Mino Province
美濃国
pre-Meiji period Japan
701–1871

Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Mino Province highlighted
CapitalTarui
Area
 • Coordinates35°22′39″N 136°31′26″E / 35.37750°N 136.52389°E / 35.37750; 136.52389
History 
• Ritsuryō system
701
• Disestablished
1871
Today part ofGifu Prefecture
Hiroshige ukiyo-e "Hida" in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" (六十余州名所図会), depicting a Yōrō Waterfalls

Mino Province (美濃国, Mino no kuni) was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture.[1] Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated form name was Nōshū (濃州). Under the Engishiki classification system, Mino was ranked as one of the 13 "great countries" (大国) in terms of importance, and one of the "near countries" (近国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital and ichinomiya were located in what is now the town of Tarui.

Historical record

"Mino" is an ancient place name, and appears in mokkan wooden tags from the ruins of Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō, and other ancient sites, but using the kanji "三野国". Per the Kujiki, there were originally three separate countries in Mino, centered around what is now Ōgaki, Ōno, and Kakamigahara. Each had its own Kuni no miyatsuko, and together with Motosu (in eastern Gifu) and Mugetsu (in north-central Gifu), these five entities were joined under Yamato rule to form the province of Mino. The use of the kanji "美濃" is found in the Kojiki and became prevalent in the Nara period. Early Mino included much of Kiso District in Shinano and portions of northern Owari. The route of the ancient Tōsandō highway connecting the ancient capitals of Japan and the eastern provinces passed through Mino, and even in 713 AD, records indicate that the road was widened to accommodate increasing numbers of travelers.[2]

The Nihon Shoki and Shoku Nihongi indicates that numerous immigrants from the hata clan and from Silla settled in Mino in the Asuka and Nara periods.

During the Kamakura and Muromachi Period, the Toki clan held the position of shugo of Mino Province. During the Sengoku period, Saitō Dōsan usurped political power from the Toki, and later the province was conquered by Oda Nobunaga. The Battle of Sekigahara took place at the western edge of Mino, near the mountains between the Chūbu Region and the Kinki Region. With the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, several feudal domains were established in Mino. At the time of the Meiji restoration, Mino was divided into 18 districts, which in turn were divided into 131 subdistricts and 1561 villages. The total assessed kokudaka of the province was 654,872 koku.

Historical districts

Mino Province consisted of twenty-one districts:

Shugo

Below is an incomplete list of the shugo who controlled Mino Province and the years of their control:

Kamakura shogunate

Muromachi shogunate

Edo period Domains

Domains in Mino Province
Name HQ Daimyō & kokudaka
Ōgaki Domain Ōgaki Castle
Ōgaki Shinden Domain Hatamura jin'ya
  • Toda clan: 10,000; 1688 - 1871
Gujō Domain Gujō Hachiman Castle
  • Endo clan: 27,000→24,000; 1600 - 1692 (attainder)
  • Inoue clan: 50,000; 1692 - 1697 (transfer to Kameyama Domain)
  • Kanemori clan: 38,000; 1697 - 1758 (attainder due to mismanagement)
  • Aoyama clan: 48,000; 1758 - 1871
Kanō Domain Kanō Castle
Iwamura Domain Iwamura Castle
  • Ogyū-Matsudaira clan: 20,000; 1601 - 1638 (transfer from Hamamatsu Domain)
  • Niwa clan: 20,000; 1638 - 1702 (transfer to Takayanagi Domain)
  • Ogyū-Matsudaira clan: 20,000→30,000; 1702 - 1871
Naegi Domain Naegi Castle
  • Tōyama clan: 10,000; 1600 - 1871
Takatomi Domain Takatomi jin'ya
  • Honjo clan: 10,000; 1709 - 1871
Imao Domain Imao Castle
Imao jin'ya
  • Ichihashi clan: 20,000; 1600 - 1610 (transfer to Yabase Domain
  • Takenokoshi clan: 10,000→20,000→30,000→20,000; 1611 - 1871 (as part of Owari Domain)
Takasu Domain Takasu Castle
Takasu jin'ya
Kurono Domain Kurono Castle
Ibi Domain Ibi Castle
  • Nishio clan: 30,000→25,500; 1600 - 1623 (attainder)
Kaneyama Domain
Kozuchi Domain Ogurayama Castle
  • Kanemori clan: 18,000→20,000; 1600 - 1611 (attainder)
Jushichijo Domain Jushichijo Castle
  • Inaba clan: 10,000→20,000, 1607 - 1627 (transfer to Moka Domain)
Aono Domain Aono jin'ya
Seki Domain Seki jin'ya
  • Oshima clan: 18,000 1600 - 1604 (reduced to hatamoto holding)
Kiyomizu Domain Kiyomisu Castle
Iwataki Domain Iwataki Jin'ya
  • Honjo clan: 1,000: 1705 - 1709 (reelected to Takatomi Domai )
Tokuno Domain Tokuno jin'ya
  • Hiraoka clan: 10,000; 1604 - 1653 (attainder)
Nomura Domain
  • Oda clan: 10,000; 1600 - 1631 (attainder)
Mino-Hasegawa Domain
  • Hasegawa clan: 10,000 1617 - 1635 (divided into hatamoto holdings)
Mino-Wakisaka Domain
  • Wakisaka clan: 10,000; 1615 - 1632 (attainder)

Geography

Mino and Owari provinces were separated by the Sakai River, which means "border river."

Notes

  1. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Mino" in Japan Encyclopedia at Google Books.
  2. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 64., p. 64, at Google Books
  3. ^ "Toki clan" at Sengoku-expo.net; retrieved 2013-5-10.
  4. ^ Nussbaum, "Saitō Dōsan" at p. 809.

References

Other websites

Media related to Mino Province at Wikimedia Commons

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