The Five Provinces and Seven Provinces

A regional division of local government that was established above the country, which was the basic administrative unit of the Ritsuryo system. The Five Kinai consisted of the five provinces of Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture), Yamato (Nara Prefecture), Settsu (Osaka Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture), Kawachi (Osaka Prefecture), and Izumi (Osaka Prefecture). The Taika Reform Imperial Edict (646) showed the east-west, north-south, and south-east boundaries of the Kinai Province, and in 692 (the 6th year of the reign of Empress Jito), the area was called the "Four Kinai Provinces": Yamato, Kawachi, Settsu, and Yamashiro. The Five Kinai were established after 757 (Tenpyo Hoji 1), when the Izumi Inspectorate established in Kawachi was abolished and became Izumi Province. The Five Kinai Regions were important provinces that could be called the capital region, including Yamato and Yamashiro, where the capital was located, and Settsu, which was under the control of the Settsu Office, which was equivalent to the Kyoto Office, and were the central regions of politics, economy, and culture. When the Kinai system was first established, Kinai was a special region around the royal castle that was militarily defended from outside the area and appointed government officials, and was given preferential treatment under the Taiho Code, such as being exempt from half of the tribute and tax. The Seven Roads refer to the Tokaido, Tosando, Hokuriku, San'in, San'yo, Nankai, and Saikaido. The 14 provinces of the Tokaido were established in 757 when Awa Province was restored, and the 9 provinces of the Tosando were established in 731 (Tenpyo 3) when Suwa Province was abolished, but later, in 771 (Hōki 2), Musashi Province, which belonged to the Tosando, was reclassified as belonging to the Tokaido. The seven provinces of the Hokuriku road were finally established in 823 (Kōnin 14) when Kaga Province was separated, the seven provinces of the San'in road when Tango Province was established in 713 (Wadō 6), the eight provinces of the San'yō road when the border between Aki and Suō was established in 734 (Tenpyō 6), and the nine provinces and two islands of the Saikaido road when Tanegashima was combined with Osumi Province in 824 (Tenchō 1). Only the six provinces of the Nankaido road remained unchanged from the beginning. The seven roads were connected by official roads with the same name that radiated from the capital, and the dispatch of local supervisors such as inspectors and envoys to investigate the people, as well as the transmission and implementation of policies, were often carried out by each province or region. The Saikaido, close to the continent and the peninsula, was placed under the control of Dazaifu as an important region for internal governance, diplomacy, and national defense. The provinces organized into the Seven Provinces were ranked as Dai, Jo, Chu, and Shi, but they were also divided into Kin, Chu, and To, depending on their distance from the capital. The division into the Five Provinces and Seven Provinces became the basis for dividing Japan into regions thereafter.

[Kaneda Akihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

律令制(りつりょうせい)の基本行政単位である国の上部に設定された地方行政上の地域区分。五畿は山城(やましろ)（京都府）、大和(やまと)（奈良県）、摂津(せっつ)（大阪府・兵庫県）、河内(かわち)（大阪府）、和泉(いずみ)（大阪府）の5か国。大化改新の詔(みことのり)（646）には「畿内国(うちつくに)」の東西南北の境界を示しており、692年（持統天皇6）には大倭(やまと)、河内、摂津、山背(やましろ)の「四畿内」と称される範囲であった。五畿となるのは、河内に設置された和泉監(いずみのげん)がいったん廃止ののちに和泉国となった757年（天平宝字1）以後のことである。五畿は、都城の所在した大和、山城をはじめ、京職(きょうしき)に準ずる摂津職支配下の摂津など、首都圏ともいうべき要国であって、政治、経済、文化の中心地域。畿内制設定の当初は、畿内は畿外から軍事的に防衛され、また官人を任用する王城周辺の特別地域であり、大宝令(たいほうりょう)でも調(ちょう)の半分と庸(よう)が免除されるといった優遇がなされていた。七道は、東海道、東山道、北陸道、山陰道、山陽道、南海道、西海道をさす。東海道14か国は安房国(あわのくに)が復活した757年、東山道9か国は諏訪国(すわのくに)を廃した731年（天平3）に確定したが、その後771年（宝亀2）東山道に所属する武蔵国を改めて東海道所属とした。北陸道7か国は加賀国(かがのくに)を分置した823年（弘仁14）、山陰道7か国は丹後国(たんごのくに)を設置した713年（和銅6）、山陽道8か国は安芸(あき)・周防(すおう)両国界が定められた734年（天平6）、西海道9国2島は多褹島(たねがしま)が大隅国(おおすみのくに)にあわせられた824年（天長1）に最終的に確定した。南海道6か国だけは当初から変化がなかった。七道はそれぞれ京師(けいし)から放射状に発する同名の官道で結ばれており、巡察使や問民苦使(もみくし)などの地方監督官の派遣や、政策の伝達、実施なども畿内・道ごとに行われることが多かった。大陸、半島に近い西海道は内治、外交、国防上の重要地域として大宰府(だざいふ)の統轄下に置かれていた。七道に編成された諸国には、大・上・中・下の等級があったが、都からの距離によって近・中・遠国の区分もなされた。五畿七道の区分は以後日本の地方区分の基本となった。

［金田章裕］

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