The list of han or domains in the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) changed from time to time during the Edo period. Han were feudal domains that formed the effective basis of administration in Tokugawa-era Japan. The Han are given according to their domain seat/castle town by modern region (-chihō, roughly comparable to ancient circuits, -dō) and ancient province (kuni/-shū, roughly comparable to modern prefectures, -to/-dō/-fu/-ken). Han usually comprised territories around/near the capital, but were beyond that in many cases disconnected and distributed over several provinces.

Map of Japan, 1855 – The major Sengoku period feudal domains between 1564 and 1573.
A Japanese/Cyrillic 1789 map of Japan showing provincial borders and the castle towns of han and major shogunate castles/cities
Map of Japan, 1855, with provinces.
Map of Japan, 1871, with provinces.

The han system was abolished by the Meiji government in 1871 when all remaining -han were transformed into -ken ("prefectures"). In several waves of mergers, splits and territorial transfers – the first major consolidation followed immediately in 1871/72 – the prefectures were reorganized to encompass contiguous, compact territories, no longer resembling Edo period han, but in many cases territorially identical to provinces which had remained the most important primary geographical subdivision even during feudal times.[1][2]

Hokkaidō

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  • Matsumae (1590-1871) – Located around modern-day Matsumae town, Matsumae District; held by the Matsumae clan. Only domain in Ezo. Renamed to Tate after the restoration when the domain seat was moved from Matsumae/Fukuyama castle (in present-day Matsumae town) which had been destroyed in the Boshin war to Tate castle (in present-day Asabu town), became Tate-ken ("Tate prefecture") in 1871 and was merged into Aomori-ken ("Aomori Prefecture") the same year, finally in 1872, transferred to the settlement/development agency (kaitakushi), the precursor to Hokkaidō ("Hokkai circuit/territory/from 1946: prefecture").[3]

Tōhoku

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Mutsu Province (Present-day Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures)

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Dewa Province (Present-day Yamagata and Akita Prefectures)

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Kantō region

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Hitachi Province (Present-day Central Ibaraki Prefecture)

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Shimotsuke Province (Present-day Tochigi Prefecture)

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Kōzuke Province (Present-day Gunma Prefecture)

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Shimōsa Province (Present-day Northern Chiba, Southeastern Ibaraki and West portion of the Edogawa River in Saitama Prefectures)

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Kazusa Province (Present-day Central Chiba Prefecture)

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Awa Province (Present-day Southern Chiba Prefecture)

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Musashi Province (Present-day Tokyo, Saitama, Northern Kanagawa and Western Chiba Prefectures)

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Sagami Province (Present-day Southwestern Kanagawa Prefecture)

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Chūbu

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Echigo Province (Present-day Niigita Prefecture)

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Shinano Province (Present-day Nagano Prefecture)

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Kai Province (Present-day Yamanashi Prefecture)

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Etchū Province (Present-day Toyama Prefecture)

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Kaga Province (Present-day Southern Ishikawa Prefecture)

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Echizen Province (Present-day Northern Fukui Prefecture)

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Wakasa Province (Present-day Southern Fukui Prefecture)

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Tōkai

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Suruga Province (Present-day Central Shizuoka Prefecture around Shizuoka City)

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Tōtōmi Province (Present-day Western Shizuoka Prefecture)

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Mikawa Province (Present-day Eastern Aichi Prefecture around Toyohashi)

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Owari Province (Present-day Western Aichi Prefecture around Nagoya)

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Hida Province (Present-day Northern Gifu Prefecture)

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Mino Province (Present-day Southern Gifu Prefecture)

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Kansai

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Ise Province (Present-day Central Mie Prefecture)

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Shima Province (Present-day Eastern Mie Prefecture)

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  • Toba (1597-1680/1691-1871)

Ōmi Province (Present-day Shiga Prefecture)

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Yamashiro Province (Present-day Southern Kyoto Prefecture)

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Yamato Province (Present-day Nara Prefecture)

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Kii Province (Present-day Wakayama and Southern Mie Prefecture)

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Izumi Province (Present-day Southern Osaka Prefecture)

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Kawachi Province (Present-day Eastern Osaka Prefecture)

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Settsu Province (Present-day Eastern Hyogo and Northern Osaka Prefectures)

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Tanba Province (Present-day Northeastern Hyogo and Central Kyoto Prefecture)

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Tango Province (Present-day Northern Kyoto Prefecture)

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Harima Province (Present-day Southern Hyogo Prefecture)

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Tajima Province (Present-day Northern Hyogo Prefecture)

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Awaji Province (Present-day City of Hyogo Prefecture)

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Chūgoku

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Inaba Province (Present-day Eastern Tottori Prefecture)

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Hōki Province (Present-day Western Tottori Prefecture)

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Izumo Province (Present-day Eastern Shimane Prefecture)

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Iwami Province (Present-day Western Shimane Prefecture)

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Bizen Province (Present-day Southwestern Okayama Prefecture)

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Mimasaka Province (Present-day Northeastern Okayama Prefecture)

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Bitchū Province (Present-day Western Okayama Prefecture)

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Bingo Province (Present-day Eastern Hiroshima Prefecture)

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Aki Province (Present-day Western Hiroshima Prefecture)

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Suō Province (Present-day Eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture)

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Nagato Province (Present-day Western Yamaguchi Prefecture)

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Shikoku

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Awa Province (Present-day Tokushima Prefecture)

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Sanuki Province (Present-day Kagawa Prefecture)

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Iyo Province (Present-day Ehime Prefecture)

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Tosa Province (Present-day Kochi Prefecture)

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Kyūshū

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Chikuzen Province (Present-day Northwestern Fukuoka Prefecture)

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Chikugo Province (Present-day Southern Fukuoka Prefecture)

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Buzen Province (Present-day Northeastern Fukuoka and Northwestern Oita Prefecture)

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Bungo Province (Present-day Central Oita Prefecture)

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Hizen Province (Present-day Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures)

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Tsushima Province (Present-day City of Nagasaki Prefecture)

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Higo Province (Present-day Kumamoto Prefecture)

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Hyūga Province (Present-day Miyazaki Prefecture)

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Satsuma Province and Ōsumi Province (Present-day merged as Kagoshima Prefecture)

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  • Satsuma (De Facto :1196-1871/ De jure:1602-1871)[6]
  • Ryūkyū (De Facto :1609-1879 / De jure:1872-1879) (Present-day Okinawa Prefecture)[17]

Notes

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Map of Japan, 1789 -- the Han system affected cartography
  1. ^ Shizuoka prefectural comprehensive education center (for children): Map showing the general division between Tokugawa-controlled territories (shogunate domain + allied domains) and the domains held by other lords (in Japanese)
  2. ^ Ishida Satoshi, 地理データ集 (private website by a high school teacher): List of prefectures (-fu/-ken) and domains (-han) under the 1868 -fu/-han/-ken system, Maps of prefectures after the 1871–1872 consolidation [Note: 12/27 in the Japanese calendar was already in the Gregorian calendar year 1872], after the second 1876 consolidation, in 1889, in 1900 (in Japanese)
  3. ^ Aomori Prefectural Board of Education: Aomori-ken no tanjō ("The birth of Aomori Prefecture")
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ravina, Mark. (1998). Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan, p. 222.
  5. ^ a b Deal, William E. (2005). Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan, p. 81.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Deal, p. 82.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Echigo Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-8.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Shinano Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-8.
  9. ^ "Kai Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-8.
  10. ^ "Etchū Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-9.
  11. ^ "Kaga Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-9.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Echizen Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-9.
  13. ^ "Wakasa Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-7-9.
  14. ^ a b c d "Suruga Province" at JapaneseCastleExplorer.com; retrieved 2013-4-10.
  15. ^ Deal, pp. 81-82.
  16. ^ Deal, p. 83.
  17. ^ Lin, Man-houng. "The Ryukyus and Taiwan in the East Asian Seas: A Longue Durée Perspective," Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. October 27, 2006, translated and abridged from Academia Sinica Weekly, No. 1084. 24 August 2006.

References

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  • Bolitho, Harold. (1974). Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo in Tokugawa Japan. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-01655-0; OCLC 185685588
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