Ingu Bunkoku

Japanese: 院宮分国 - いんぐうぶんこく

Provinces under the ritsuryo system that were designated as Imperial domains or empress domains. The first was Shinano Province, which was assigned as a domain to the retired Emperor Uda in 908 (Engi 8), followed by domains to the retired Emperors Reizei, En'yu, Sanjo, and Gosanjo, and the number of domains increased dramatically after the Insei period. In the case of Empresses (Nyoin), domains were assigned to Empresses who were the mothers of the emperor's country (the birth mothers of the emperor), such as the first Empress Tosanjo-in, Jotomon'in, and Yomeimon'in, but after the Empress Ikuhomon'in, a favorite of the retired Emperor Shirakawa, received this privilege, it spread to Empresses in general. The first example of an Empress's domain was Echizen, the domain of Empress Fujiwara no Tokushi, the mother of Emperor Konoe, and from then until the Kamakura period, domains such as Chugu, Togu, Saigū, and Saiin appeared.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

院分，皇后宮分などと指定された令制の国。908年(延喜8)宇多上皇の分国に充てられた信濃国を初見とし，ついで冷泉，円融，三条，後三条各上皇の分国が見えるが，院政期以降飛躍的に増大した。女院（によいん）の場合は，最初の女院，東三条院以下，上東門院，陽明門院など国母(天皇の生母)たる女院に分国が充てられたが，さらに白河上皇寵愛の皇女郁芳門院がこの恩典に浴してから女院一般に広まった。皇后宮の例は，近衛天皇の母后藤原得子の分国越前を初見とするが，以後鎌倉時代にかけて，中宮，東宮，斎宮，斎院などの分国が出現した。

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

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