Wakasa Province

Wakasa Province(Nhược hiệp quốc,Wakasa-no-kuni)was aprovince of Japanin the area that is today the southwestern portion ofFukui Prefecturein theHokuriku regionof Japan.Wakasa bordered onEchizen,Ōmi,Tanba,Tango,andYamashiroProvinces. It was part ofHokurikudōCircuit.Its abbreviated form name wasJakushū(Nhược châu).Under theEngishikiclassification system, Wakasa was ranked as a "medium country" ( trung quốc ) and a near country ( cận quốc ) in terms of its importance and distance from the capital.

Wakasa Province Nhược hiệp quốc
pre-Meiji period Japan
701–1871
Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Wakasa Province highlighted
Capital	Obama
Area
• Coordinates	36°30′N135°45′E
History
•Ritsuryōsystem	701
• Disestablished	1871
Today part of	Fukui Prefecture

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

History

Ancient and classical Wakasa

Wakasa existed as a political entity before theRitsuryōsystem and the implementation of theTaihō Codeof theNara period.Wooden shipping tags labelled "Wakasa" have been found in the ruins ofFujiwara-kyō.Per theNihon Shoki,ancient Wakasa was governed by aKuni no miyatsuko,who was a descendant ofAmenohiboko,a semi-legendary prince ofShilla,who settled inTajima provinceduring the reign ofEmperor Suinin.There are archaeological indications that Wakasa was under control of theYamato statefrom the mid-4th century. The province of Wakasa was formally established with the creation of theRitsuryōprovincial system around 701 AD, and initially consisted of the twodistrictsofOnyūandMikata.In 825 AD,Ōiwas separated from Onyū.

During the Nara andHeian periods,Wakasa was an important source of sea products (salt, fish andkonbu) to the aristocracy of the capital, so much so that the province was nicknamedMiketsu Province(Ngự thực quốc,Miketsu-no-kuni).Salt production was especially and important industry. Wakasa was also a strategically important province due to its seaport on theSea of Japanand was the closest ocean harbour toKyoto.

The exact location of theprovincial capitalof Wakasa is unknown, but is believed to have been in what is now the city ofObama.TheWakasa Kokubun-jiand theichinomiyaof Wakasa, theWakasahiko Shrineare also located in Obama.

Medieval and pre-modern Wakasa

Due to its location and strategic importance, during theKamakura period,the position ofshugoof Wakasa Province was retained directly by theHōjō clan.After the start of theMuromachi period,theshugoof Wakasa was held by theShiba clan,followed by theIsshiki clan,and then by a cadet branch of theTakeda clan.During theSengoku period,the Takeda clan were powerful supporters of theAshikaga shogunateand theirkanrei,theHosokawa clan.However, when the Takeda clan erupted into a civil war over an internal succession dispute, theAsakura clanfrom neighbouring Echizen Province asserted control. The Asakura were in turn destroyed byOda Nobunaga.The province was the briefly held byNiwa Nagahide,and under the rule ofToyotomi HideyoshibyYamauchi Kazutoyo.

Following theBattle of Sekigaharain 1600, the victoriousTokugawa Ieyasuassigned the province toKyōgoku Takatsugu,asdaimyōof the 92,000kokuObama Domain.Kyōgoku Takatsugu began the construction ofObama Castleand rebuilt the ancient port town as ajōkamachiand a centre for thekitamaebunecoastal trade network. TheKyōgoku clanwere transferred toIzumo Provincein 1634 and were replaced bySakai Tadakatsu,an important retainer of the shogunate, who had served asTairōundershōgunTokugawa IemitsuandTokugawa Ietsuna.TheSakai clancontinued to rule Obama for fourteen generations over 237 years to the end of the Edo period.

Meiji period and beyond

During theBakumatsu period,Obama Domain initially supported the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1865, the domain executedMito rebellionleaderTakeda Kōunsaiand 353 of his followers and nominally participated in theBattle of Toba–Fushimiof theBoshin War.However, seeing that the shogunate was doomed,Sakai Tadaakicame out of retirement to seize control of the domain from his adopted son and defected to the imperial cause. Consequently, he was appointed imperial governor of Wakasa by the newMeiji governmentuntil theabolition of the han systemin 1871.

At the end of 1871, Wakasa was joined byTsuruga District,Imadate DistrictandNanjō Districtto form "Tsuruga Prefecture". In 1876, Tsuruga Prefecture was divided, with former Wakasa and Tsuruga District joiningShiga Prefecture.In 1881, these area were given to Fukui Prefecture, which then assumed its present borders. Due to geography and these political changes, the area of former Wakasa Province and Tsuruga District have a separate identity, and form theReinan(Lĩnh nam)region of modern Fukui.

Historical districts

Wakasa Province consisted of three districts:

• Fukui Prefecture
  • Mikata District( tam phương quận )
  • Ōi District( đại phạn quận )
  • Onyū District( viễn phu quận ) - dissolved

Bakumatsu period domains

#	Name	type	daimyō	kokudaka
	Obama Domain	fudai	Sakai clan	103,000koku

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: Librarie Sansaisha.OCLC 77691250

External links

Media related toWakasa Provinceat Wikimedia Commons

• Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903