Bizen Province
It was divided into Bizen (備前), Bitchū (備中), and Bingo (備後) Provinces in the late 7th century, and Mimasaka Province was separated from Bizen Province in the 8th century. The first three provinces took a kanji from the name of Kibi, and added "zen", "chū", and "go" ("near," "middle," and "far") according to their distance from the capital region.