Buzen Province

Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Buzen Province highlighted

Buzen Province (豊前国 Buzen no kuni) was an old province of Japan in northern Kyūshū in the area of Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture.^[1] It was sometimes called Hōshū (豊州), with Bungo Province. Buzen bordered on Bungo and Chikuzen Provinces.

History

The ruins of the ancient capital of the province were found near Toyotsu, Fukuoka. The castle town of Kokura was also in Buzen, and a seat of many feudal rulers.

View of Buzen Province, woodblock print by Hiroshige, 1854

In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Buzen Province were reformed in the 1870s.^[2]

After the abolition of the clan system in 1871 Buzen Province became Kokura Prefecture for four years until it was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture in 1876. At the same time, the province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Buzen is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the United States and (b) between Japan and the United Kingdom.^[3]

Shrines and temples

Usa jinjū was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of Buzen. ^[4]

Historical districts

• Fukuoka Prefecture
  • Kiku District (企救郡)
  • Kōge District (上毛郡) - merged with Tsuiki District to become Chikujō District (築上郡) on February 26, 1896
  • Miyako District (京都郡) - absorbed Nakatsu District on February 26, 1896
  • Nakatsu District (仲津郡) - merged into Miyako District on February 26, 1896
  • Tagawa District (田川郡)
  • Tsuiki District (築城郡) - merged with Kōge District to become Chikujō District on February 26, 1896
• Ōita Prefecture
  • Shimoge District (下毛郡) - dissolved
  • Usa District (宇佐郡) - dissolved

See also

• Kokura prefectural office
• Buzen, Fukuoka (City)
• Kokura Domain
• Nakatsu Domain

Notes

1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Buzen" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 96, p. 96, at Google Books.
2. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
3. 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.
4. "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 3; retrieved 2012-1-18.

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
• Papinot, Edmond. (1910). Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. OCLC 77691250

External links

Media related to Buzen Province at Wikimedia Commons

• Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903