was an old province of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

covering Awaji Island, between

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Awaji''" in . Today it is part of

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

. It is sometimes called . Awaji is divided into three municipal sections: Awaji is the northernmost section, Sumoto is the most urban and central section, and four southern towns make up the city of Minamiawaji. It was founded in the 7th century as a part of Nankaidō. In Nankaidō, Awaji Province was between

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

and Awa Province. Awaji means literally "Road to Awa", that is, the road to Awa Province from the central part of Japan. Awaji Province was divided into two districts: Tsuna no Kōri in the northern part and Mihara no Kōri in the southern part. The provincial government was presumably in modern

Minamiawaji, Hyōgo is a Cities of Japan, city in the southern part of Awaji Island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,489 in 19856 households, and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

but its relics have not been found yet. Awaji Province was a common destination for political exiles. Emperor Junnin was exiled in Awaji after his abdication until his death. In the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, Awaji Province was governed by the Hachisuka clan in

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

, Awa Province. When the han system were abolished and prefectures were organized, the inhabitants of Awaji Province preferred to belong to Hyōgo Prefecture, not to

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

, because of political conflict between Tokushima and Awaji.

Historical districts

** Mihara District (三原郡; southern Awaji) – dissolved; now the city of Minamiawaji (南あわじ市) ** Tsuna District (津名郡; northern Awaji) – dissolved; now the cities of Awaji (淡路市) and Sumoto (洲本市)

Notes

References

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

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

Former provinces of Japan States and territories established in the 7th century {{Hyogo-geo-stub