Mutsu Province (1868)

Mutsu Province (陸奥国 Mutsu no kuni or?), also called Rikuō Province (陸奥国 Rikuō no kuni?) was an old province of Japan in the area of Iwate and Aomori prefecture.[1]

It was also known as Ōshū (奥州?) or Rikushū (陸州?). In the Meiji era, the province was cut down to cover only present-day Aomori and given the new name Rikuō Province, which retained the original kanji.[2]

Contents

History

On December 7, 1868 (January 19, 1869 in the Gregorian calendar), four additional provinces (Rikuchū, Rikuzen, Iwaki, and Iwashiro) were separated from Mutsu, leaving only a rump corresponding to today's Aomori Prefecture. At the same time, while the characters of the name were unchanged, the official reading was changed to the on'yomi version "Rikuō".[2] This short-lived province was in turn abolished by the abolition of the han system and the nation-wide conversion to the prefectural structure of modern Japan in 1872.

Districts

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Mutsu" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 676 at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.
  2. ^ a b 地名「三陸地方」の起源に関する地理学的ならびに社会学的問題PDF(岩手大学教育学部)

References

External links