Bizen Province

province of Japan

Bizen Province (備前国, Bizen-no kuni) was an old province of Japan in the area of Okayama Prefecture on the island of Honshū.[1] Along with Bitchū and Bingo Provinces, it was sometimes called Bishū (備州).

Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Bizen Province highlighted

The province had borders with Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces.

The ancient capital city of the province was near Okayama.

History change

 
View of Bizen Province, woodblock print by Hiroshige, 1853

In 713 (Wadō era 6, 3rd month), the land of Bizen-no kuni was separated from Mimasaka Province (美作国).[2]

In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. The maps of Japan and Bizen Province were reformed in the 1870s.[3]

Shrines and Temples change

Kitbitsuhiko jinja was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of Bizen. [4]

Related pages change

References change

Other websites change

  Media related to Bizen Province at Wikimedia Commons