Mikawa Province - Mikawa no Kuni

The name of the province established in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture during the Kunigun system. Sanshu. One of the 15 provinces along the Tokaido. It borders Totomi Province (Shizuoka Prefecture) to the east, Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture) and Mino Province (Gifu Prefecture) to the north, and Owari Province (Aichi Prefecture) in the northern half of the west. The province can be divided into four regions: Oku-Mikawa, the northern mountainous region; Higashi-Mikawa, the Toyogawa River Basin Plain, which originates from Oku-Mikawa and runs through the eastern and western parts of the region; and Atsumi Peninsula, which is bounded by the Enshu Nada Sea and Ise Bay to the east and west, and Shima Province (Mie Prefecture) on the Shima Peninsula. All four regions have their own climate and historical differences, but as a whole they have developed an eastern Japanese cultural sphere that is quite different from Owari, as is clearly shown by their dialects.

There are theories about the origin of the name Mikawa, such as that it comes from the three rivers there, or that it means the river of the Kamo god, but there is no commonly accepted theory. Materials that tell the history of the prehistoric period include fossilized human bones of an adult female's left upper arm bone and an adult male's thigh bone fragment discovered in Ushikawa-cho, Toyohashi City. Both human bones, named Ushikawa man, were identified as archaic humans from the Middle Pleistocene Epoch about 100,000 years ago, and are the oldest human in Japan, excluding the Akashi Homo sapiens, which is still debated. Remains from the Jomon period include the Yoshigo shell mound, where a large number of human bones have been excavated, and from the Yayoi period, the Urigou site in Toyohashi City near the mouth of the Toyokawa River, and the Shinotsuka site in Shinotsuka-cho, Toyokawa City, which is famous as the first agricultural site east of Mikawa.

According to the Kokuzo Hongi (Records of Provincial Government Officials), compiled around the 9th century, Mikawa was once divided into two provinces, Mikawa and Ho, which were ruled by the Mikawa kuni no miyatsuko and Ho kuni no miyatsuko, respectively. However, as symbolized by the 96-meter-long Funayama Kofun in Kokufu-cho, Toyokawa City, the power of the powerful clans in eastern Mikawa grew, and the provincial government office was placed in Ho. Under the ryo system, it was placed in Kami Province, and under the Engishiki, it was placed in Kinkoku Province, and divided into seven districts: Kamo, Nukata, Aomi, Hazu, Ho, Yana, and Atsumi. In 903 (Engi 3), the northern part of Takarō was separated to create Shitara District. Both the provincial capital and the provincial temple were located in Toyokawa City. In the Heian period, the area had a strong connection with Ise Shrine, and in 1192 (Kenkyu 3), there were 12 Kanbe, Mikuriya, and Misono. In the Kamakura period, the area became a contact point between the imperial and military forces. The first shugo was Adachi Morinaga. After the Jōkyū War (1221), the area became hereditary to the Ashikaga clan, and the area became the base of their vassals, including the Shiba, Isshiki, Hosokawa, Niki, and Imagawa clans. They distinguished themselves in the civil wars of the Northern and Southern Courts period, and held important positions in the Muromachi shogunate, such as Kanrei and Samurai-dokoro Tounin. The first Shugo during the Muromachi period was Niki Yoshinaga, and the position was passed down to Oshima Yoshitaka, Isshiki Norimitsu, Isshiki Akinori, Hosokawa Mochitsune, Isshiki Shigeyuki, and Isshiki Yoshinao until the Sengoku period.

From the mid-15th century, the Matsudaira clan, which originated from Matsudaira Village in Kamo County, rose to power, and the third head, Nobumitsu, established Anjo Castle in Hekikai County, while the seventh head of the Matsudaira clan, Kiyoyasu, established Okazaki Castle as his base and expanded his influence into western Mikawa. During the time of the eighth head of the Matsudaira clan, Hirotada, Mikawa was invaded by both the Imagawa and Oda clans from the east and west, and Hirotada only held the Okazaki Castle despite having made an alliance with Imagawa Yoshimoto. However, after Imagawa Yoshimoto was defeated and killed in the Battle of Okehazama, his son, Tokugawa Ieyasu, allied with Oda Nobunaga and advanced eastward, eventually being transferred to the Kanto region in 1590 (Tensho 18). After the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu created eight fudai daimyo families, including Matsudaira Iekiyo in Yoshida (Toyohashi), Honda Yasushige in Okazaki, and Honda Yasutoshi in Nishio, and established many hatamoto territories and direct territories. The characteristic of finely divided rule was inherited throughout the Edo period and had a major impact on the development of Mikawa. At the time of the Meiji Restoration, the shogunate's direct territories became Mikawa Prefecture, but were merged into Ina Prefecture, and the domain territories of the 10 domains became Nukata Prefecture, and both areas were incorporated into Aichi Prefecture in 1872 (Meiji 5).

The Mikawa region has been known since ancient times as a producer of high-quality ashiginu cloth, but cotton was cultivated there as early as the 16th century. Due to the complexities of territorial disputes in the early modern period, the development of rice paddies was relatively delayed, but the region was famous for its cotton, as the name "Mikawa cotton" suggests.

[Tokoro Yoshio]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国郡制の時期に愛知県東部に設定された国名。参州(さんしゅう)。東海道15か国の一つ。東は遠江(とおとうみ)国（静岡県）、北は信濃(しなの)（長野県）・美濃(みの)（岐阜県）の両国、西の北半は尾張(おわり)国（愛知県）に接している。当国は北部山岳地帯としての奥三河、その地帯より源を発し、東部、西部をそれぞれ貫流する豊川(とよがわ)流域平野の東三河と矢作(やはぎ)川流域平野の西三河、さらに遠州灘(えんしゅうなだ)と伊勢(いせ)湾を東西に画し、志摩半島の志摩国（三重県）と相対する渥美(あつみ)半島の4地域に分かつことができる。4地域とも風土的・歴史的地域差をもつが、方言に端的に示されるように総体としては尾張とはかなり異なる東国的な文化圏を発展させてきた。

　三河の語源については、三つの川があったからとか、加茂(かも)の神の御川(みかわ)の義であるとかの説はあるが、通説というべきものはない。先史時代の歴史を物語る資料としては、まず豊橋市牛川(うしかわ)町で発見された成人女性の左上腕骨と成人男性の大腿(だいたい)骨片の化石人骨がある。牛川人と名づけられた人骨はいずれも約10万年前の中期洪積世の旧人と鑑定され、いまも論争の続いている明石(あかし)原人を別とすれば、日本最古の人類である。縄文時代の遺跡としては大量の人骨が発掘された吉胡(よしご)貝塚が、また弥生(やよい)時代では豊川河口近くの豊橋市瓜郷(うりごう)遺跡などがあり、豊川(とよかわ)市篠束(しのづか)町の篠束遺跡は三河以東での最初の農村遺跡として名高い。

　9世紀ごろに編纂(へんさん)された『国造本紀(こくぞうほんぎ)』によれば、三河は古く三河と穂(ほ)の二つのクニに分かれ、それぞれ三河国造(くにのみやつこ)、穂国造が支配していたが、豊川市国府(こう)町所在の全長96メートルの船山古墳に象徴されるように、東三河の豪族の力が強大となり、国衙(こくが)は穂のクニに置かれることとなった。令(りょう)制では上国、『延喜式(えんぎしき)』では近国に位置づけられ、加茂、額田(ぬかだ)、碧海(あおみ)、幡豆(はず)、宝飫(ほお)、八名(やな)、渥美の7郡に分ける。このうち903年（延喜3）宝飫の北部を割いて設楽(したら)郡を設置した。国府および国分寺はともに豊川市内にあった。平安時代には伊勢神宮との関係深く、1192年（建久3）には12か所に神戸(かんべ)、御厨(みくりや)、御園(みその)があった。鎌倉期には公武両勢力の接点となる。守護の初見は安達盛長(あだちもりなが)。承久(じょうきゅう)の乱（1221）後は足利(あしかが)氏の世襲となり、斯波(しば)、一色(いっしき)、細川、仁木(にき)、今川氏などその一族被官(ひかん)の本拠となった。彼らは南北朝時代の内乱に戦功をたて、管領(かんれい)や侍所頭人(さむらいどころとうにん)など室町幕府の要職につく。室町期の守護は仁木義長(よしなが)が初代、大島義高(よしたか)、一色範光(のりみつ)、一色詮範(あきのり)、細川持常(もちつね)、同成之(しげゆき)、一色義直(よしなお)と受け継がれて戦国時代を迎える。

　15世紀中葉から、加茂郡松平村より出た松平氏が台頭し、3代信光は碧海郡安祥(あんじょう)城、松平氏7代清康(きよやす)は岡崎城を拠点として西三河に勢力を広めた。松平氏8代広忠(ひろただ)の時期、三河は東西から今川、織田両氏の侵入にあい、広忠は今川義元(よしもと)と盟約しながら岡崎城1城を保つにすぎなかったが、その子徳川家康は、今川義元が桶狭間(おけはざま)合戦に敗死後、織田信長と同盟を結んで東進し、1590年（天正18）関東に転封する。関ヶ原役後、家康は松平家清を吉田（豊橋）、本多康重(やすしげ)を岡崎、本多康俊を西尾に置くなど8家の譜代(ふだい)大名を創設したほか、多くの旗本領、直轄領を設定した。細分割支配の特色は江戸時代を通じて受け継がれ、三河の開発に大きな影響を与えた。維新時の幕府直轄領は三河県となったが、伊奈(いな)県に合併、また10藩あった藩領域は額田県となり、1872年（明治5）に両地域とも愛知県に編入された。

　三河地方は古代から良質のあしぎぬの産地として知られていたが、早くも16世紀からは木綿が栽培される。近世では所領関係が複雑なため、水田開発は比較的後れたが、「三河木綿」の名があるように木綿の名産地であった。

［所理喜夫］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例