was a province

Provinces of Japan

Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni , usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun ....

 of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, located in Kinai

Kinai

is a Japanese term denoting an ancient division of the country. Kinai is a name for the ancient provinces around the capital Nara and Heian-kyō. The five provinces were called go-kinai after 1760....

. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....

 on 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...

. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the Engishiki

Engishiki

-History:In 905 Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of a new set of laws. Fujiwara no Tokihira began the task, but work stalled when he died four years later in 909. His brother Fujiwara no Tadahira continued the work in 912 eventually completing it in 927...

.

Yamashiro Province included Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 itself, as in 794 AD Yamashiro became the seat of the imperial court

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

, and, during the Muromachi Period

Muromachi period

The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...

, was the seat of the Ashikaga Shogunate

Ashikaga shogunate

The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

 as well. The capital remained in Yamashiro until its de facto move to Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 in the 1870s.

History

“Yamashiro” was formerly written with the characters meaning “mountain” and “area” ; in the 7th century, there were things built listing the name of the province with the characters for “mountain” and “ridge”/“back” . On 4 December 794 (8 Shimotsuki, 13th year of Enryaku

Enryaku

was a after Ten'ō and before Daidō. This period spanned the years from August 782 through May 806. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:* November 12, 782 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events...

), at the time of the christening of Heian-kyō

Heian-kyo

Heian-kyō , was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180....

, because of the resultant scenic beauty when Emperor Kammu

Emperor Kammu

was the 50th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806.-Traditional narrative:Kammu's personal name was . He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe , and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne...

 made his castle utilizing the natural surroundings, the shiro was finally changed to “castle” .

Just from 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...

 writings, it is apparent that the “area” and “ridge” listings coexisted.

The provincial capital, according to the Wamyō Ruijushō

Wamyo Ruijusho

The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. The Heian Period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter...

, was .

In the Shūgaishō, Otokuni District

Otokuni District, Kyoto

Otokuni is a district located in Kyoto, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 15,493 and a density of 2,595.14 persons per km². The total area is 5.97 km².-Towns and villages:*Ōyamazaki...

 is mentioned as the seat, as well as in the Setsuyōshū

Setsuyoshu

The was a popular Muromachi Period Japanese dictionary collated in iroha order and subdivided into semantic categories. The title word setsuyō means "reduce usage; economize" and alludes to the Lunyu...

.

As for the shugo

Shugo

was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...

’s mansion, at first, Yamashiro Province shugo and Kyoto shugo were concurrent posts, so the Kyoto shugo’s kogenin’s mansion had to be allotted. Afterwards, the Rokuhara tandai

Rokuhara Tandai

was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan, and negotiated with the imperial court. Despite keeping security, they were also a sort of secret police and widely feared.Rokuhara Tandai was...

came to be an additional post, and that became the shugo as well. In the Muromachi Period

Muromachi period

The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...

, Yamashiro Province was divided with the Uji River as the border into two districts, and each came to be assigned a shugo, so one shugo resided in Uji Makishima, whereas the other resided in various places around Yodo and such.

Temples

The provincial temple

Provincial temple

Emperor Shōmu of Japan established so-called provincial temples in each province of Japan...

s included those where the resident chief priest was a man, and those where it was a woman in Sōraku District

Soraku District, Kyoto

Soraku is a district in Kyoto, Japan.As of 2007, the district had an estimated population of 44,982 and a density of 252.27 persons per km². The total area is 178.31 km².-Towns and villages:*Kasagi*Minamiyamashiro*Seika*Wazuka...

. Kuni no Miya

Kuni-kyo

Kuni-kyō , was the capital city of Japan between 740 and 744, with the palace built in present-day city of Kizugawa by order of Emperor Shōmu. The city of Kuni-kyō was not completed, as the capital was once again moved to Naniwa-kyō , only four years later...

’s Daigokuden was made a temple in 746. It was destroyed by fire in 882, and the rebuilding afterwards would decline. In the Kamakura Period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

, it came to be a branch temple of Byōdō-in

Byodo-in

is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū and Tendai-shū sects.- History :...

. The location is in modern Kizugawa

Kizugawa, Kyoto

is a city in southern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on March 12, 2007 by the merger of the towns of Kamo, Kizu and Yamashiro, all from Sōraku District. It is the southernmost city in the prefecture...

 city, coinciding with Kamo

Kamo, Kyoto

was a town located in Sōraku District, Kyoto, Japan.As of February 1, 2007, the town had an estimated population of 15,907 and a density of 430.27 persons per km²...

. In 1925, a large number of old tiles were excavated near the provincial temple, and it is thought that these once belonged to the convent.

The Kamo Shrines -- the Kamigamo Shrine

Kamigamo Shrine

is an important Shinto sanctuary on the banks of the Kamo River in north Kyoto, first founded in 678. Its formal name is the .It is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site...

 in the Kita ward

Kita-ku, Kyoto

is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Its name means "North Ward." As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 122,391 people.-Universities:*Bukkyo University*Kyoto Sangyo University...

 of Kyoto and the Shimogamo Shrine

Shimogamo Shrine

Shimogamo Shrine, called Shimogamo-jinja in Japanese, is the common name of an important Shinto sanctuary in the Shimogamo district of Kyoto city's Sakyō ward. Its formal name is Kamo-mioya-jinja...

 in Sakyō ward

Sakyo-ku, Kyoto

is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Kamigyo-ku.It is located in the north-east corner of Kyoto city. In the east it borders the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. In the south Sanjō Street separates it from...

 -- were designated as the to chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) of Yamashiro province.
Yamashiro’s ichinomiya designation differed from other provinces’, likely due to the Jingi-kan

Jingi-kan

, also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the ritsuryō reforms.-History:...

; from nearly the end of the 11th century, when the primary shrines were being established in each of the various provinces, it is thought that in Kinai, it was decided on after the turn on the 12th century. There were no ninomiya

Ninomiya

Ninomiya is a Japanese name. It is usually spelled or and can be translated to "second shrine".Ninomiya is the name of several places:*Ninomiya, Tochigi*Ninomiya, KanagawaNinomiya is a popular Japanese surname, and may refer to:...

(secondary shrines). It is unknown whether there were any sōja.

Kamakura Shogunate

• –1221 – concurrent post with Kyoto
  Kyoto
  is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
  
   shugo
• 1221–1333 – concurrent post with Rokuhara tandai
  Rokuhara Tandai
  was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan, and negotiated with the imperial court. Despite keeping security, they were also a sort of secret police and widely feared.Rokuhara Tandai was...
  
  

Muromachi Shogunate

• 1353–1384 – concurrent post with Samurai-dokoro
  Samurai-dokoro
  The Samurai-dokoro was an office of the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates....
  
  
• 1385–1386 – Yamana Ujikiyo
• 1389 – Akamatsu Yoshinori
• 1389–1390 – Yamana Ujikiyo
• 1390–1391 – Akamatsu Yoshinori
• 1391 – Yamana Ujikiyo
• 1392–1394 – Hatakeyama Motokuni
• 1394–1399 – Ketsushiro Mandō
• 1399 – Kyōgoku Takanori
• 1399–1402 – Ketsushiro Mandō
• 1402–1403 – Hatakeyama Motokuni
• 1404–1416 – Takashi Morohide
• 1418–1421 – Isshiki Yoshitsura
• 1421–1423 – Kyōgoku Takakazu
• 1424–1428 – Kyōgoku Mochimitsu
• 1428–1433 – Hatakeyama Mitsuie
• 1433–1434 – Hatakeyama Mochikuni
• 1434–1436 – Isshiki Yoshitsura
• 1436–1439 – Akamatsu Mitsusuke
  Akamatsu Mitsusuke
  was a leading head over the clan of Akamatsu during the early years of the Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan.Fearing that Ashikaga Yoshinori, the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate was aiming to tear up the domain of the Akamatsu, its head Akamatsu Mitsusuke took the step of feigning mental illness,...
  
  
• 1440–1441 – Yamana Mochitoyo
• 1441–1447 – Kyōgoku Mochikiyo
• 1447–1449 – Isshiki Norichika
• 1450–1455 – Hatakeyama Mochikuni
• 1455–1460 – Hatakeyama Yoshinari
  Hatakeyama Yoshinari
  was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord of the Muromachi period , who is most well known for his rivalry with Hatakeyama Masanaga over the position of Kanrei, or Shogun's Deputy....
  
  
• 1460–1463 – Hatakeyama Masanaga
  Hatakeyama Masanaga
  was a daimyo of the Hatakeyama clan and, according to some accounts, invented the horo, a stiffened cloak used by messengers and bodyguards to improve their visibility on the battlefield, and to act as an arrow-catcher....
  
  
• 1464–1468 – Yamana Koretoyo
• 1474–1478 – Yamana Masatoyo
• 1478–1483 – Hatakeyama Masanaga
• 1483–1486 – Akamatsu Masanori
  Akamatsu Masanori
  was a son of Akamatsu Masamoto, succeeding to headship over the Akamatsu clan by the late Sengoku period of Feudal Japan....
  
  
• 1486–1490 – Ise Sadamune
• 1493–1507 – Ise Sadamichi
• 1508–1518 – Ōuchi Yoshioki
  Ouchi Yoshioki
  was a samurai of the Ōuchi family who lived during Japan's early Sengoku period. He is famous for his role in restoring the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane to power in 1508, and in building Saijō castle....
  
  
• 1518–1531 – Hosokawa Takakuni
  Hosokawa Takakuni
  Hosokawa Takakuni was the most powerful military commander in the Muromachi period under Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the twelfth shogun. His father was Hosokawa Masaharu, who was the branch of the Hosokawa clan....
  
  
• 1532–1549 – Hosokawa Harumoto
  Hosokawa Harumoto
  was a Japanese daimyo of the Muromachi and Sengoku periods, and the head of the Hosokawa clan. Harumoto's childhood name was Sōmei-maru . He was born to Hosokawa Sumimoto, another renowned samurai of the Muromachi era....
  
  

Kami of Yamashiro

• Fujiwara no Muneyo
• Obata Toramori
  Obata Toramori
  was a retainer of the Takeda clan throughout the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. He was one of Takeda Shingen's 'Twenty-four Generals', his most trusted commanders. He was the father of Obata Masamori.-References:...
  
  
• Saitō Dōsan
  Saito Dosan
  was a daimyo who dramatically rose and also fell from power in Sengoku period Japan. He was also known as the for his ruthless tactics.-Life:Originally a wealthy merchant from Yamashiro Province , he entered the service of Nagai Nagahiro of Mino Province , assuming the name Nishimura Kankurô.He...
  
  
• Araki Ujitsuna
• Jushii-ge Matsunaga Hisahide
  Matsunaga Hisahide
  Matsunaga Hisahide was a daimyo of Japan following the Sengoku period of the 16th century.A companion of Miyoshi Chokei, he was a retainer of Miyoshi Masanaga from the 1540s. He directed the conquest of the province of Yamato in the 1560s and by 1564 had built a sufficient power-base to be...
  
  
• Ryūzōji Takanobu
  Ryuzoji Takanobu
  was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period, who ruled a region in northern Kyūshū. He was the eldest son of Ryūzōji Chikaie, and upon headship, became the 19th head of the Ryūzōji clan. Takanobu's son, Masaie, would become the last head of the Ryūzōji....
  
  
• Jugoi-ge Naoe Kanetsugu
  Naoe Kanetsugu
  was a Japanese samurai of the 16th-17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi daimyo. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami or his childhood/adolescent name, Higuchi Kanetsugu .Kanetsugu served first as...
  
  (from 1583)
• Jugoi-ge Toki Sadamasa(from 1593)
• Jugoi-ge Toki Sadayoshi
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Masanobu (from 1611)
• Jugoi-ge Toki Yoriyuki (from 1624)
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Masaharu
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Masateru
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Masatake
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Katsuoki
• Takenokoshi Mutsumura
• Jugoi-ge Takenokoshi Masasada
• Jugoi-ge Nagai Naosuke
• Jugoi-ge Nagai Naonori

See also

• List of Provinces of Japan
• Yamashiro Province Ikki
• Capital of Japan
  Capital of Japan
  The capital of Japan, where the seat of the Government of Japan and home of the Emperor are located, is de facto. While this is generally not in dispute, the capital de jure is unclear. There is a dispute as to exactly when Tokyo became the capital. Some state that it occurred when Tokyo...
  
  
• Shi sakai