Yamato Province

Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Yamato Province highlighted.

Yamato Province (大和国, Yamato no Kuni) was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū.^[1] It was also called Washū (和州). At first, the name was written with one different character (大倭; cf. Names of Japan), and for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters (大養徳). The final revision was made in the second year of the Tenpyō-hōji era (c. 758). It is classified as a great province in the Engishiki.

The Yamato Period in the history of Japan refers to the late Kofun Period (c. 250–538) and Asuka Period (538–710). Japanese archaeologists and historians emphasize the fact that during the early Kofun Period the Yamato chieftainship was in close contention with other regional powers, such as Kibi Province near present-day Okayama Prefecture. Around the 6th century, the local chieftainship gained national control and established the Imperial court in Yamato Province.

The battleship Yamato, the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II, was named after this ancient province.

Capital

The provincial capital was Wakigami in Katsujō District (modern northeastern Gose), but accompanying the Heijō-kyō capital transfer, it was moved to Takaichi District (Jōroku in modern Kashihara, where the Ōgaru and Ishikawa towns meet, called Karu no Chimata). The exact location of the capital is guessed at by various sources, but not known for sure. There was no shugo's mansion; the Kōfuku-ji played that role.

In the Setsuyōshū, Toichi District is listed as the seat.

Temples

The provincial temple for monks is popularly thought to have been Tōdai-ji, but it may have in fact been a different one in Kashihara. The one for nuns was Hokke-ji.

The primary shrine was Sakurai's Ōmiwa Shrine, but there have been no records stating as such found at the shrine itself. There were no secondary shrines. The sōja (or principal Shinto shrine in the province) was Kokufu Shrine (Takatori, Takaichi, Nara).

Kami of Yamato

• Minamoto no Shigetoki
• Minamoto no Suetō
• Utsunomiya Nobufusa
• Oda Hidanaga
• Oda Toshisada
• Oda Tatsusada
• Oda Tatsukatsu
• Mitsuki Naoyori
• Honjō Fusanaga
• Tōyama Kagetō
• Jushii-ge Nakai Masakiyo
• Jushii-ge Matsudaira Tomonori
• Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naotsune
• Jugoi-ge Kanō Hisachika
• Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naonobu
• Jushii-ge Matsudaira Tsunenori
• Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naoyoshi

Districts

Domains

• Yagyū Domain
• Kōriyama Domain
• Koizumi Domain
• Yanagimoto Domain
• Kaijū Domain / Shibamura Domain
• Kujira Domain
• Uda-Matsuyama Domain
• Takatori Domain
• Okidome Domain
• Tatsuta Domain
• Tawaramoto Domain
• Kishida Domain
• Yamato-Shinjō Domain
• Gose Domain
• Yamato-Gojō Domain

See also

• Yamataikoku
• Yoshino Province
• List of Provinces of Japan
• List of Han
• Yamato period
• Japanese battleship Yamato
• Yamato people (Japanese)
• Yamato-damashii - 'the Japanese spirit'
• Thirteen Buddhist Sites of Yamato

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

External links

Media related to Yamato Province at Wikimedia Commons

• Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903