Izu Province

Izu Province (伊豆国,Izu-no kuni) was aprovince of Japan in the area now part ofShizuoka Prefecture andTokyo.^[1] Izu bordered onSagami andSuruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name wasZushū (豆州).

Hiroshigeukiyo-e "Izu" in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" (六十余州名所図会), depicting Shuzen-ji

The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising theIzu Peninsula, is today the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture and theIzu Islands are now part ofTokyo.

History

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In 680 A.D., twodistricts of Suruga Province,Tagata District andKamo District, were separated into the new Izu Province. At some point between the year 701 and 710, Naka District was added. The capital of the new province was established atMishima, which also had theKokubun-ji and theIchinomiya (Mishima Taisha) of the province. Under theEngishiki classification system, Izu was ranked as a "lesser country" (下国). Under theritsuryō legal system, Izu was one of the preferred locations for exile for those convicted of political crimes by theHeian period court.

In theKamakura period, Izu was ruled by theHōjō clan. During theMuromachi period, Izu was ruled nominally by theUesugi clan due to their position asKantō Kanrei; however, in reality, Izu came under the domination of whoever ruled the Kantō provinces of Sagami andMusashi. By theSengoku period, this was theLater Hōjō clan based inOdawara. After theBattle of Odawara,Toyotomi Hideyoshi changed the fief ofTokugawa Ieyasu from his domains in theTōkai region for theKantō region instead, and Izu was one of the provinces that came under Tokugawa rule. After the establishment of theTokugawa shogunate, Izu remained as atenryō territory administered directly by the Shōgun. Much of the province was ruled by adaikan established inNirayama, although portions were assigned to varioushatamoto and toOdawara Domain. During theEdo period, Kimisawa District was added to the three ancient districts of Izu.

During the Edo period, theTōkaidō road fromEdo toKyoto passed through northern Izu, with apost station atMishima-shuku. The port ofShimoda at the southern end of Izu was a required port-of-call for all vessels approaching Edo from the east.

During theBakumatsu period, Shimoda was chosen by the Tokugawa government as a port to be opened toAmerican trade under the conditions of theConvention of Kanagawa, negotiated by CommodoreMatthew Perry and signed on March 31, 1854. Shimoda was also the site ofYoshida Shōin's unsuccessful attempt to board Perry's "Black Ships" in 1854. The first American Consulate in Japan was opened at the temple ofGyokusen-ji in Shimoda underConsul General Townsend Harris. Harris negotiated theTreaty of Amity and Commerce between the two countries, which was signed at nearbyRyōsen-ji in 1858. Japan's relations withImperial Russia were also negotiated in Shimoda, and in 1855 theTreaty of Shimoda was signed atChōraku-ji.

After the start of theMeiji period, the districts of Naka and Kimisawa were merged with Kamo District, and Izu Province was merged into the short-livedAshigaru Prefecture in 1871.Ashigaru Prefecture was divided between Shizuoka Prefecture andKanagawa Prefecture on April 18, 1876, and theIzu Islands were subsequently transferred from Shizuoka Prefecture to Tokyo in 1878.

Historical districts

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Izu Province consisted of four districts:

Shizuoka Prefecture
- Kamo District (賀茂郡) – absorbed Naka District to become an expanded Kamo District; but lost parts to former Tagata District to become an expanded Tagata District on April 1, 1896
- Kimisawa District (君沢郡) – merged with Naka and parts of original Kamo Districts into former Tagata District to become an expanded Tagata District on April 1, 1896
- Naka District (那賀郡) – merged into remaining parts of original Kamo District to become an expanded Kamo District on April 1, 1896
- Tagata District (田方郡) – absorbed Kimisawa, Naka and parts of Kamo Districts into former Tagata District to become an expanded Tagata District on April 1, 1896