Emperor Keikō
Awa was originally one of four districts of Kazusa Province. It was well-known to the Imperial Court in Nara period Japan for its bountiful seafoods, and is mentioned in Nara period records as having supplied fish to the Court as early as the reign of the semi-legendary Emperor Keikō. On May 2, 718 the district of Awa was elevated into status to a full province. On December 10, 741 it was merged back into Kazusa, but regained its independent status in 757. The exact location of the capital of the new province is not known, but is believed to have been somewhere within the borders of the modern city of Minamibōsō, Chiba; however, the "Kokubun-ji" was located in what is now the city of Tateyama, Chiba as is the "Ichinomiya" (Awa Shrine) of the province.