are the capitals of the historical

Provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into and ...

History

As part of the

Taika Reform The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Japan ...

(645) which aimed at a centralization of the administration following the Chinese model (''

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'' (� ...

''), the kokufu and with it the office of the kokushi, replacing the older ''

Kuni no miyatsuko , also read as "kokuzō" or "kunitsuko", were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court. Yamato period Kuni no miyatsuko governed small territories (), although the location, names, and borders of the provinces remain unclear. Kun ...

'', developed in the 660s. The ''

Wamyō Ruijushō The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. The Heian period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō (源順, 911–983 CE) began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter. This ''Wamyō ruijushō'' title is abbreviate ...

'' (Collection of Japanese Names) from 935 contains the earliest listing of the capitals of the provinces and their location. The location of the original capitals of the 8th and 9th century are not passed down. When during 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 ...

, starting in the 14th century, the functions of the kokushi were increasingly transferred to military governors (''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

''), the provincial governments (''

kokuga is a shoot 'em up game released by G.rev in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS. It was directed by Hiroshi Iuchi, famous for his seminal shoot 'em up, shmups Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. Unlike many worldwide releases, the game wasn't released in Canada ...

'') lost their importance.

Organisation

In the center of the kokufu lay the provincial government (''kokuga'') with its offices (administration, farming, finance, police and military) and the official building of the kokushi, known as . In the periphery there was the provincial school (''kokugaku''), the garrison and storehouses for taxes which were paid in kind. When the shugo replaced the kokushi, their administration, the was occasionally found in or near the buildings of the kokuga. In these cases their administration was also referred to as . With their square layout, the kokufu followed that of the

Capital of Japan The current capital of Japan is Tokyo."About Japan"
The Government of Japan. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

, first Fujiwara-kyō and then Heijō-kyō, which in turn were modelled on the

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

. However, with exception of Dazaifu, which held a special position, these capitals were relatively small. For instance, the capital of

Suō Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suō bordered on Aki, Iwami, and Nagato Provinces. The ancient provincial capital was in Hōfu. Suō was ruled for much o ...

occupied an area of 1 km², that of

Bizen Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchū and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces. Bizen ...

850 m×850 m. Inside or near the kokufu, there were also the most important religious sites of the province, the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

provincial temples, '' kokubun-ji'', one each for monks and nuns as well as the highest ranked

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

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 ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Geographic history of Japan Capitals in Asia