Bungo Province

This article is about the historical province of Japan. For Bungo the Womble, see The Wombles.
Bungo Province (豊後国 Bungo no kuni) was a province of Japan in eastern KyÅ«shÅ« in the area of ÅŒita Prefecture.[1] It was sometimes called HÅshÅ« (豊州), with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, HyÅ«ga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces.
History
At the end of 7th century, Toyo Province was split into Buzen (literally, "the front of Toyo") and Bungo ("the back of Toyo"). Until the Heian period, Bungo was read as Toyokuni no Michi no Shiri.
It is believed that the capital of Bungo was located in the Kokokufu (å¤å›½åºœ), literally "old capital," section of the city of ÅŒita but to this day, no remains have been found.
The honor of the holiest Shinto shrine of Bungo province (豊å‰ä¸€å®®, Buzen ichinomiya) was given to Usa Shrine known as Usa Hachimangu or Usa Jingu in Usa district (today Usa, ÅŒita). Usa shrine had not only religious authority but also political influence to local governance, but their influence was reduced until the Sengoku period.
During the Sengoku Period, in the middle of 16th century, Bungo was a stronghold of the Ōtomo clan. The Ōuchi clan in the western Chūgoku Region was influenced to Buzen politics. In the middle of the period, both clans declined. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi also took the power in Kyūshū, 120 thousand koku of Buzen province was given to Kuroda Yoshitaka since 1587, who made Kokura, currently part of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, his site and built the castle. Other parts of the province were divided into pieces and given to other daimyo.
In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Bungo Province were reformed in the 1870s.[2]
Shrines and temples
Sasamuta-jinja and Yusuhara Hachiman-gū were the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) of Bungo.[3]
Historical districts
- ÅŒita Prefecture
- Amabe District (海部郡)
- Kitaamabe District (北海部郡) - dissolved
- Minamiamabe District (å—海部郡) - dissolved
- Hayami District (速見郡)
- Hita District (日高郡) - dissolved
- Kusu District (çƒç 郡)
- Kunisaki District (国埼郡)
- Higashikunisaki District (æ±å›½æ±éƒ¡)
- Nishikunisaki District (西国æ±éƒ¡) - dissolved
- Naoiri District (直入郡) - dissolved
- Ōno District (大野郡) - dissolved
- Ōita District (大分郡) - dissolved
- Amabe District (海部郡)
The Wombles
The character 'Bungo' from the British series of children's books and the television series based on the books, The Wombles, is named after the province.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Bungo" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 90, p. 90, at Google Books.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
- ↑ "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 3; retrieved 2012-1-18.
External links
Media related to Bungo Province at Wikimedia Commons
|