Country

Japanese: 国 - くに

A word that indicates a certain area of land, and now refers to a nation with land, people, and a government. Historically, it was used to refer to various areas. When agricultural life began in Japan and people began to live political lives, the traditional "mura" (village) came to be called "kuni" (country). The Book of the Later Han states that there were more than 100 provinces in Wakoku in the 1st century, indicating the division of the "kuni". During the Yamato court, these "kuni" expanded further and became the jurisdiction of the kuni no miyatsuko (provincial governor), but the same word was also used to refer to the land as a whole, such as "Naka-tsukuni of Toyoashihara" (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni). Under the Ritsuryo system, the local systems of the centralized state were established, including kuni, gun, and ri, and kokushi (provincial governors) who were in charge of administrative trials in the country were appointed and came to work in the kokufu (also called kokucho or kokuga). Initially, there were changes and abolitions, and in the Nara period there were 58 provinces and 3 islands, but by the beginning of the Heian period in 824, it was fixed at 66 provinces and 2 islands (Iki and Tsushima). In the late Heian period, the kokushi system collapsed, and a system of remote appointments by kokushi and chigyokoku (provincial fiefs) for powerful shrines and temples arose, and after the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, security in the country came to be maintained by shugo and jito. As daimyo territories developed in the Muromachi period, the provinces under the Ritsuryo system became mere symbols indicating regions, while the territories of daimyo were called provinces (bunkoku), and the bunkoku law (bunkoku law) was enacted as samurai law, and kokujin (local samurai) lived within the territories as influential people who were not yet separated into soldiers and farmers. In the Edo period, there were terms such as kokumochi daimyo (feudal lords) based on the provinces and districts of the Ritsuryo system, as well as titles such as kokushu (provincial governors) and zuryo-na (administrative titles) for daimyo, hatamoto, and other titles of recipients, but generally, terms such as kunimoto (provincial governor), kokubara (provincial governor), kokuro (provincial governor), and kokusan-kaisho (provincial governors) were used to indicate the daimyo's territory, along with "tenka" (the whole country). The Meiji government initially adopted the old province and district system as the administrative divisions of a modern state, dividing the two provinces of Oshu into seven provinces and Ezo into Hokkaido, for a total of 11 provinces, but in 1871, when the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, there were now one prefecture, three prefectures, and 43 prefectures. The old provincial names are no longer used officially, but are often used as nicknames.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

一定区域をなす土地を表わす言葉で，現在では，土地，人民，政府をもつ国家のこと。歴史的には，さまざまの範囲を呼ぶのに用いられた。日本に農耕生活が始り，人々が政治生活を営むようになると，従来の「むら」が「くに」と呼ばれるようになった。『後漢書』に，1世紀の倭国に百余国があったというのは，このような「くに」の分立状態を示している。大和朝廷の頃は，こうした「くに」がさらに拡大して，国造 (くにのみやつこ) の管轄区域となったが，同じ言葉は，「豊葦原の中つ国」 (→葦原中国 ) といった国土の総称にも用いられていた。律令制のもとでは，中央集権国家の地方制度としての国，郡，里が確定し，国の行政裁判を司る国司が任命されて国府 (国庁，国衙ともいう) に在勤するようになった。当初は改廃があり，奈良時代には 58国3島を数えたが，平安時代初期の天長1 (824) 年以来 66国2島 (壱岐，対馬) に固定した。平安時代後期には，国司制度がくずれ，国司の遙任 (ようにん) や権門社寺の知行国 (ちぎょうこく) の制度が起り，やがて鎌倉幕府の成立以後，国の治安は守護，地頭によって保たれるようになった。室町時代に大名領国が発達すると，律令制の国は形骸化して単なる地域を示す符号となる反面，大名の領分が国 (分国 ) と呼ばれ，武家法としての分国法 (ぶんこくほう) が制定され，領内には国人 (地侍) 衆が兵農未分離状態の有力者として在住した。江戸時代には，律令制の国郡を規準とした国持大名という呼称や，大名，旗本の国守その他の受領名 (ずりょうな) はみられたが，普通には，国許 (くにもと) ，国腹，国家老，国産会所というように，大名領分を示す国が，全国を示す「天下」とともに用いられた。明治新政府は，当初は旧国郡制を近代国家の行政区画とし，奥州2国を7国に，また蝦夷地を北海道とし 11国に分けたが，明治4 (1871) 年の廃藩置県により1道3府 43県となった。現在旧国名は公式には用いないが，愛称として慣用されている場合が多い。

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