Iga Kokubunji Temple

...Former name of province. Ishu. Currently, it is located in the western part of Mie Prefecture.
[Ancient times]
Shimokuni is located at the western end of the Tokaido (Engishiki). It originally belonged to Ise Province, but in 680 (the 9th year of the reign of Tenmu), it was divided into four districts and divided into separate provinces. According to the Wamyōshō, it was made up of 18 towns and four districts: Ae, Yamada, Iga, and Nabari, with a total of 4,051 cho, 1 tan, and 41 bu of rice fields. The provincial capital is identified with the eastern part of Indai, Ueno City, and the site of Kokubunji Temple remains at Saimyōji, Ueno City, about 3 km south. Its Ichinomiya Shrine is Aekuni Shrine in Ueno City. Even before the Ritsuryo system, there was a route from Iki and Tonase in southern Yamato via Nabari to Ise, but after the capital was moved to Heijō, the route from Nara via Soraku District, Yamashiro Province, through Arai and Tsuge in Iga to Ise became important.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Iga Kokubunji Temple" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…旧国名。伊州。現在の三重県西部にあたる。
【古代】
　東海道の西端に位置する下国(《延喜式》)。当初は伊勢国に属し，680年(天武9)に4郡を割いて分国したと伝える。《和名抄》によれば，阿拝（あえ），山田，伊賀，名張の4郡18郷からなり，田数は4051町1段41歩。国府は上野市印代の東部に比定され，国分寺址はその約3km南の同市西明寺に残る。一宮は上野市敢国（あえくに）神社。律令制以前より大和南部の磯城，泊瀬から名張を経て伊勢に出る交通路が開かれていたが，平城遷都後は奈良から山城国相楽郡を経て伊賀の新居，柘植（つげ）を通り伊勢に向かう通路が重視された。…

※「伊賀国分寺」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報