Sanuki Province (讃岐国,Sanuki-no kuni) was aprovince of Japan in the area of northeasternShikoku.[1] Sanuki bordered onAwa to the south, andIyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name wasSanshū (讃州). In terms of theGokishichidō system, Sanuki was one of the provinces of theNankaidō circuit. Under theEngishiki classification system, Sanuki was ranked as one of the "upper countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "middle countries" (中国) in terms of distance from the capital. Theprovincial capital was located in what is now the city ofSakaide, but its exact location was only identified in 2012. Theichinomiya of the province is theTamura jinja located on the city ofTakamatsu.[2]
In theKojiki and other ancient texts, this area was calledIyorihiko (飯依比古), but was also called "Sanuki" under various spellings. Sanuki Province was formed by theRitsuryo reforms. TheShiwaku Islands in theSeto Inland Sea were initially considered part of the province, butShōdoshima and theNaoshima Islands were not transferred fromBizen Province until theEdo Period. In theHeian period, Sanuki was famous for its associations with the Buddhist monkKūkai as both his birthplace and the place of his early upbringing. Later, the famed poetSugawara no Michizane served as governor of the province from 886 to 890 AD. At the end of the Heian period, theHeike clan, which controlled maritime routes on the Seto Inland Sea, hadYashima as one of their main strongholds, but were defeated byMinamoto no Yoshitsune at theBattle of Yashima. In theMuromachi period, the area came under the control of theHosokawa clan, who were appointed asshugo by theAshikaga shogunate. However, in theSengoku period, the Hosokawa were eclipsed by theMiyoshi clan. The Miyoshi were in turn invaded byChōsokabe clan fromTosa Province and the Chōsokabe were in turn defeated byToyotomi Hideyoshi. The province was awarded by Hideyoshi to his generalIkoma Chikamasa, who madeTakamatsu Castle his stronghold.
In theEdo period, Sanuki was divided into five areas; threehan,tenryō territory under direct control of theTokugawa shogunate and a part ofTsuyama Domain whose headquarters was onHonshū.[3]
| Name | Clan | Type | kokudaka |
|---|---|---|---|
 Takamatsu Domain | Matsudaira clan | Shinpan | 120,000koku |
 Marugame Domain | Kyōgoku clan | Tozama | 50,000koku |
| Tadotsu Domain | Kyōgoku clan | Tozama | 10,000koku |
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 395 villages with a totalkokudaka of 293,628koku. Sanuki Province consisted of the following districts:
| District | kokudaka | villages | Domain | Currently |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ōchi (大内郡) | 14,642koku | 34 villages | Takamatsu | Dissolved, now Higashikagawa |
| Sangawa (寒川郡) | 21,919koku | 27 villages | Takamatsu | Dissolved; now mostly Sanuki, small area of Higashikagawa |
| Shōdo (小豆郡) | 9,037koku | 8 villages | Tenryō, Tsuyama | Dissolved; now Shōdoshima |
| Miki (三木郡) | 17,491koku | 20 villages | Takamatsu | now mostly Miki, small area of Takamatsu, Sanuki |
| Yamada (山田郡) | 46,790koku | 106 villages | Takamatsu | Dissolved; now Takamatsu |
| Kagawa (香川郡) | 40,353koku | 49 villages | Takamatsu | Dissolved; now Takamatsu |
| Aya (阿野郡) | 31,576koku | 36 villages | Takamatsu | now Takamatsu, Sakaide, Ayagawa, Mannō |
| Utari (鵜足郡) | 29,034koku | 30 villages | Takamatsu, Marugame | now Marugame, Sakaide, Tadotsu and Mannō |
| Naka (那珂郡) | 28,630koku | 46 villages | Tenryō, Takamatsu, Marugame | now Marugame,Sakaide,Zentsūji, Tadotsu, Kotohira, Mannō |
| Tado (多度郡) | 17,314koku | 24 villages | Marugame, Tadotsu | now Zentsūji, Tadotsu |
| Mino (三野郡) | 30,106koku | 37 villages | Marugame, Tadotsu | now Mitoyo, Zentsūji |
| Toyota (豊田郡) | 20,655koku | 46 villages | Marugame | now Mitoyo, Zentsūji |
Following theabolition of the han system, Sanuki Province became Kagawa Prefecture in 1872. However, the following year Kagawa was merged with Tokushima Prefecture and the island ofAwaji to form Myōdō Prefecture (名東県). It was separated again on September 5, 1875, but on August 21, 1876 was merged with Ehime Prefecture. It was separated again on December 3, 1888.
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Media related toSanuki Province at Wikimedia Commons