Tosa Province (土佐国,Tosa no Kuni;Japanese pronunciation:[toꜜ.sa(nokɯ.ɲi),to.saꜜ(nokɯ.ɲi)][1]) was aprovince of Japan in the area of southernShikoku.[2] Tosa bordered onAwa to the northeast, andIyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name wasDoshū (土州). In terms of theGokishichidō system, Tosa was one of the provinces of theNankaidō circuit. Under theEngishiki classification system, Tosa was ranked as one of the "middle countries" (中国) in terms of importance, and one of the "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city ofNankoku. Theichinomiya of the province is theTosa shrine located in the city of Kōchi.[3]
Tosa Province was formed by theRitsuryo reforms by combining the territories of the Tosakuni no miyatsuko (都佐国造) who ruled in the east with the Hatakuni no miyatsuko (波多国造) who ruled in the west. The name "Tosa" appears in theNihon Shoki in an entry dated Match 675. In many subsequent entries, Tosa is mentioned usually in connection with some natural disaster, including the684 Hakuhō earthquake in which it was reported that a ship carrying the provincial governor had been swept away by atsunami, and a new imperial governor was sent from the capital. The province appears to have been used as a penal colony or place of exile from theAsuka period. At the end of theHeian period, Minamoto no Mareyoshi, the younger brother ofMinamoto no Yoritomo was exiled by theHeike clan. Other prominent exiles includedFujiwara no Moronaga,Emperor Tsuchimikado, andPrince Takanaga. In theKamakura period, theIchijō family ofcourt nobles established a hugeshōen landed estate in western Tosa, and ruled the area into theSengoku period. During theMuromachi period, theHosokawa clan wereshugo of Tosa Province, but preferred to rule via proxy, using the Ohira clan, while remaining inKyoto. When income from the manor tended to stop due to theOnin War,KanpakuIchijo Norifusa (with help of the Ohira clan) relocated to Tosa and became a local power controlling Hata and Takaoka Counties in western Tosa. The remainder of the province and controlled by the Motoyama, Aki, Kira, Tsuno, Chōsokabe and the Kosokabe clans. UnderChōsokabe Motochika, the Chōsokabe came to control all of Tosa, and later, to expand into all of Shikoku. They were stopped only by the forces ofToyotomi Hideyoshi, who restricted them only to their territories in Tosa Province. Chōsokabe Motochika's sonChōsokabe Morichika was dispossessed as he sided with the losing Western army at theBattle of Sekigahara in 1600. Under theTokugawa shogunate, the province was assigned toYamauchi Kazutoyo and theYamauchi clan continued to rule the province asdaimyō ofTosa Domain until theMeiji restoration. Under the Yamauchi,Kōchi Castle was built and thejōkamachi of Kochi city became the capital of the province. During theBakumatsu period, many prominent people were active in the overthrow of the shogunate and establishing the earlyMeiji government, includingSakamoto Ryōma,Nakaoka Shintarō,Itagaki Taisuke,Gotō Shōjirō.[2]
| Name | Clan | Type | kokudaka |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tosa Domain | Yamauchi clan | tozama | 202,600koku |
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 348 villages with a totalkokudaka of 494,087koku. Tosa Province consisted of the following districts:
| District | kokudaka | villages | status | Current municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agawa (吾川郡) | 42,242koku | 50 villages | Ino, Niyodo, parts of Kōchi, Tosa, Ochi | |
| Aki (安芸郡) | 51,420koku | 47 villages | Toyo, Nahari, Tano, Yasuda, Kitagawa, Umaji, Geisei | |
| Hata (幡多郡) | 103,218koku | 109 villages | Otsuki, Kuroshio, Mihara, parts of Sukumo, Tosashimizu, Shimanto | |
| Kami (香美郡) | 68,762koku | 30 villages | dissolved | Kanan, most of Kami, parts of Aki, Nankoku, Geisei |
| Nagaoka (長岡郡) | 71,422koku | 38 villages | Motoyama, Otoyo, most of Nankoku, parts of Kochi, Kami, Tosa | |
| Takaoka (高岡郡) | 107,098koku | 61 villages | Nakatosa, Sakawa, Ochi, Yusuhara, Hidaka, Tsuno, Shimanto | |
| Tosa (土佐郡) | 49,921koku | 23 villages | Tosa, Okawa, parts of Kochi, Ino |
Following theabolition of the han system in 1871, Tosa Province becameKochi Prefecture.
TheImperial Japanese NavybattleshipTosa,lead ship ofits class, was named after the province.
Media related toTosa Province at Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
