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Awa Province (阿波国,Awa no Kuni;Japanese pronunciation:[aꜜ.wa(nokɯ.ɲi)][1]) was aprovince of Japan in the area that is todayTokushima Prefecture on the island ofShikoku.[2][3] Awa was bordered byTosa,Sanuki, andIyo Provinces. Its abbreviated form name wasAshū (阿州). In terms of theGokishichidō system, Awa was one of the provinces of theNankaidō circuit. Under theEngishiki classification system, Awa was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "middle countries" (中国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city ofTokushima.
Awa has been settled since theJapanese Paleolithic and the remains ofYayoi andKofun period settlements andburial mounds have been found especially in the fertileYoshino River valley. Per theKogo Shūi, the name of the province was originally written "粟国" and was associated with the production ofmillet. Per theKujiki, thekuni no miyatsuko of Awa was a ninth generation descendant ofTakamimusubi who had been appointed byEmperor Ōjin. The name of the province was changed to "阿波" in 713 byEmpress Genmei as rules for provincial names had been standardized under theRitsuryō codes to consist of twokanji. During theKamakura period, theSasaki clan and theOgasawara clan wereshugo of the province. They were replaced by theHosokawa clan during theMuromachi period; however, by theSengoku period, the Hosokawa had been supplanted by theMiyoshi clan, who underMiyoshi Nagayoshi grew in power to rule over large portions of theKinai region. When the Miyoshi clan became weakened by internal conflicts, the forces ofChōsokabe Motochika ofTosa Province invaded, and by 1585 was able to unify Shikoku under his rule. However, almost immediately,Hashiba Hideyoshi ordered his armies to invade. The Chōsokabe were defeated after two months and forced back to Tōsa. Awa Province was awarded to one of Hideyoshi's generals,Hachisuka Masakatsu, but he turned the province over to his sonHachisuka Iemasa due to his advanced age. Under theTokugawa shogunate, theHachisuka clan continued to rule Awa (and neighboringAwaji Province) from their stronghold atTokushima Castle to the end of theEdo Period.Tokushima Domain had a nominalkokudaka of 257,000koku, making it the 17th largest domain. Following theMeiji restoration and theabolition of the han system in 1871, Awa became "Myōdō Prefecture" (名東県), which was merged intoKagawa Prefecture. In 1875, the formerSanuki Province was separated out, and in 1876, former Awaji Province was assigned toHyōgo Prefecture. The former Awa Province was merged withKōchi Prefecture. In 1880, the former Awa Province was separated from Kōchi to become Tokushima Prefecture. Per the earlyMeiji periodKyudaka kyuryo Torishirabe-chō (旧高旧領取調帳), an official government assessment of the nation’s resources, the province had 584 villages with a totalkokudaka of 306,632koku.
| Name | Clan | Type | kokudaka |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tokushima | Hachisuka clan | Tozama | 257,000koku |
| District | kokudaka | Controlled by | at present | Currently |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awa District (阿波郡) | 12,667koku | 31 villages | dissolved | Awa, small part ofYoshinogawa |
| Itano District (板野郡) | 61,892koku | 133 villages | Naruto,Kitajima,Aizumi,Itano, most ofKamiita, parts ofTokushima, Yoshinogawa, Awa | |
| Kaifu District (海部郡) | 18,450koku | 64 villages | Mugi, Tokushima,Minami, Tokushima,Kaiyō. | |
| Katsuura District (勝浦郡) | 34,237koku | 46 villages | Katsuura,Kamikatsu, most of Komatsushima, part of Tokushima | |
| Mima District (美馬郡) | 10,735koku | 19 villages | Tsurugi, most ofMima, part ofMiyoshi | |
| Miyoshi District (三好郡) | 22,985koku | 32 villages | Higashimiyoshi, part of Miyoshi | |
| Myōdō District (名東郡) | 38,491koku | 55 villages | Sanagōchi, part of Tokushima | |
| Myōzai District (名西郡) | 28,718koku | 38 villages | Ishii,Kamiyama, parts of Tokushima, Kamiita | |
| Naka District (那賀郡) | 60,736koku | 137 villages | Naka,Anan, parts of Komatsushima | |
| Ōe District (麻植郡) | 17,715koku | 29 villages | dissolved | Most of Yoshinogawa, part of Mima |
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