Shimousa Province

The old name of a province that stretched from northern Chiba Prefecture to the southwestern Ibaraki Prefecture and the eastern tip of Saitama Prefecture. A province along the Tokaido. A large province. Bordering Hitachi Province to the north, Kazusa Province to the south, and Musashi Province to the west. According to the Kogoshuui (807), it was originally the "Province of Fusa (So)", but was divided into two provinces, Kazusa and Shimousa, by the Taika Reforms. "Fusa" means hemp, and Fusa Province means a place that produces good quality hemp. In the Wamyōshō (931-938), Shimousa is called "Shimotsufusa". By the way, the Kuni no Miyatsuko (provincial governor) is mentioned in the Sendai Kuji Hongi (Chronicles of Ancient Matters) (early Heian period) as Inba Kuni no Miyatsuko, Shimotsu Unakami Kuni no Miyatsuko, and in the Nihon Koki (Chronicles of Japan) (840) as Chiba Kuni no Miyatsuko. According to the Engishiki (927), the area was made up of 11 districts: Chiba, Katsushika, Inba, Hanyu, Sosa, Unakami, Katori, Soma, Yuki, Toyoda, and Sashima. As of 1985, Chiba, Ichikawa, Narashino, Nagareyama, Noda, Kashiwa, Abiko, Kamagaya, Funabashi, Yachiyo, Matsudo, Narita, Yotsukaido, Yokaichiba, Asahi, Sakura, Sawara, Choshi (all in Chiba Prefecture), It is divided into 24 cities, including Yuki, Koga, Toride, Mitsukaido, Iwai (all in Ibaraki Prefecture), and Misato (in Saitama Prefecture), and 9 districts, including Higashikatsushika, Inba, Katori, Kaijo, Sosa (all in Chiba Prefecture), Kitasoma, Yuki, Sashima (all in Ibaraki Prefecture), and Kitakatsushika (in Saitama Prefecture). After the reform, the provincial capital was located in what is now Konodai, Ichikawa City, and the provincial temple was located in Kokubu, Ichikawa City. The Wamyōshō records that there were 87 districts and 26,423 rice fields in Shimousa Province.

From the mid-Heian period onwards, the Kanmu Taira clan expanded their influence in the Kanto region. In particular, Taira Masakado and Taira Tadatsune wielded power from their bases in Sarushima County, and Soma County, respectively, and eventually led to rebellion. Tadatsune's descendants, known as the Chiba clan, exerted great influence with the province as their base of influence. In 1180 (Jisho 4), Minamoto no Yoritomo was defeated in the Battle of Ishibashiyama and fled to Awa, but Chiba Tsuneshige's son Tsunetane willingly joined Yoritomo's side. From then on, the Chiba clan steadily expanded its influence as Kamakura Gokenin, and successive generations served as the guardians of Shimousa Province. Other notable achievements include the achievements of powerful clans such as the Yuki clan and the Kasai clan.

Looking at the main manors in Shimousa Province, in Sosa County there was Tamatsukuri Manor, which was the domain of Miidera, Sosa Nanjo Manor, which was the domain of Kumanoyama, in Katori County there was Osuganoho, which was the domain of Engakuji, in Chiba County there was Chiba Manor, which was the domain of Hachijoin, in Katsushika County there was Kasai Mikuriya, which was the domain of Ise Ninomiya, and Hachijoin and other manors. These territories included Shimokobe Manor under Shomyo-ji's control, Toyota Manor under the control of the Azechi family in Toyota County, Soma Mikuriya Manor under the control of the Ise Naiku family in Soma County, Misaki Manor under the control of the Kujo family in Kaijo County, Tachibana Manor under the control of the Second Rank Dainagon, and Into Manor under the control of Joju-ji family in Inba County.

The monk Nichiren, born in Awa Province in the early 13th century, is the founder of the Nichiren sect. He had deep ties with the Shimousa samurai, and in 1260 (Bun'o 1), after his hermitage was burned down by devotees of Nembutsu, he took refuge in the mansion of Tokitanetsugu (Jonin) in Wakamiya, Shimousa (Ichikawa City). This Tomiki residence became the basis for the development of the Nakayama school. A handwritten copy of "Rissho Ankoku Ron" (The Treatise on the Establishment of a Safe Country), which Nichiren presented to the regent Hojo Tokiyori, is kept at Nakayama Hokekyoji Temple.

During the Sengoku period, Ashikaga Shigeuji was based in Koga and called himself the Koga Kubo. Meanwhile, the Satomi clan and the Gohojo clan, based in the southern part of Boso, gradually established their influence in the province. In 1590 (Tensho 18), the Chiba clan was destroyed along with the Gohojo clan in the Battle of Odawara, and Tokugawa Ieyasu's power rapidly swept across the province. As a result, in addition to the domains of Sakura, Sekiyado, and Koga, small domains such as Yuki, Omigawa, and Tako were created. The Sakura Domain was successively ruled by the Takeda, Matsudaira, Ogasawara, Doi, Ishikawa, Matsudaira (Katahara), Hotta, Matsudaira (Ogyu), Okubo, Toda, Inaba, Matsudaira (Ogyu), and after 1746 (Enkyo 3), the late Hotta clan was ruled and established themselves. The Sekijuku Domain was ruled by the Matsudaira (Hisamatsu), Matsudaira (Nomi), Ogasawara, Hojo, Makino, Itakura, Kuze, Makino, Kuze, and the Koga Domain was ruled by the Ogasawara, Matsudaira (Toda), Ogasawara, Okudaira, Nagai, Doi, Hotta, Matsudaira (Fujii), Matsudaira (Nagasawa, Okochi), Honda, Matsudaira (Matsui), and Doi, which continued until the Meiji period.

As this province was located in the foothills of Edo, it also formed an important part of Edo's military line of defense, with a complex web of fudai daimyo (characterized by tiny rice yields), hatamoto chigyo, and magistrate territories. Except for the castle-attached territories of the Sakura domain, the rule was generally a complex web of mutual allocations, and individual lords changed frequently. A land survey of the province (Taiko land survey) was carried out from 1591 (Tensho 19) to the following year. In 1702 (Genroku 15), the total rice yield of the province was 568,331 koku, 1 to 1 sho, 3 go, 7 shaku, 4 sai, and the number of villages was 1,486. The Sakura Sogoro Incident, which occurred in the Sakura Domain prior to this, is a famous historical event, and one of the best known figures is Ino Tadataka (born in Kazusa Province, and adopted into the Ino family of Sawara Village in Shimousa Province at the age of 18), who started out as a farmer and merchant, continued his studies, and completed the "Complete Map of the Japanese Coastline." As for industry, soy sauce brewing in Choshi and Noda and salt fields in Gyotoku flourished in the early modern period, and fishing also developed with the influx of Kishu fishermen. Yuki tsumugi silk has also been famous since ancient times. In July 1871 (Meiji 4), the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, and this province came under the jurisdiction of Inba Prefecture and Niihari Prefecture. In 1873, Inba Prefecture and Kisarazu Prefecture merged to form Chiba Prefecture, and in 1875, the area that belonged to Niihari Prefecture was divided into Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture with the Tone River as the border, as it remains today. Parts of Katsushika County were incorporated into Saitama Prefecture in 1871 and 1875.

[Yu Kawamura]

"Chiba Prefecture History Meiji Edition" (1962, Chiba Prefecture)" ▽ "Kawamura Masaru (ed.), Local History Dictionary 12 Chiba Prefecture" (1979, Shoheisha)" ▽ Kawamura Masaru et al. (ed.), History of Chiba Prefecture (1971, Yamakawa Publishing) ▽ Kawamura Masaru et al. (ed.), Chiba Prefecture Place Name Dictionary (1984, Kadokawa Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

千葉県北部と茨城県南西部、埼玉県東端部にわたる旧国名。東海道の一国。大国。北は常陸(ひたち)国、南は上総(かずさ)国、西は武蔵(むさし)国に接する。『古語拾遺(こごしゅうい)』（807）によれば、初め「ふさ（総）の国」、大化改新により上総と下総の2国に分かれた。「ふさ」とは麻のことであり、ふさの国はよい麻を産する所の意味である。『和名抄(わみょうしょう)』（931～938ころ）では下総を「しもつふさ」とよんでいる。ところで、国造(くにのみやつこ)については『先代旧事本紀(せんだいくじほんぎ)』（平安初期）には、印波(いんば)国造、下海上(しもつうなかみ)国造、『日本後紀(にほんこうき)』（840）には千葉国造とある。『延喜式(えんぎしき)』（927）によれば、郡は千葉(ちば)、葛餝(かつしか)、印播(いんば)、埴生(はにゅう)、匝瑳(そうさ)、海上(うなかみ)、香取(かとり)、相馬(そうま)、結城(ゆうき)、豊田(とよだ)、猨島(さしま)の11郡から構成された。1985年現在千葉、市川、習志野(ならしの)、流山(ながれやま)、野田、柏(かしわ)、我孫子(あびこ)、鎌ヶ谷(かまがや)、船橋、八千代(やちよ)、松戸(まつど)、成田(なりた)、四街道(よつかいどう)、八日市場(ようかいちば)、旭(あさひ)、佐倉、佐原(さわら)、銚子(ちょうし)（以上千葉県）、結城、古河(こが)、取手(とりで)、水海道(みつかいどう)、岩井（以上茨城県）、三郷(みさと)（埼玉県）のあわせて24市と、東葛飾(ひがしかつしか)、印旛(いんば)、香取、海上(かいじょう)、匝瑳（以上千葉県）、北相馬、結城、猿島(さしま)（以上茨城県）、北葛飾（埼玉県）のあわせて9郡に分かれる。改新後に置かれた国府はいまの市川市国府台(こうのだい)、国分寺は市川市国分(こくぶ)に置かれた。『和名抄』には下総国内の郷数87、田2万6423町とある。

　平安時代中期以降、桓武(かんむ)平氏は関東にその勢力を伸ばした。ことに平将門(まさかど)は当国猿島郡を、また平忠常(ただつね)は相馬郡を本拠として威を振るい、ついには反乱を起こすに至った。忠常の子孫は千葉氏として、当国を勢力地盤として大いに実力を発揮するに至った。1180年（治承4）石橋山の戦いに敗れた源頼朝(よりとも)は安房(あわ)に逃れたが、千葉常重(つねしげ)の子常胤(つねたね)は進んで頼朝のもとに参陣した。以後、千葉氏は鎌倉御家人(ごけにん)として着実に勢力を伸ばし、歴代は下総国の守護を勤めた。そのほか、結城氏、葛西(かさい)氏らの豪族の活躍も見逃せない。

　下総国内のおもな荘園(しょうえん)をみると、匝瑳郡に三井寺(みいでら)領玉造(たまつくり)荘、熊野山領匝瑳南条(なんじょう)荘、香取郡に円覚寺領大須賀保(おおすがのほう)、千葉郡には八条院領千葉荘、葛飾郡に伊勢(いせ)二宮領葛西御厨(かさいのみくりや)、八条院・称名寺(しょうみょうじ)領下河辺(しもこうべ)荘、豊田郡に按察使(あぜち)家領豊田荘、相馬郡に伊勢内宮(ないくう)領相馬御厨、海上郡に九条家領三崎(みさき)荘、二位大納言(だいなごん)領橘(たちばな)荘、印旛郡に成就寺(じょうじゅじ)領印東(いんとう)荘が分布した。

　13世紀の初めに安房国に生まれた僧日蓮(にちれん)は日蓮宗の開祖であるが、下総武士団との関係は深く、1260年（文応1）念仏者により庵室(あんしつ)を焼かれて下総若宮(わかみや)（市川市）の富木胤継(ときたねつぐ)（常忍(じょうにん)）の館(やかた)に身を寄せた。この富木氏の邸が中山門流発展の基となった。日蓮が執権(しっけん)北条時頼(ときより)に呈した『立正安国論』の自筆本が中山法華経寺(ほけきょうじ)にある。

　戦国時代には足利成氏(しげうじ)が古河(こが)にあって、古河公方(くぼう)と称した。一方、房総南部を拠点とした里見氏や、後北条(ごほうじょう)氏らが当国にも逐次勢力を扶植するようになった。1590年（天正18）小田原合戦により千葉氏は後北条氏とともに滅亡し、徳川家康の勢力が急速に当国を席巻(せっけん)した。その結果、佐倉、関宿(せきやど)、古河の各藩のほか、結城、小見川(おみがわ)、多古(たこ)などの小藩が分立した。佐倉藩は、武田―松平―小笠原(おがさわら)―土井―石川―松平（形原(かたはら)）―堀田(ほった)―松平（大給(おぎゅう)）―大久保―戸田―稲葉―松平（大給）の諸氏が相次ぎ入封、1746年（延享3）以後は後期堀田氏が入封して定着した。関宿藩は松平（久松）―松平（能見(のみ)）―小笠原―北条―牧野―板倉―久世(くぜ)―牧野―久世の各氏が、古河藩は小笠原―松平（戸田）―小笠原―奥平―永井―土井―堀田―松平（藤井）―松平（長沢・大河内(おおこうち)）―本多―松平（松井）―土井の各氏が続いて明治に至った。

　当国は江戸の御膝元(おひざもと)であったので、軍事上からも江戸の防衛線の重要な一環を形成し、譜代(ふだい)大名（石高(こくだか)の規模は零細を特色）、旗本知行(ちぎょう)、代官領が錯綜(さくそう)し、原則として佐倉藩領の城付(しろつき)領などを除くほかは、支配形態は一般的に相給(あいきゅう)の犬牙(けんが)錯綜の地であり、しかも個別領主の交替も頻繁であった。当国の検地（太閤(たいこう)検地）は1591年（天正19）から翌年に断行された。1702年（元禄15）における当国の総石高56万8331石1斗1升3合7勺4才、村数1486か村であった。これより先、佐倉藩に起こった佐倉惣五郎(そうごろう)事件は歴史上著名であり、人物としては、農民・商人から勉学を続け「大日本沿海輿地(よち)全図」を完成した伊能忠敬(いのうただたか)（出身は上総国、18歳で下総国佐原村伊能家へ養子）がよく知られる。産業は、近世以降、銚子(ちょうし)・野田の醤油(しょうゆ)醸造、行徳(ぎょうとく)の塩田が栄え、紀州漁民の進出で漁業も発展した。結城の紬(つむぎ)も古くから有名。1871年（明治4）7月廃藩置県により当国は印旛県、新治(にいはり)県の管轄、73年印旛・木更津(きさらづ)両県が合併して千葉県となり、75年新治県に属した地域を利根(とね)川を境界として千葉・茨城両県に分割、現在に至っている。なお、葛飾郡の一部は71年および75年に埼玉県に編入された。

［川村　優］

『『千葉県史　明治編』（1962・千葉県）』▽『川村優編『郷土史事典12　千葉県』（1979・昌平社）』▽『川村優他編『千葉県の歴史』（1971・山川出版社）』▽『川村優他編『千葉県地名大辞典』（1984・角川書店）』

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