Mutsu Province

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Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Mutsu Province highlighted

Mutsu Province (陸奥国, Mutsu no kuni), also known as Michinoku,[1]was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures on the island of Honshū.[2] It was also known as Ōshū (奥州)[3] or Rikushū (陸州).[2]

History[change | change source]

View of Mutsu Province, woodblock print by Hiroshige, 19th century

The boundaries of Mutsu were formally established during the reigns of Empress Genshō and Empress Kōken.[4]

  • 709 (Wadō 2, 3rd month): Fighting against Imperial authority.[5]
  • 869 (Jōgan 10, 5th month): An earthquake and tsunami caused more than 1,000 deaths.[7]
  • 1051 (Eishō 6): In Michinoku, the Nine Years War (1051–1062) begins. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi is named governor of Mutsu and he is given the title chinjufu shōgun..[1]

In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Mutsu Province were reformed in the 1870s.[8]

Shrines and Temples[change | change source]

Tsutsukowake jinja and Shiogama jinja were the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) of Mutsu. [9]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 197-198.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Mutsu" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 676; "Rikuoko" at p. 790.
  3. Murdoch, James. (1903). A History of Japan, Vol. 3. p. 794.
  4. Meyners d'Estrey, Guillaume Henry Jean (1884). Annales de l'Extrême Orient et de l'Afrique, Vol. 6, p. 172; excerpt, Genshō crée sept provinces : Idzumi, Noto, Atoa, Iwaki, Iwase, Suwa et Sado en empiétant sur celles de Kawachi, Echizen, Etchū, Kazusa, Mutsu and Shinano
  5. 5.0 5.1 Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 64.
  6. Nussbaum, p. 676; "Sakanoue no Tamuramaro" at p. 812.
  7. Titsingh, p. 119.
  8. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
  9. "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-1-17.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Mutsu Province at Wikimedia Commons