is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being

Nakadōri is a region comprising the middle third of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is sandwiched between the regions of Aizu to the west and Hamadōri is the easternmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two being Nak ...

in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The principal city of the area is

Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Aizuwakamatsu is located in the west ...

. It was part of Mutsu Province; the area once was part of Iwase Province created during the reign of

Empress Genshō was the 44th monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元正天皇 (44)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724. Genshō was the fifth of eight women to take on the ...

.Meyners d'Estrey, Guillaume Henry Jean (1884). ; excerpt, '' Genshō crée sept provinces : Idzumi,

Noto Noto ( scn, Notu; la, Netum) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and i ...

, Atoa, Iwaki, Iwase, Suwa et Sado en empiétant sur celles de Kawachi, Echizen, Etchū, Kazusa, Mutsu and Shinano'' The ''Yōrō Ritsuryo'' established the Iwase Province in 718 through the division of the Michinoku Province ( Mutsu Province). It was composed of five districts of Shirakawa (白河), Iwase (石背), Aizu (会津), Asaka (安積) and Shinobu (信夫). The area encompassed by the province reverted to Mutsu some time between 722 and 724. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

, was a feudal domain under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

which ruled most of the region from Aizuwakamatsu Castle.Deal, William E. (2005)
''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81
Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, it became part of the short-lived

Iwashiro Province is an old province in the area of Fukushima Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Iwashiro''" in . It was sometimes called . The province occupies the western half of the central part of Fukushima Prefecture; the eastern half is I ...

before becoming a region of Fukushima Prefecture. Although never an official province in its own right, Aizu has a very strong regional identity.

Notable people

(Listed alphabetized by Last Name/First Name in the Japanese convention for clarity) * Akizuki Teijirō (1824–1900), Aizu samurai, educator. * Dewa Shigetō (1856–1930), an admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, elevated to the peerage with the title of ''danshaku'' (baron). * Shiba Gorō (1860–1945), prominent at the Siege of the Peking legations, 1900. * Noguchi Hideyo (1876–1928), a doctor who made considerable contributions to the fight against syphilis and yellow fever. * Ibuka Kajinosuke (1854–1935), former samurai turned Christian pastor, responsible for bringing the YMCA to Japan. * Ito Okei (1852-1871), Japanese woman who immigrated to America as part of the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, and subsequently the first to be buried on American soil. * Matsudaira Setsuko (1909–1995), daughter of Matsudaira Tsuneo; later married Prince ''Chichibu no Miya'', Emperor Hirohito's brother. * Matsudaira Tsuneo (1877–1949), son of Matsudaira Katamori, ambassador to the U.S. and UK. * Matsudaira Teru (1832–1884), female warrior, she was an aristocrat during the late Edo, she participated in the siege of Aizuwakamatsu Castle. * Nakano Takeko (1847–1868), female warrior. *

Niijima Yae , also known as , was a Japanese female warrior, educator, nurse, and scholar of the late Edo period who lived into the early Shōwa period. Her samurai family belonged to the Hoshina clan, loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Skilled in gunnery, ...

(born: Yamamoto Yaeko, 1845–1932), female warrior, co-founder of

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

, instructor in the women's division of Doshisha and wife of Niijima Jo (

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He ...

), nurse, tea master *

Saigō Tanomo was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. Chief senior councilor (''hittōgarō'' 筆頭家老) of the Aizu clan, he achieved fame due to his distinguished action in the Boshin War. He adopted the name Hoshina Chikanori (保科近野里). ...

(1830–1903), former chief councilor of the Aizu clan; later, a teacher of Sōkaku Takeda and a chief priest of the Tōshōgū Shrine. * Saitō Kiyoshi (1907–1997), '' sōsaku-hanga'' artist. * Satō Kei (1928–2010), film actor * Takamine Hideo (1854–1910), former samurai, graduate of Oswego Normal School in New York State, Meiji-era educator and head of the Tokyo Normal School, Tokyo Art School, Tokyo Women's Normal School and Tokyo Music School. He is best known for introducing Pestallozian teaching methods to Japan and educational reform. *

Takeda Sōkaku was known as the founder of a school of jujutsu known as Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu. Life Born in the Aizu domain ( Fukushima Prefecture), Sōkaku grew up in the time of the Boshin War. The second son of Takeda Sōkichi, a samurai of the Ta ...

, a famous martial artist of Daito Ryu. *

Tokugawa Tsunenari is the present (18th generation) head of the main Tokugawa house. He is the son of Ichirō Matsudaira and Toyoko Tokugawa. His great-grandfather was the famed Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu and his paternal great-grandfather was Tokugawa Iesato. ...

(1940– ), grandson of Matsudaira Tsuneo; current head of the main Tokugawa family. *

Uryu Iwako , also known as Uryū Iwa, was a noted Japanese social worker during the Meiji period. She established a midwifery research institute and relief facility to care for orphans and the poor, and promoted social work and girls' education. Life Iwa ...

(1829–1897), prominent social worker. * Yamakawa Futaba (1844–1909), a co-worker of Takamine Hideo, head administrator at the Tokyo Women's Normal School, she is best known for her support of women's education *

Yamakawa Hiroshi Baron was a Bakumatsu period Aizu ''samurai'' who subsequently became a general in the early Meiji period Imperial Japanese Army, and a noted politician and educator. He was also one of the first persons (together with his brother Yamakawa Kenji ...

(1845–1898) Brother of Kenjiro and Sutematsu, a notable military leader who defended the domain, later organized Aizu refugees, a key figure in the relief of Kumamoto Garrison during the Seinan War or Satsuma Rebellion and General in the Meiji Era *

Yamamoto Kakuma was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who went on to become an educator and politician in the Meiji era. Biography A native of Aizu, Yamamoto claimed descent from the famed military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke. A child prodigy, he co ...

(1828–1892), former samurai, co-founder of Doshisha University. * Yamakawa Kenjirō (1854–1931), graduate of Yale University, physicist, researcher, academic administrator, President of Tokyo University and Kyoto University * Yamakawa Sutematsu (1860–1919), graduate of Vassar College, after marriage to Oyama Iwao, she was known as Oyama Sutematsu, an organizer at the Rokumeikan, supporter of numerous organizations such as the Red-Cross in Japan and Women's Patriotic Society. She assisted in the founding of Tsuda College (which was organized by her close lifelong friend Tsuda Umeko)

Notes

References

* Noguchi Shinichi, ''Aizu-han''. Tokyo: Gendai Shokan, 2005. () {{Authority control Geography of Fukushima Prefecture Aizu Tōhoku region