Bizen Province

Japanese: 備前国 - びぜんのくに

The former name of the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It borders Harima to the east, Bitchu to the west, Mimasaka to the north, and faces the Seto Inland Sea to the south. It was once part of Kibi Province, and during the reign of Emperor Tenmu (672-686) it was divided into Bizen, Bitchu, and Bingo. Then in 713 (the 6th year of the Wadō era), the six northern districts of Bizen were divided, and Mimasaka was newly established. At the time of division, Bizen Province consisted of six districts: Oku, Kamitsumichi, Akasaka, Mino, Tsutaka, and Kojima. In 721 (Yoro 5), parts of Oku and Akasaka districts were separated to create Fujiwara District (later Fujino District), and then in 788 (Enryaku 7), Fujino District was divided into Iwanasu District and Wake District, separated by the Yoshii River, resulting in eight districts. In the early modern period, Kamitsumichi District was divided into Joto District and Kamitsumichi District, resulting in a time when Bizen had nine districts. The provincial capital of Bizen was located in Kokufu Ichiba, Naka Ward, Okayama City, in Kamitsumichi District, and the provincial temple was built in Maya, Akaiwa City, Akasaka District. In the Heian period, Ichinomiya was Ani Shrine in what is now Saidaiji Ichinomiya, Higashi Ward, Okayama City, and later Kibitsuhiko Shrine in what is now Ichinomiya, Kita Ward, Okayama City. The ancient Sanyo Road entered Bitchu from Sakanaga, on the border with Banbi, passing through Kama, Takatsuki, and Tsutaka. In the Middle Ages, it went south and passed through Mitsuishi, Katakami, Fukuoka, Fujii, and Karakawa before entering Bitchu, and in the early modern period, it changed to a road from Fujii, passing through Okayama Castle Town and over the Mannari Pass. According to the Wamyōshō, the area of rice paddies in the mid-Heian period was 3,185 cho, 7 tan, and 32 bu. According to the Engishiki, local specialties included sesame, deerskin, pottery, fish, and salt. From the end of the Nara period to the beginning of the Kamakura period, many manors were developed around the mouths of the Asahikawa and Yoshii rivers, including large manors such as Shikata-sho, Noda-sho, Aranya-sho, Toyohara-sho, Fukuoka-sho, and Kanaoka-sho.

During the Kamakura period, many Kanto samurai, including Sasaki, Nagai, Matsuda, and Ishibashi, moved to Bizen and became shugo and jito (local governors) there. After the Northern and Southern Courts period, the Akamatsu clan, the shugo of Harima, also served as shugo of Bizen, but after the Kakitsu War (1441), it became the property of the Yamana clan. Akamatsu Masanori restored the Akamatsu clan and regained its former territory, but after Masanori's death, it declined, and the Uragami and Matsuda clans rose to power, and eventually Ukita Naoie, a vassal of Uragami Munekage, unified Bizen and built a castle in Okayama in 1573 (Tensho 1). During the Muromachi and Sengoku periods, the port of Ushimado prospered through commercial trade, Rokusaiichi (Fukuoka City) developed in Fukuoka, and along with Osafune, it flourished as a production center of Bizen swords, and Ibe in Wake County developed as a production center of Bizen ware.

Naoie's son Hideie became the adopted son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and ruled over Bizen, Mimasaka, and parts of Bitchu and Harima. He built Okayama Castle, relocated the Asahi River, and developed the castle town. The Ukita clan was destroyed in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and was replaced by Kobayakawa Hideaki, but in 1603 (Keicho 8), the clan was extinguished and Tadatsugu, the second son of Ikeda Terumasa, the lord of Himeji, was given the fief of Bizen. Tadatsugu died in 1616 (Genwa 2) and his younger brother Tadakatsu moved from Awaji, but he died young in 1631 (Kan'ei 8), so Tadao's son Mitsunaka was transferred to Tottori, and Ikeda Mitsumasa, the lord of Tottori, was transferred to Bizen. Mitsumasa was a Confucian believer and based his philosophy on reforming the domain government and promoting education. His son Tsunamasa followed suit and established Shizutaniko, Korakuen, and the domain-run Daishinden, improving the domain government. His descendants inherited the title of domain lord until the Meiji Restoration.

When the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, Bizen became Okayama Prefecture, and with the appointment of Takasaki Goroku as prefectural governor, Oda Prefecture in Bitchu was added in 1875 (Meiji 8), and the following year Hojo Prefecture in Mimasaka was combined to form today's Okayama Prefecture.

[Hajime Shibata]

"History of Okayama Prefecture" by Sumio Taniguchi (1970, Yamakawa Publishing)

Hiroshige Utagawa, "Illustrated Guide to Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces, Bizen, Tanokuchi Beach, Torii Gate at Yugayama Mountain"
Tanokuchi Beach, Kotoura (now Kojima, Kurashiki City) (Owned by the National Diet Library )

Hiroshige Utagawa "Illustrated Guide to Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: Bizen, Rice Fields"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

岡山県の南東部の旧国名。東は播磨(はりま)、西は備中(びっちゅう)、北は美作(みまさか)に接し、南は瀬戸内海に臨む。吉備(きび)国の一部で、天武(てんむ)朝（672～686）のころ備前、備中、備後(びんご)に分割され、ついで713年（和銅6）備前は北部6郡を分割され美作が新設された。分割当時の備前国は、邑久(おおく)、上道(かみつみち)、赤坂、御野(みの)、津高(つたか)、児島(こじま)の6郡であったが、721年（養老5）邑久・赤坂の両郡の一部を割いて藤原郡（のちに藤野郡）が置かれ、ついで788年（延暦7）藤野郡を吉井川を境に磐梨(いわなす)郡と和気(わけ)郡に分割して8郡となった。近世には上道郡を上東(じょうとう)郡と上道(かみみち)郡に分け備前9郡の時期もあった。備前の国府は上道郡の現岡山市中区国府市場(こくふいちば)に置かれ、国分寺は赤坂郡の現赤磐(あかいわ)市馬屋(まや)に建立された。一宮(いちのみや)は平安時代は現岡山市東区西大(さいだい)寺一宮の安仁(あに)神社、のちに現岡山市北区一宮の吉備津彦(きびつひこ)神社がこれにかわる。古代の山陽道は、播備国境の坂長から珂磨(かま)、高月、津高を経て備中に入った。中世には南下し三石(みついし)、片上(かたかみ)、福岡、藤井、辛川(からかわ)を経て備中へ、近世には藤井から岡山城下を経、万成(まんなり)坂を越える道にかわった。『和名抄(わみょうしょう)』によると、平安中期の水田面積は3185町7反32歩。『延喜式(えんぎしき)』によると、特産物は胡麻(ごま)、鹿革(しかがわ)、陶器、魚、塩など。奈良末期から鎌倉初期に、旭川、吉井川の河口に、鹿田荘(しかたのしょう)、野田荘、荒野荘、豊原荘、福岡荘、金岡(かなおか)荘などの大荘園はじめ多くの荘園が開発された。

　鎌倉時代には、佐々木、長井、松田、石橋ら多くの関東武士が移住し守護・地頭(じとう)となった。南北朝以後、播磨守護赤松氏が備前守護を兼ねたが、嘉吉(かきつ)の乱（1441）以後、山名氏の所領となった。赤松政則(まさのり)が赤松氏を再興して旧領を復したが、政則没後は衰え、浦上(うらがみ)、松田の両氏が台頭し、やがて浦上宗景の家臣宇喜多直家(うきたなおいえ)が備前を統一し1573年（天正1）岡山に築城した。室町・戦国のころ、牛窓(うしまど)港は商業貿易で栄え、福岡は六斎市(ろくさいいち)（福岡市）が発達し、また長船(おさふね)とともに備前刀の産地として栄え、また和気郡伊部(いんべ)は備前焼の産地として発展した。

　直家の子秀家は豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の猶子(ゆうし)となり、備前・美作および備中・播磨の一部を領し、新規に岡山城を築き、旭川を付け替え城下町を整備した。関ヶ原の戦い（1600）により宇喜多氏は滅び、小早川秀秋(こばやかわひであき)がこれにかわったが、1603年（慶長8）断絶し、姫路藩主池田輝政(てるまさ)の次男忠継(ただつぐ)が備前に封ぜられた。1616年（元和2）忠継が死去し弟忠雄(ただかつ)が淡路から移ったが、1631年（寛永8）若死にしたため、忠雄の子光仲(みつなか)は鳥取へ、鳥取藩主池田光政が備前へ移された。光政は儒教を信奉し、その理念に基づいて藩政を改革し教育を振興し、光政の子綱政(つなまさ)もその後を受け、閑谷黌(しずたにこう)、後楽園、藩営大新田をつくり藩政を整備した。その子孫は藩主を世襲して明治維新に至った。

　廃藩置県で備前は岡山県となり、県令高崎五六を迎え1875年（明治8）備中の小田県、翌年美作の北条県をあわせて今日の岡山県となった。

［柴田　一］

『谷口澄夫著『岡山県の歴史』（1970・山川出版社）』