Aki Province - Aki no Kuni

The old name of a province that occupies the western half of Hiroshima Prefecture. It is also called Geishu, one of the eight provinces of the Sanyo Road. It borders Bingo to the east, Suo to the west, and Iwami to the north, and faces the Seto Inland Sea to the south. Before the Taika Reforms, the Aki no Kuni no Miyatsuko held power in this province, and after the reforms, when the provinces were established, the Aki no Kuni no Miyatsuko called themselves Oushi no Atae. Aki Province was Kami-no-kuni and Ongoku-no-kuni. There is a theory that the provincial capital was originally located in Kamo-gun, but the Wamyōshō lists it as Aki-gun, and it is confirmed that it was located in the area of ​​present-day Fuchū-chō in the province from the late 9th century to around the 10th century. The "Wamyo-sho" records 8 counties and 63 villages in the country: Numata, Toyoda, Kamo, Aki, Takamiya, Takata, Yamagata, and Saeki. The Sanyo Road connected the area by land, and according to the "Engishiki," there were 13 stations from the east: Shinra, Nashiwa, Tsuu, Kamutsuki, Yu, Oyama, Arayama, Aki, Tomobe, Omachi, Tanegashima, Noo, and Okuda. Some manors date back to the end of the 8th century, such as Ushita Manor (Higashi Ward, Hiroshima City), which was part of the Kenta clan, but most were formed around the mid-11th century and became the basis for medieval manors. The main focus was on the estates of local lords, such as Mita Manor in Takada County and Miiri Manor in Takamiya County. After Taira no Kiyomori became provincial governor in 1146 (Kyuan 2), the area became an important fiefdom for the Taira clan, and further donations to the central temple and Itsutsushima Shrine led to the establishment of manors.

In the Kamakura period, vassals from the eastern provinces gained power as shugo jito (local governors) and eventually emigrated one after another. The Sagami Kobayakawa clan entered Numata Manor in Toyota County, the Kai Takeda clan entered Sasai County, the Suruga Kikkawa clan entered Yamagata County, and the Sagami Mori clan entered Yoshida Manor in Takada County, and a system of local feudal lords developed under the control of the shugo Takeda, Imagawa, Yamana, and Ouchi clans. At the end of the Sengoku period, Mori Motonari emerged and defeated Sue Harukata at Ganjima in 1555 (Koji 1), and in 1566 (Eiroku 9), he took control of Gassan Castle, the base of the Amago clan, and came to dominate almost the entire Chugoku region. Then, during the reign of his grandson Terumoto, he joined the Toyotomi government, which achieved national unification, and became a powerful daimyo with 1.12 million koku of rice in nine provinces of San'in and San'yo.

As a result of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keicho 5), the Mori clan was reduced to just two provinces, Bungo and Choshu, and Fukushima Masanori entered Hiroshima Castle as the feudal lord of both provinces, Gei and Bizen, with 490,000 koku of rice. In 1619 (Genwa 5), ​​following Masanori's removal from the throne, Asano Nagaakira entered as the feudal lord of Aki and Bitohkoni with 420,000 koku of rice, and continued to exist until the abolition of the domain. The Asano clan allocated land provided by their chief retainers to key points in the domain's territory, and controlled the domain through a local chigyo system. The domain had a monopoly on the special products of the domain, such as iron, paper, and lumber. The region was known as a place of thriving Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, and was known for its Aki monto (followers of the Aki sect). Shinshu temples accounted for 58% of the total number of temples (351), and famous Shinshu scholars such as Enun and Niun came from the region. The lord's love of learning was also reflected in his domain, and scholars of townspeople origins, such as the three brothers, Rai Shunsui, Shunsui, and Kyohei, and Rai Sanyo (Shunsui's eldest son), were active in the area. In 1869 (Meiji 2), the domain was returned to the Emperor, and in July 1871, the domain was abolished and prefectures were established, resulting in Hiroshima Prefecture, and the Bingo region of the former Fukuyama Domain was incorporated into the prefecture of today.

[Doi Sakuji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

広島県の西半部を占める旧国名。山陽道八か国の一、芸州(げいしゅう)ともいう。東は備後(びんご)、西は周防(すおう)、北は石見(いわみ)と各国境を接し、南は瀬戸内海に臨む。この国は大化改新以前、阿岐国造(あきのくにのみやつこ)が勢力を保ち、改新後、国が建置されると阿岐国造は凡直(おうしのあたえ)を称した。安芸国は上国、遠国(おんごく)。国府は、初め賀茂(かも)郡に置かれたという説もあるが、『和名抄(わみょうしょう)』に安芸郡とあり、9世紀後期から10世紀ごろには現在の同郡府中町の地にあったことが確認される。国内郡郷は、『和名抄』に沼田(ぬた)、豊田(とよた)、賀茂(かも)、安芸(あき)、高宮(たかみや)、高田(たかた)、山県(やまがた)、佐伯(さえき)の8郡63郷が記される。陸路には山陽道が通じ、『延喜式(えんぎしき)』によれば、東より真良(しんら)、梨葉(なしわ)、都宇(つう)、鹿附(かむつき)、木綿(ゆう)、大山、荒山、安芸、伴部(とも)、大町、種篦(へら)、濃唹(のお)、遠管(おくだ)の13駅があった。荘園(しょうえん)は8世紀末、墾田系の西大寺(さいだいじ)領牛田(うした)荘（広島市東区）もあるが、多くは11世紀中期ごろから形成され、中世荘園の基になる。高田郡三田荘、高宮(たかみや)郡三入(みいり)荘をはじめとして在地領主の所領が軸になっている。また1146年（久安2）平清盛(きよもり)が国守になって以後、平氏の重要知行国(ちぎょうこく)になったが、さらに中央の大寺や巌島(いつくしま)社などに寄進されて荘園が成立する。

　鎌倉時代になると、東国の御家人(ごけにん)が守護地頭として勢力を張り、やがて続々移住した。豊田郡沼田荘に相模(さがみ)小早川(こばやかわ)氏、佐西(ささい)郡に甲斐(かい)武田氏、山県郡に駿河(するが)吉川(きっかわ)氏、高田郡吉田荘に相模毛利(もうり)氏らが入って、守護武田、今川、山名、大内各氏の支配のもとで在地領主制を展開する。戦国末期、毛利元就(もとなり)が出て1555年（弘治1）巌島で陶晴賢(すえはるかた)を破り、1566年（永禄9）尼子(あまご)氏の本拠月山(がっさん)城を陥落させて、中国地方のほぼ全域を支配した。そして、孫輝元のとき、全国統一を果たした豊臣(とよとみ)政権下に入り、山陰山陽9か国112万石の大大名となった。

　1600年（慶長5）関ヶ原の戦いの結果、毛利氏は防長2国に削封(さくほう)され、福島正則(ふくしままさのり)が芸備両国49万石の大名として広島城に入った。1619年（元和5）正則の改易に伴い、浅野長晟(あさのながあきら)が安芸国、備後半国42万石の大名として入部し、廃藩まで存続した。浅野氏は、藩領の要所に家老給地を配し、地方(じかた)知行制による領国支配を行った。領内特産の割鉄(わりてつ)や紙、木材などに藩専売制をとった。浄土真宗の盛んな国として安芸門徒の称があり、寺院総数の58％（351寺）を真宗寺が占め、慧雲、似雲など著名な真宗学侶(がくりょ)が輩出した。また領主の好学が領内に反映され、頼春水(らいしゅんすい)、春風、杏坪(きょうへい)3兄弟や頼山陽(さんよう)（春水長子）のような町人出身の学者も活動した。1869年（明治2）版籍奉還、1871年7月廃藩置県により広島藩は広島県となり、さらに旧福山藩の備後地域を合して今日の県域となる。

［土井作治］

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