page_title: Provinces of Japan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Provinces of Japan / History
context_page_description: Provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868.
  Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into districts and grouped into one of the geographic regions or circuits known as the Gokishichidō. Provincial borders often changed until the end of the Nara period, but remained unchanged from the Heian period until the Edo period. The provinces coexisted with the han system, the personal estates of feudal lords and warriors, and became secondary to the domains in the late Muromachi period.
  The Provinces of Japan were replaced with the current prefecture system in the Fuhanken sanchisei during the Meiji Restoration from 1868 to 1871, except for Hokkaido, which was divided into provinces from 1869 to 1882. No order has ever been issued explicitly abolishing the provinces, but they are considered obsolete as administrative units. The provinces are still used in general conversation, especially in navigation and transportation, and referenced in products and geographical features of the prefectures covering their former territories.
context_section_description: The provinces were originally established by the Ritsuryō reforms as both administrative units and geographic regions. From the late Muromachi period,  however, they were gradually supplanted by the domains of the sengoku daimyō. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces were supplemented as primary local administrative units. The local daimyōs' fiefs were developed.
caption: Provinces of Japan in 701–702 during the Asuka period. The northern half of the modern Tōhoku region of Honshu is unorganized.
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