is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture

-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...

 and Akita Prefecture

Akita Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....

, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka

Kosaka, Akita

is a town located in Kazuno District, Akita, Japan.As of 2011, the town has an estimated population of 6,046 and a density of 29.9 persons per km². The total area is 178.00 km²....

. It was sometimes called .

Historical record

In 708 CE, the land of Dewa-no kuni was administratively separated from Echigo

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

; and the ambit of the province was gradually extended to the north as the Japanese pushed back the indigenous people of northern Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

.

In 712, Dewa Province was administratively realigned in relation to Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

 (陸奥国); and Empress Gemmei

Empress Gemmei

, also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Gemmei's reign spanned the years 707 through 715....

's Daijō-kan continued to organize other cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara Period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

, as in 713 when Mimasaka Province

Mimasaka Province

or was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today northeastern Okayama Prefecture. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū, Bizen, Harima, Hōki, and Inaba Provinces....

 (美作国) was divided from Bizen Province

Bizen Province

was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchu and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces....

 (備前国); Hyūga Province

Hyuga Province

was an old province of Japan on the east coast of Kyūshū, corresponding to the modern Miyazaki Prefecture. It was sometimes called or . Hyūga bordered on Bungo, Higo, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Province.The ancient capital was near Saito.-Historical record:...

 (日向国) was sundered from Osumi Province

Osumi Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga and Satsuma Provinces.Osumi's ancient capital was near modern Kokubu...

 (大隈国); and Tamba Province

Tamba Province

was an old province of Japan. The ambit of its borders encompassed both the central part of modern Kyoto Prefecture and the east-central part of Hyōgo Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Tango Province...

  (丹波国) was severed from Tango Province

Tango Province

was an old province in the area that is today northern Kyoto Prefecture facing the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Tamba Province. Tango bordered on Tajima, Tamba, and Wakasa provinces....

 (丹後国).

In 1335, Shiba Kaneyori received the Dewa Province as a fief from Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

.

In the Sengoku Period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, the southern region around Yamagata was held by the Mogami clan

Mogami clan

The were Japanese daimyo, and were a branch of the Ashikaga family. In the Sengoku period, it was the Sengoku Daimyo which ruled Dewa Province which is now Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture ....

 and the northern part by the Akita clan

Akita clan

For the feudal domain also known as Akita, see Kubota DomainThe ' was a Japanese samurai clan of northern Honshū that claimed descent from Abe no Sadato. The Akita clan was originally known as the...

, both of which fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 at the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

.

In the late 19th century, Dewa Province was again administratively reconfigured, this time into Uzen

Uzen Province

is an old province of Japan in the area of Yamagata Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Ugo Province.This province was in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island. It was the place where the Mogami clan was established.-References:...

 and Ugo

Ugo Province

is an old province of Japan in the area of Akita Prefecture and some parts of Yamagata Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Uzen Province.-Districts:*Akita *Akumi *Hiraka *Kawabe *Ogachi *Semboku *Yamamoto...

before being substantively recast along with all the other old provinces into the modern prefectural pattern of Japan.