Etchu Province - Etchu no Kuni

The old name of the province that covers the entire area of ​​present-day Toyama Prefecture. It belongs to the Hokuriku region. It was established under the Ritsuryo system. It borders Echigo and Shinano to the east, Hida to the south, Kaga and Noto to the west, and the Sea of ​​Japan to the north. In the past, the Hokuriku region was called Koshi (Echigo), but it was divided into Echizen, Etchu, and Echigo during the formation of the Ritsuryo system. In 702 (Taiho 2), the four eastern counties of Echigo Province were included in Echigo Province, and the border between the two provinces was established. Noto Province was also merged into Echigo Province, but in 757 (Tenpyo Hoji 1), Noto Province was separated, and the border of the province was established as four counties: Imizu, Tonami, Nei, and Niikawa. The provincial capital was located in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka City, and in the mid-Nara period, the Man'yoshu poet Otomo no Yakamochi served as Ecchu no Kami (Lord of Ecchu), leaving behind many famous poems that described the climate of Ecchu. In the latter half of the Nara period, reclaimed land such as the Todaiji Temple was developed, and some of the maps of this area are still preserved in the Shosoin Repository. After the Heian period, many manors were established by the central temple and shrine authorities. From that time on, local samurai groups gained influence, and the Miyazaki clan, which was based in Sami-sho in the eastern part of Shinkawa County, and the Miyazaki clan, which included the Nyuzen clan and Nanbo clan, and the Ishiguro clan, which included the Fukumitsu clan, and the Ishiguro clan, which was based in Ishiguro-sho in the southern part of Tonami County, were the most powerful. During the Jōkyū period (1219-1222), the shugo was Tomotoki, the son of Hojo Yoshitoki, and the position was passed down hereditarily to his descendants, the Nagoya clan, with Hojōzu in Imizu County as the shugo's post.

After the Northern and Southern Courts period, the Hatakeyama clan, the kanrei (regent) of the Muromachi shogunate, administered Etchu Shugo (military governor) in conjunction with other provinces, but left local rule to deputy governors such as the Yusa, Shiina, and Jinbo clans. From the mid-Muromachi period onwards, the Ikko Ikki (rebellion against the ruling elite) with Kagaoyama Gobo at its core spread to Etchu, and Inami Zuisen-ji Temple, Johana Zentoku-ji Temple, and Yatsuo Monmyoji Temple became bases for the rebellion, but they were overwhelmed by deputy governors such as the Jinbo and Shiina clans, and the rebellion was unable to take control of the entire province. In 1581 (Tensho 9), Sassa Narimasa, Maeda Toshiie, Shibata Katsuie and others entered the country as the vanguard of Oda Nobunaga's pacification of the northern provinces, and the local lords of Ecchu, including the Ikko Ikki, succumbed to them. After Nobunaga's death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave the province of Ecchu to Sassa Narimasa. Narimasa renovated Toyama Castle and used it as a military and political base, and Toyama subsequently developed as a castle town. Narimasa tried to turn against Hideyoshi, but surrendered to Hideyoshi's forces in 1585 and was transferred to Higo in 1587. Thus, the province of Ecchu came under the control of the Maeda clan and became part of the Kaga domain's 1 million koku fief. In 1639 (Kan'ei 16), Maeda Toshitsune distributed parts of Fushiki County and Shinkawa County, centered around Toyama Castle, to his second son Toshitsugu, and the Toyama Domain was established with a fief of 100,000 koku and became a branch of the Kaga Domain. It is said that Maeda Masatoshi, the second lord of Toyama, started selling medicines in Toyama, mainly Hangontan, and after the Genroku period (1688-1704), Toyama medicine sellers traveled around the country as "medicine sellers of Etchu Toyama," increasing the name of Toyama medicine sellers. In July 1871 (Meiji 4), the area became Toyama Prefecture, and in November it was renamed Shinkawa Prefecture. In 1876, it was merged with Ishikawa Prefecture, but was re-established as Toyama Prefecture in 1883.

[Seiichi Sakai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

現在の富山県全域にあたる旧国名。北陸道に属する。律令(りつりょう)体制によって設けられた。東は越後(えちご)、信濃(しなの)、南は飛騨(ひだ)、西は加賀、能登(のと)、北は日本海に面す。古くは北陸道一帯を高志（越）(こし)国と称したが、律令体制形成過程で越前、越中、越後に分割された。702年（大宝2）に越中国の東4郡が越後国に含められて両国の国境が確定し、また能登国が越中国に合併されたこともあったが、757年（天平宝字1）能登国が分立して、以後は射水(いみず)、礪波(となみ)、婦負(ねい)、新川(にいかわ)の4郡の構成で国の境域が定まった。国府は現在の高岡市伏木(ふしき)の地にあり、奈良時代中期に万葉の歌人大伴家持(おおとものやかもち)が越中守(えっちゅうのかみ)として在任し、越中の風土を詠んだ多くの名歌を残した。奈良時代後半には東大寺などの墾田(こんでん)が開発され、その地図の一部がいまも正倉院に残っている。平安時代以後は、中央の社寺権門によって多くの荘園(しょうえん)が設定された。そのころから在地の武士団が勢力をもつが、新川郡東部の佐味(さみ)荘を本拠とする宮崎氏および入善(にゅうぜん)氏、南保(なんぼ)氏などの宮崎党、また礪波郡南部の石黒(いしぐろ)荘を本拠とする石黒氏および福光(ふくみつ)氏などの石黒党が有力であった。守護は承久(じょうきゅう)（1219～22）ごろは北条義時(よしとき)の子朝時(ともとき)であり、その子孫名越(なごや)氏が世襲し、射水郡放生津(ほうじょうづ)を守護所とした。

　南北朝以後、室町幕府の管領(かんれい)畠山(はたけやま)氏が他国と兼ねて越中守護を管したが、現地支配は遊佐(ゆさ)、椎名(しいな)、神保(じんぼ)氏らの守護代に任せた。室町中期以降、加賀尾山御坊(おやまごぼう)を中核とする一向一揆(いっこういっき)が越中にも波及し、井波(いなみ)瑞泉寺(ずいせんじ)、城端(じょうはな)善徳寺、八尾(やつお)聞名寺(もんみょうじ)などが一揆の拠点となったが、神保、椎名氏らの守護代に押されて、一揆の一国支配はならなかった。1581年（天正9）織田信長の北国平定の先兵として、佐々成政(さっさなりまさ)、前田利家(としいえ)、柴田勝家(しばたかついえ)らが入国すると、一向一揆をはじめ越中の在地土豪はこれに屈した。信長の死後豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉は佐々成政に越中一国を与えた。成政は富山城を修築し、ここを軍事、政治上の拠点としたので、以後富山は城下町として発展した。成政は秀吉に背こうとしたが、1585年秀吉軍に降伏し、87年肥後へ移された。かくて越中一国は前田氏の支配下に入り、加賀藩100万石領地の一部となった。1639年（寛永16）前田利常は、富山城を中心に婦負郡および新川郡の一部を次男利次に分与、富山藩10万石が成立し、加賀藩の分藩となった。富山2代藩主前田正甫(まさとし)は反魂丹(はんごんたん)を中心とする富山売薬を始めたと伝えられ、元禄(げんろく)（1688～1704）以後富山売薬は「越中富山の薬売り」として全国を行商し、富山売薬の名を高めた。1871年（明治4）7月富山県となり、11月新川県と改称、76年石川県に併合されたが、83年富山県として再置された。

［坂井誠一］

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