Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of Kuni (国, Countries). The English-language term provinces is used to encompass all of these units. Each province was divided into Gun earlier Kōri (郡, Counties).
The provinces were originally established as both administrative units and geographic regions. In the late Muromachi period however, their function as administrative units was effectively and gradually supplanted by each domains of sengoku-daimyo. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces as administrative units were totally replaced with daimyos' territorries. In the Edo period, the territories became known as Han. The provinces remained as a geographical units and people referred often a certain place with a couple of province and Han.
At the Meiji restoration, the Han were legitimized as administrative units but quickly replaced by Fu (urban prefectures) and Ken (rural prefectures). Provinces as part of the address system, meanwhile, were not abolished but, on the contrary, augumented. As of 1871, the number of prefectures was 304, while the number of provinces was 68, not including Hokkaido and Ryukyu Province . The boundaries between the many prefectures were not only very complicated but they did not match those of the provinces. Prefectures were gradually merged to reduce the number to 37 by 1881; a few were then divided to give a total by 1885 of 45. Adding Hokkaido and Okinawa produces the current total of 47 prefectures.
To date, no official order has been issued abolishing provinces. Provinces are nonetheless today considered obsolete. However, their names are still widely used as parts of natural feature names, company names, and brands. In the early 2000s, the governor of Nagano Prefecture proposed the renaming of his prefecture as Shinshu (a name derived from Shinano Province).
Provinces are classified into Kinai (within the capital) and seven or eight do (routes, or circuits). Note that, however, do in this context should not be confused with modern traffic lines such as Tokaido from Tokyo to Kyoto or Kobe. Also, Hokkaido in this context should not be confused with Hokkaido Prefecture, although these two overlap geographically.
Early eighth century
- Kinai 畿内 (Area.near.capital-Within)
- Yamato 大和国 (then imperial seat) (written as 倭国 in ancient times until the reign of Genmei Tennō, who established Japan's first permanent capital at Nara, which is located within this province, in 710 CE)
- Kawachi 河内国
- Settsu 摂津国
- Yamashiro 山城国 (formerly also written as 山背国 or 山代国; this is the province in which Kyoto is located)
- Tosando 東山道 (East-Mountain-Route)
- Omi 近江国 (literally "(Near) Freshwater Sea," see Lake Biwako)
- Mino 美濃国
- Hida 飛騨国
- Shinano 信濃国
- Kozuke 上野国 (literally "Upper Keno," part of ancient Keno Province )
- Musashi 武蔵国
- Shimotsuke 下野国 (literally "Lower Keno," part of ancient Keno Province )
- Mutsu 陸奥国 (also called Michinoku 陸奥（みちのく）, literally "Obscure Recesses of the Land")
- Tokaido 東海道 (East-Sea-Route)
- Iga 伊賀国
- Ise 伊勢国
- Shima 志摩国
- Owari 尾張国
- Mikawa 三河国
- Totomi 遠江国 (literally "Far Freshwater Sea," see Lake Hamanako )
- Suruga 駿河国
- Izu 伊豆国
- Kai 甲斐国
- Sagami 相模国
- Kazusa 上総国 (literally "Upper Fusa," part of ancient Fusa Province )
- Shimo-Usa 下総国 (literally "Lower Fusa," part of ancient Fusa Province )
- Hitachi 常陸国 (literally "Sun-Rise," i.e. /hi-tachi/, implying the east end, but the Chinese characters used to write the name actually mean "Always-Land," i.e. /hita-chi/)
- Hokurikudo 北陸道 (North-Land-Route)
- Wakasa 若狭国
- Echizen 越前国 (part of ancient Koshi Province )
- Etchu 越中国 (part of ancient Koshi Province )
- Echigo 越後国 (part of ancient Koshi Province )
- Sado 佐渡国 (the largest island in the Sea of Japan (called East Sea in Korea), situated northwest of Niigata City)
- San'indo 山陰道 (Mountain-Back-Route)
- San'yodo 山陽道 (Mountain-Front-Route)
- Nankaido 南海道 (South-Sea-Route)
- Kii 紀伊国 (also called Ki)
- Awaji 淡路国 (literally Path to Awa Province; the largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, located between the Kii Peninsula of Honshu to the east and the island of Shikoku to the west)
- Awa 阿波国
- Sanuki 讃岐国
- Iyo 伊予国
- Tosa 土佐国
- Saikaido 西海道 (West-Sea-Route)
- Chikuzen 筑前国
- Chikugo 筑後国
- Buzen 豊前国 (part of ancient Toyo Province)
- Bungo 豊後国 (part of ancient Toyo Province)
- Hizen 肥前国 (part of ancient Hi Province )
- Higo 肥後国 (part of ancient Hi Province )
- Hyuga 日向国
- Tane 多褹国 (small islands south of Kyushu)
- Satsuma 薩摩国
- Iki 壱岐国 (an island in the Genkai-Nada region of the Sea of Japan north of Kyushu)
- Tsushima 対馬国 (a pair of islands between Japan and Korea, separating the Korea Strait from the Tsushima Strait)
Early ninth century to Meiji restoration
- Kinai (Area.near.capital-Within)
- Tosando (East-Mountain-Route)
- Tokaido (East-Sea-Route)
- Hokurikudo (North-Land-Route)
- San'indo (Mountain-Back-Route)
- San'yodo (Mountain-Front-Route)
- Nankaido (South-Sea-Route)
- Saikaido (West-Sea-Route)
After Meiji restoration (1868)
- Kinai (Area.near.capital-Within)
- Tosando (East-Mountain-Route)
- Tokaido (East-Sea-Route)
- Hokurikudo (North-Land-Route)
- San'indo (Mountain-Back-Route)
- San'yodo (Mountain-Front-Route)
- Nankaido (South-Sea-Route)
- Saikaido (West-Sea-Route)
- Hokkaido (North-Sea-Route)
- Oshima (previously not counted region)
- Shiribeshi (previously not counted region)
- Iburi (previously not counted region)
- Ishikari (previously not counted region)
- Teshio (previously not counted region)
- Kitami (previously not counted region)
- Hidaka (previously not counted region)
- Tokachi (previously not counted region)
- Kushiro (previously not counted region)
- Nemuro (previously not counted region)
- Chishima (previously not counted region)
Some brief periods
- Chichibu (some time before 645, merged into Musashi)
- Aizu (some time before 645, merged into Mutsu)
- Ho (some time before 645, merged into Mikawa)
- Shinaga (some time before 645, merged into Sagami)
- Izumi Gen (circa 716 to circa 738, divided from Kawachi)
- Yoshino Gen (circa 716 to circa 738, divided from Yamato)
- Suwa (circa 721 to circa 738, divided from Shinano)
- Iwaki (circa 718 to circa 724, divided from Mutsu)
- Iwase (circa 718 to circa 724, divided from Mutsu)
Today
These province names are considered to be mainly of historical interest; however, there is no record that these names were ever officially abolished.
See also
Detailed maps of the provinces at different times can be found at:
