Echigo Province
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Echigo Province (越後国, Echigo no kuni) was an
Its abbreviated form name was Esshū (越州), with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Under the Engishiki classification system, Echigo was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital.
Echigo and Kōzuke Province were known as the Jōetsu region.
History
In the late 7th century, during the reign of
The provincial capital of Echigo was located in Kubiki District, in what is now the city of Jōetsu, but its exact location is now unknown. The temple of Gochikokubun-ji (五智国分寺), also in Jōetsu, claims to be the successor of the provincial temple of Echigo Province; however, its records date only to 1562 when it was relocated to its present location by Uesugi Kenshin. Two Shinto shrines vie for the title of ichinomiya of Echigo Province: Yahiko Shrine in Yahiko, and Kota Shrine in Jōetsu.
Echigo was ruled directly by the Hōjō clan during the Kamakura period, followed by the Uesugi clan from the start of the Muromachi period to the late Sengoku period. Under the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period, Echigo was divided among several feudal domains. The Hokurikudō highway passed through the province, and numerous post stations were established. The port of Niigata was also of major importance in the coastal kitamaebune trading system.
The area became a battleground during the
Historical districts
Echigo Province consisted of fifteen districts:
- Niigata Prefecture
- Dewa District (出羽郡) - split off to become Dewa Province
- Iwafune District (岩船郡)
- Kanbara District (蒲原郡)
- Higashikanbara District (東蒲原郡)
- Kitakanbara District (北蒲原郡)
- Minamikanbara District (南蒲原郡)
- Nakakanbara District (中蒲原郡) - dissolved
- Nishikanbara District (西蒲原郡)
- Koshi District (古志郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province; now dissolved
- Kariwa District (刈羽郡) - split from Koshi District during Heian period, formerly known as Mishima District
- Santō District (三島郡) - split from Koshi District during Edo period
- Kubiki District (頸城郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province
- Higashikubiki District (東頸城郡) - dissolved
- Nakakubiki District (中頸城郡) - dissolved
- Nishikubiki District (西頸城郡) - dissolved
- Nuttari District (沼垂郡) - merged into Kanbara District (period unknown)
- Uonuma District (魚沼郡) - formerly part of Etchū Province
- Kitauonuma District (北魚沼郡) - dissolved
- Minamiuonuma District (南魚沼郡)
- Nakauonuma District (中魚沼郡)
Bakumatsu period domains
Name | type | daimyō |
kokudaka | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Murakami Domain | fudai |
Naitō | 50,000 koku | |
Kurokawa Domain | fudai | Yanagisawa | 10,000 koku | |
Mikkaichi Domain | fudai | Yanagisawa | 10,000 koku | |
Shibata Domain | tozama |
Mizoguchi | 50,000 koku | |
Muramatsu Domain | tozama | Hori | 30,000 koku | |
Yoita Domain | fudai | Ii | 20,000 koku | |
Nagaoka Domain | fudai | Makino | 110,000 koku | |
Mineyama Domain | fudai | Makino | 11,000 koku | |
Shiiya Domain | fudai | Hori | 10,000 koku | |
Takada Domain | fudai | Yanagihara | 150,000 koku | |
Itoigawa Domain | shinpan |
Matsudaira | 10,000 koku |
Notes
- .
References
- Papinot, Edmond. (1910). Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. OCLC 77691250
External links
Media related to Echigo Province at Wikimedia Commons
- Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903
- (in Japanese) Echigo on "Edo 300 HTML" Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine