- Shinano Province
nihongo|Shinano Province|信濃国|Shinano no kuni is an old province of
Japan that is now present dayNagano Prefecture . Its abbreviation is Shinshū (信州).Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchu, Hida, Kai, Kozuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, which became an important city of the province.
The
World War II –eraJapan eseaircraft carrier "Shinano" was named after this old province.Historical record
In
713 , the road which traverses Mino Province and Shinano Province was widened to accommodate increasing numbers of travelers through the Kiso District of modern Nagano Prefecture. [Titsingh, p. 64.]In the
Sengoku period , Shinano Province was often split among several fiefs and several other castle towns developed, including Komoro, Ina, and Ueda. Shinano was one of the major centers ofTakeda Shingen 's power during his wars withUesugi Kenshin and others.In
1871 , during theMeiji period , with theabolition of the han system and the establishment of prefectures ("Haihan Chiken ") after theMeiji Restoration , Shinano Province was administratively separated in1871 into Nagano and Chikuma prefectures. These two tentative governmental and territorial units were then reconfigured together again in1876 . This became the modern prefecture of Nagano, which remains substantially unchanged since that time.Former districts
*
Azumi District (安曇郡): became Kitaazumi and (the now dissolved) Minamiazumi districts
*Chiisagata District (小県郡)
*Chikuma District (筑摩郡): became Higashichikuma and Nishichikuma (now Kiso) districts
*Hanishina District (埴科郡)
*Ina District (伊那郡): became Kamiina and Shimoina districts
*Minochi District (水内郡): became Kamiminochi and Shimominochi districts
*Saku District (佐久郡): became Kitasaku and Minamisaku districts
*Sarashina District (更級郡)
*Suwa District (諏訪郡)
*Takai District (高井郡): became Kamitakai and Shimotakai districtsNotes
Further reading
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo, 1652] , "
Nipon o daï itsi ran ; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Two copies of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitizedJanuary 30 ,2007 ; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitizedJune 23 ,2006 . [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran Click here to read the original text in French] .
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