano Province contained the following

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 o ...

: *

** Azumi District (安曇郡) *** Kitaazumi District (北安曇郡) *** Minamiazumi District (南安曇郡) – dissolved ** Chiisagata District (小県郡) **

Chikuma District Chikuma District was a district located in Shinano Province. The district was centered at the current city of Matsumoto, then capital of Shinano, but on January 14, 1879, the district split off into Higashi-chikuma and Nishi-chikuma Districts ( ...

(筑摩郡) *** Higashichikuma District (東筑摩郡) *** Nishichikuma District (西筑摩郡) – renamed as

(木曽郡) on May 1, 1968 ** Hanishina District (埴科郡) ** Minochi District (水内郡) ***

Kamiminochi District is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 23,774. As a result of mergers the total area of the district is now 282.65 km2. Towns and villages *Iizuna * Shinano * Ogawa M ...

(上水内郡) *** Shimominochi District (下水内郡) ** Saku District (佐久郡) ***

Kitasaku District is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of December 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 40,041. The district has three towns * Karuizawa *Miyota * Tateshina District Timeline *On April 1, 2004, the village of ...

(北佐久郡) *** Minamisaku District (南佐久郡) ** Sarashina District (更級郡) – dissolved ** Takai District (高井郡) *** Kamitakai District (上高井郡) *** Shimotakai District (下高井郡) * Former Suwa Province districts ** Ina District (伊那郡) *** Kamiina District (上伊那郡) *** Shimoina District (下伊那郡) ** Suwa District (諏訪郡)

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 ...

. ; . * * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''
(''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. .

External links

Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903
* Hokusai
''A View of Mount Fuji across Lake Suwa''
c. 1831 * Ishida Satoshi: Maps of prefectures in Central Japa

{{Japan Old Province Former provinces of Japan History of Nagano Prefecture

Historical record

Historical districts

See also

Notes

References

External links