Inaba Province

Inaba Province (因幡国, Inaba-no kuni) was a former province in the area that is today the eastern half of Tottori Prefecture in the San'in region of Japan.^[1]^[2] Inaba was bordered by Hōki, Mimasaka, Harima and Tajima Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Inshū (因州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Inaba was one of the provinces of the San'indo circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Inaba was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "near countries" (近国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city of Tottori. The ichinomiya of the province is the Ube shrine also located in the city of Tottori.^[3]

Hiroshige *ukiyo-e* "Inaba" in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" (六十余州名所図会), depicting Kajikoyama

History

"Inaba" has been written in a variety of kanji. The ancient Kojiki uses "稲羽", whereas the Kujiki uses "稲葉" to name only a couple of examples. Inaba has been settled since the Japanese Paleolithic and the remains of Yayoi and Kofun period settlements and burial mounds have been found in several locations. During the late Kofun period to Asuka period, the Inaba kuni no miyatsuko was the Ifukube clan. A princess from this clan (Ifukibe no Tokotari) served as maid of honor at the court of Emperor Mommu and her grave in what is now the city of Tottori is a National Historic Site. During the Muromachi period, the Yamana clan were nominally shugo of the province; however, their control over the province was very weak, and local warlords and aggressive neighbors often usurped Yamana authority. In the Sengoku period, the province was a contested area between the Mōri clan and Oda Nobunaga, with Nobunaga's general, Hashiba Hideyoshi eventually seizing control. In the Edo period, the entire province was ruled by a branch of the Ikeda clan as part of the 320,000 koku Tottori Domain centered on Tottori Castle..

Following the Meiji restoration and the abolition of the han system in 1871, Inaba became part of Tottori Prefecture on August 29,1871. However, Tottori was merged into Shimane Prefecture on August 21, 1876. It was separated back out on September 12, 1881.

Per the early Meiji period Kyudaka kyuryo Torishirabe-chō (旧高旧領取調帳), an official government assessment of the nation’s resources, the province had 565 villages with a total kokudaka of 193,336 koku.

Bakumatsu period domains
Name	Clan	Type	kokudaka
Tottori	Ikeda clan	Shinpan equivalent	320,000 koku

Districts of Inaba Province
District	kokudaka	Villages	\|Notes
Chizu District (智頭郡)	16,613 koku	98 villages	Chizu, part of Tottori	merged with Hattō and Yakami Districts to become Yazu District (八頭郡) on March 29, 1896
Hattō District (八東郡)	26,005 koku	91 villages	Wakasa, Yazu	merged with Chizu and Yakami Districts to become Yazu District on March 29, 1896
Hōmi District (法美郡)	20,439 koku	62 villages	Tottori	merged with Iwai and Ōmi Districts to become Iwami District (岩美郡) on March 29, 1896
Iwai District (岩井郡)	22,258 koku	51 villages	Iwami	merged with Hōmi and Ōmi Districts to become Iwami District on March 29, 1896
Keta District (気多郡)	26,923 koku	83 villages	Tottori	merged with Takakusa District to become Ketaka District (気高郡) on March 29, 1896
Ōmi District (邑美郡)	17,807 koku	35 villages	Tottori	merged with Hōmi and Iwai Districts to become Iwami District on March 29, 1896
Takakusa District (高草郡)	39,865 koku	82 villages	Tottori	merged with Keta District to become Ketaka District on March 29, 1896
Yakami District (八上郡)	23,423 koku	63 villages	Tottori, part of Yazu	merged with Chizu and Hattō Districts to become Yazu District on March 29, 1896

Gallery

ruins of Tottori Castle
Ikeda Yoshinori, last daimyō of Tottori
Inaba Kokufu ruins
Inaba Kokubun-ji ruins
Ube Shrine, ichinomiya of Inaba Province

Notes

^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Inaba" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 411, p. 411, at Google Books.
^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Inaba" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 385, p. 385, at Google Books.
^ "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2. Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2011-08-09

References

Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

External links

Media related to Inaba Province at Wikimedia Commons

Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903

[1] Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Inaba" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 411, p. 411, at Google Books.

[2] Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Inaba" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 385, p. 385, at Google Books.

[3] "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2. Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2011-08-09

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Former provinces of Japan (List)
Kinai	Izumi Kawachi Settsu Yamashiro Yamato Yoshino 716–738
Tōkaidō	Awa Hitachi Iga Ise Izu Kai Kazusa Mikawa Musashi Owari Sagami Shima Shimōsa Suruga Tōtōmi
Tōsandō	Dewa -1869 Hida Iwaki 718–724 Iwaki 1869– Iwase 718–724 Iwashiro 1869– Kōzuke Mino Ōmi Mutsu –1869 Rikuō (or Mutsu) 1869– Rikuchū 1869– Rikuzen 1869– Shimotsuke Shinano Suwa 721–731 Ugo 1869– Uzen 1869–
Hokurikudō	Echigo Echizen Etchū Kaga Noto Sado Wakasa
San'indō	Hōki Inaba Izumo Iwami Oki Tajima Tanba Tango
San'yōdō	Aki Bingo Bitchū Bizen Harima Mimasaka Nagato Suō
Nankaidō	Awa Awaji Iyo Kii Sanuki Tosa
Saikaidō	Bungo Buzen Chikugo Chikuzen Higo Hizen Hyūga Iki Ōsumi Satsuma Tane 702–824 Tsushima
Hokkaidō 1869–	Chishima Hidaka Iburi Ishikari Kitami Kushiro Nemuro Oshima Shiribeshi Teshio Tokachi
Pre-Taihō Code provinces	Chichibu Fusa Hi Keno Kibi Koshi Kumaso Toyo Tsukushi
Source: Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books; excerpt, "Japan's former provinces were converted into prefectures by the Meiji government ... [and] grouped, according to geographic position, into the 'five provinces of the Kinai' and 'seven circuits'."