Hida Province

Hida Province(Phi đàn quốc,Hida-no-kuni)was aprovince of Japanin the area that is today the northern portion ofGifu Prefecturein theChūbu regionof Japan.Hida bordered onEchizen,Mino,Shinano,Etchū,andKagaProvinces. It was part ofTōsandōCircuit.Its abbreviated name wasHishū(Phi châu).Under theEngishikiclassification system, Hida was ranked as an "inferior country" ( hạ quốc ) and a middle country ( trung quốc ) in terms of its importance and distance from the capital. Currently, the entire area of the former Hida Province consists of the cities ofHida,Takayamaand most of the city ofGero,and the village ofShirakawa,inŌno District.

Hida Province Phi đàn quốc
pre-Meiji period Japan
701–1871
Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Hida Province highlighted
Capital	Takayama
Area
• Coordinates	36°30′N135°45′E
History
•Ritsuryōsystem	701
• Disestablished	1871
Today part of	Gifu Prefecture

Hiroshigeukiyo-e"Hida" in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" ( lục thập dư châu danh sở đồ hội ), depicting anaerial ropeway

Overview

"Hida" indicates the west side of theHida Mountains.The climate is similar to that of the provinces of theSea of Japan,with extremely heavy snow in winter. Hida traditionally had strong economic and cultural ties with the neighboringEtchū Provincedue to the ease of transportation and poor connections to thePacific coast,from which it was blocked by mountain ranges and poor transportation. Historically the region was written as "Yota" or "Wita". This notation still is present and it can be seen in titles such as "Yuta High School" etc.

History

Ancient and classical Hida

Hida existed as a political entity before theRitsuryōsystem and the implementation of theTaihō Codeof theNara period.Ancient Hida was governed by aKuni no miyatsuko,but the area was so depopulated, a tax exception was granted. By theNara period,the area was already so noted for its carpentry that the official court position ofHida-no-takumi( phi đàn công ) consisting of two craftsmen from Hida Province was established. The ruins of theprovincial capitalof the province have been located in "Kokufu-cho" of the city of Takayama, and theprovincial temple,Hida Kokubun-jiis also located in the city, as is the province'sichinomiya,theMinashi Shrine.

During theHeianandKamakura period,Hida's extensive forests were a major source of timber and metals for other provinces. River traffic from Hida down to Mino Province andOwari Provincewas heavy. By theMuromachi period,theKyōgoku clanheld the position ofshugofor many generations; however, towards the start of theSengoku period,the province was fragmented into many small warlord territories, with the province as a whole becoming contested territory between the powerfulTakeda clanbased inKai Provinceand theUesugi clanbased inEchigo Province.TheIkkō-ikkimovement from neighboring Kaga and Etchū Provinces also added to the instability.

Medieval and pre-modern Hida

During theSengoku period,the Miki clan changed its name toAnenokōjiand temporarily unified the Hida area. After theHonnō-ji Incident,Kanamori Nagachika,one ofOda Nobunaga's and laterToyotomi Hideyoshi's generals, was sent to occupy Hida Province and became itsdaimyō.He builtTakayama Castleand later fought on the side ofTokugawa Ieyasuat theBattle of Sekigahara.As a result, he was reconfirmed asdaimyōofTakayama Domainunder theTokugawa shogunatewith akokudakaof 38,000koku.His heirs ruled Takayama for six generations, untilKanamori Yoritokiwas transferred toKaminoyama DomaininDewa Provincein 1692.

From 1692 until the end of theEdo period,Hida Province wastenryōterritory ruled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. The official in charge of Hida was theHida Gundai(Phi đàn quận đại).Initially, this was adaikon-level position located at adaikanshobuilt on the site of theshimoyashikiof Takayama Castle and was held by 11 men from 1692 to 1765. Thedaikanshowas then elevated to that of ajin'yaand the final 14 holders of the office were styledGundairather thanDaikan.The Takayamajin'yahas the distinction of being the onlyjin'yaontenyrōterritory. The area under its control consisted of 414 villages with a totalkokudakaof 57,182koku.

Meiji period and beyond

Following theMeiji Restorationand theabolition of the han systemin 1871, the post ofHida Gundaiwas also abolished. The area was divided into threedistrictsand was renamed "Hida Prefecture" on July 12, 1868. Ten days later, it was renamed "Takayama Prefecture" and on December 31, 1871, became "Chikuma Prefecture". On August 21, 1876, Chikuma was merged with the former Mino Province to become Gifu Prefecture.

Also in this era, the Hida region became a center for the nationally important silk-making industry, leading to many women traveling there from the surrounding regions for work.

Historical districts

Hida Province consisted of three districts:

• Gifu Prefecture
  • Mashita District( ích điền quận ) - dissolved
  • Ōno District( đại dã quận )
  • Yoshiki District( cát thành quận ) - dissolved

See also

• Hida Highlands

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéricand Käthe Roth. (2005).Japan encyclopedia.Cambridge:Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-01753-5;OCLC 58053128
• Papinot, Edmond.(1910).Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan.Tokyo: Librairie Sansaisha.OCLC 77691250

Other websites

Media related toHida Provinceat Wikimedia Commons

• Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903