Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in the area of the

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not include the regions of Tsushima and Iki that are now part of modern Nagasaki Prefecture.

History

The name "Hizen" dates from the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki' ...

'' ''Kokugunri'' system reforms, when the province was divided from Higo Province. The name appears in the early chronicle ''Shoku Nihongi'' from 696 AD. The ancient provincial capital of Hizen was located near Yamato City. During the late

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

, the province was the site of much early contact between Japan and Portuguese and Spanish merchants and missionaries. Hirado, and later

became major foreign trade centers, and a large percentage of the population converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

directed the

invasion of Korea An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

from the city of

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, in Hizen, and after the suppression of foreign contacts and prohibition against the '' Kirishitan'' religion, the

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the '' daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular p ...

also took place in Hizen province.

List of han

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 character ...

, Hizen Province was divided among several ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

s'', but dominated by the Nabeshima clan, whose domain was centered at the castle town of

. At the end of 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 ...

, Hizen was divided between the following ''han'': During this period, the port of Nagasaki remained a

tenryō 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' ...

territory, administered for the Tokugawa government by the

Nagasaki bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually '' fudai'' ''daimyōs'', but this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyōs''.Beasley, Wi ...

, and contained the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

trading post of

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...

. After 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 ...

in 1868 came the

Abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lord ...

in 1871, whereby all daimyo were obliged to surrender their domains to the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, which then divided the nation into numerous

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, which were consolidated into 47 prefectures and 3 urban areas by 1888. The former Hizen province was divided into modern

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagas ...

and a portion of

Nagasaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast. N ...

. At the same time, the province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Hizen is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and (b) between Japan and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

.US Department of State. (1906)
''A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements'' (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759

Historical districts

Fujitsu District is a district located in Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fuku ...

(藤津郡) ** Kanzaki District (神埼郡) ** Kii District (基肄郡) – merged with Mine and Yabu Districts to become Miyaki District (三養基郡) on March 26, 1896 **

Kishima District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of February 1, 2009, the district has an estimated population of 45,085 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The sy ...

(杵島郡) ** Mine District (三根郡) – merged with Kii and Yabu Districts to become Miyaki District on March 26, 1896 **

Ogi District was a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 45,910 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most o ...

(小城郡) – dissolved ** Saga District (佐賀郡) – dissolved ** Yabu District (養父郡) – merged with Kii and Mine Districts to become Miyaki District on March 26, 1896 *

** Sonogi District (彼杵郡) *** Higashisonogi District (東彼杵郡) *** Nishisonogi District (西彼杵郡) *** Nagasaki-shi (長崎市) ** Takaki District (高来郡) *** Kitatakaki District (北高来郡) – dissolved *** Minamitakaki District (南高来郡) – dissolved * Mixed **

Matsuura District Matsuura (written: 松浦) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Akiko Matsuura, Japanese drummer * Atsushi Matsuura (footballer born 1982), former Japanese football player * Atsushi Matsuura (footballer born 1981), for ...

(松浦郡) *** Higashimatsuura District (東松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture; transferred to Saga Prefecture in 1883 (along with Nishimatsuura District) *** Kitamatsuura District (北松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture *** Minamimatsuura District (南松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture *** Nishimatsuura District (西松浦郡) – part of Nagasaki Prefecture; transferred to Saga Prefecture in 1883 (along with Higashimatsuura District)

Maps

Keichō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (1837 copy) (Takeo City Library and Historical Museum).jpg, '' Keichō Kuniezu'' - Hizen Province (1837 copy of lost c.1605 original) ( Takeo City Library and Historical Museum) Shōhō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (Chōkokan).jpg, '' Shōhō Kuniezu'' - Hizen Province (1647) ( Chōkokan) Genroku Kuniezu - Hizen Province (Chōkokan).jpg, '' Genroku Kuniezu'' - Hizen Province (1701) ( Chōkokan) Tenpō Kuniezu - Hizen Province (National Archives of Japan).jpg, '' Tenpō Kuniezu'' - Hizen Province, with Chikuzen in pink and Chikugo in yellow (1838) ( National Archives of Japan)

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Papinot, Edmond. (1910). ''Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
OCLC 77691250

Other websites

* National Archives of Japan

{{Authority control History of Nagasaki Prefecture History of Saga Prefecture Former provinces of Japan