Mino Province

The old name of the province that occupies the southern part of Gifu Prefecture. It is one of the eight provinces of the Tosando road. It borders Shinano Province to the east, Omi Province to the west, Mikawa Province, Owari Province, and Ise Province to the south, and Echizen Province and Hida Province to the north. Its area is approximately 6,461 square kilometers. The "Wamyo-sho" lists 18 counties, namely Tagi, Ishizu, Fuwa, Ikeda, Ahachi, Ono, Motosu, Mashida, Katagata, Atsumi, Kagami, Yamagata, Muge (Mugi), Gunjo, Kamo (Kamo), Kani, Toki, and Ena. However, during the Tensho period (1573-1592), three more counties, Kaisai, Nakashima, and Haguri, were added, bringing the total to 21. The three rivers Kiso, Nagara and Ibi all flow through Mino, converging in the southwestern lowlands and emptying into Ise Bay. Apart from the plains in the southwest, the area is mostly mountainous, with the eastern area south of the Kiso River being a vast hilly region. The name of the province was also written as Mino or Ono, and was also called Noshu. There are several theories about the origin of the name, including that it comes from the three fields of Aono, Kamono (or Ono), and Kagamino, that it is a derivative of the name of Mano, and that one of the two refers to mountainous land with slight elevation changes, so the use of the characters "Mino" is said to have been officially established in the early 8th century.

In 672 (the 1st year of Emperor Tenmu's reign), Prince Oama raised an army in Mino, with local powerful families such as Murakuni Oyori playing an active role. The province was ranked as Jokoku in the Engishiki. The provincial capital was located in Fuchu (Tarui Town) in Fuwa County. The Tosando road enters from Omi and passes through Shinano, and eight stations were developed within Mino. Fuwa Barrier was established as one of the three checkpoints. Many of the Yocho (tax-exemptions) indicate a history of producing specialty products such as wide silk, paper, and earthenware. Manors such as Akanabe Manor and Oi Manor, which were owned by Todaiji Temple, as well as Tagi Manor and Kurita Manor of the Sekkanke family were also established. Minamoto no Mitsunaka and his son Yorimitsu became the governor of Mino, and his descendant Mitsuhira claimed the Toki clan, but his descendants prospered as the Mino Genji clan and converted to Zen Buddhism. In 1542 (Tenbun 11), Toki Yorimitsu was chased out by Saito Dosan, and lost his position as governor, which had lasted for over 200 years and 11 generations. Dosan made Inabayama (Gifu City) his castle, but during the reign of his grandson Tatsuoki, he was defeated by Oda Nobunaga, who moved there from Kiyosu.

The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keicho 5) was a decisive battle for the fate of Japan, but Mino has long been a battleground between the powers of the East and the West, and has had many battles that divided the country, including the Jinshin War, the Battle of Sunomata in 1181 (Youwa 1), in which Taira Shigehira and Michimori defeated Minamoto no Yukiie, the Battle of Kiso River in 1221 (Jokyu 3), in which the Kyoto army was defeated while trying to prevent the Kamakura shogunate army from advancing west, and the Battle of Aonogahara in 1338 (Engen 3/Ryakuo 1), in which Toki Yorito (on the Ashikaga side) led the Kikyo Ikki rebellion against the army of the Chinjufu Shogun Kitabatake Akiie.

In the early modern period, the Tokugawa clan placed great importance on Mino, dividing it into seven domains, including the Owari domain of the Tokugawa clan, Ogaki, Kano, Gujo (Hachiman), Iwamura, Naegi, Takatomi, and Takasu, and over 70 samurai retainers, among which they placed the Shogunate's territories. According to the 1616 (Genwa 2) "Mino Province Village and Land Cultivation Register," the total land area was over 589,396 koku, and there were 1,042 villages. The southwestern region was prone to flooding, and a ring of villages was formed, but in 1755 (Horeki 5), the Satsuma clan, ordered by the Shogunate, carried out the Horeki Flood Control Project (Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi Rivers), which was completed at the expense of 2.7 million ryo and the sacrifice of over 80 people. During the Meiji Restoration, Imao and Nomura (Ogaki Shinden) were added to the clan chain, and the nine clans were each made into prefectures, with Kasamatsu Prefecture, which combined the former Shogunate territories and former Hatamoto territories, making a total of ten prefectures, but in 1871 (Meiji 4), they were all combined to become Gifu Prefecture. In 1876, Gifu Prefecture incorporated Hida, and the prefecture's boundaries became roughly the same as they are today.

[Masamune Murase]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

岐阜県の南部を占める旧国名。東山道8か国の一つ。東は信濃(しなの)国、西は近江(おうみ)国、南は三河(みかわ)国・尾張(おわり)国・伊勢(いせ)国、北は越前(えちぜん)国・飛騨(ひだ)国に接する。面積約6461平方キロメートル。『和名抄(わみょうしょう)』には多芸(たぎ)、石津(いしづ)、不破(ふわ)、池田、安八(あはち)、大野、本巣(もとす)、席田(むしろだ)、方県(かたがた)、厚見(あつみ)、各務(かがみ)、山県(やまがた)、武芸(むげ)（武儀(むぎ)）、群上、賀茂(かも)（加茂）、可児(かに)、土岐(とき)、恵奈(えな)（恵那）の18郡を載せるが、天正(てんしょう)年間（1573～1592）に海西(かいさい)、中嶋(なかしま)、羽栗(はぐり)の3郡が増え21郡となった。木曽(きそ)川、長良(ながら)川、揖斐(いび)川の3川はそれぞれ美濃を貫流し、南西部低地に集まって伊勢湾に注ぐ。南西部の平野以外はほとんど山地で、東部木曽川以南は広大な丘陵地帯である。国名は三野、御野などとも書かれ、濃州(のうしゅう)とも称した。由来は青野、賀茂野（または大野）、各務(かがみ)野の三つの野から三野という説、真野の名義から転化したとする説、一方が山地でわずかな高低のある土地をいうとする説などあって、さだかでない。「美濃」という用字が公定したのは8世紀初めとされる。

　672年（天武天皇1）壬申(じんしん)の乱に大海人(おおあま)皇子は美濃を拠点として挙兵し、村国男依(むらくにのおより)ら地元豪族が活躍した。国の等級は『延喜式(えんぎしき)』では上国(じょうこく)。国府は不破郡の府中（垂井(たるい)町）に置かれた。東山道は近江から入り信濃へ抜けるが、美濃国内に八駅が整備された。不破の関は三関の一つとして設けられた。庸調(ようちょう)は広絹、紙、土器など特産物としての来歴を示すものが多い。荘園(しょうえん)は東大寺領の茜部(あかなべ)荘や大井荘のほか摂関家の多芸荘や栗田(くるすだ)荘なども成立した。源満仲(みつなか)やその子頼光(よりみつ)が美濃守(かみ)になり、その流れをくむ光衡(みつひら)は土岐氏をとなえたが、子孫は美濃源氏として栄え、禅宗に帰依(きえ)した。1542年（天文11）土岐頼芸は斎藤道三(どうさん)に追われ、11代200余年にわたった守護職を失った。道三は稲葉山（岐阜市）を居城としたが、孫龍興(たつおき)の代に織田信長に落とされ、信長が清洲(きよす)から移った。

　1600年（慶長5）関ヶ原の戦いは天下分け目の戦いであったが、美濃は古来東西勢力の争覇地で、壬申の乱をはじめ、1181年（養和1）平重衡(しげひら)・通盛(みちもり)らが源行家(ゆきいえ)を破った墨俣(すのまた)合戦、1221年（承久3）鎌倉幕府軍の西上を阻もうとして京軍が敗れた木曽河畔合戦、1338年（延元3・暦応1）土岐頼遠(よりとお)（足利(あしかが)方）が桔梗一揆(ききょういっき)を率いて鎮守府将軍北畠顕家(きたばたけあきいえ)の軍に立ち向かった青野ヶ原合戦など、いずれも天下を二分する戦いであった。

　近世に入り徳川氏は美濃を重視し、親藩尾張領のほか大垣、加納(かのう)、郡上(ぐじょう)（八幡(はちまん)）、岩村、苗木(なえぎ)、高富、高須の7藩と70余の旗本に分治させ、その間に幕領を配置した。1616年（元和2）「美濃国村高領知改帳」によれば総高58万9396石余、村数1042であった。南西部地域は水害が多く、輪中(わじゅう)が形成されていったが、1755年（宝暦5）幕命によって薩摩(さつま)藩が行った宝暦治水(ほうれきちすい)工事（木曽・長良・揖斐川）は、80余人の犠牲と270万両の出費によって竣工(しゅんこう)した。明治維新には今尾と野村（大垣新田）を藩列に加え、9藩をそれぞれ県とし、旧幕領と旧旗本領とをあわせた笠松(かさまつ)県を含めて10県となったが、1871年（明治4）まとめて岐阜県となった。76年岐阜県は飛騨を編入し、ほぼ現在の県域となった。

［村瀬円良］

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