Shinano Province

or  is an old province of Japan in the area of Nagano Prefecture on the island of Honshū.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Shinano" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 863. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. 

The ancient capital city of the province was near Matsumoto. 

History
The boundaries of Mutsu were formally established during the reigns of Empress Genshō and Empress Kōken.Meyners d'Estrey, Guillaume Henry Jean  (1884). Annales de l'Extrême Orient et de l'Afrique, Vol. 6, p. 172; excerpt, Genshō crée sept provinces : Idzumi, Noto, Atoa, Iwaki, Iwase, Suwa et Sado en empiétant sur celles de Kawachi, Echizen, Etchū, Kazusa, Mutsu and Shinano.

In 713, the road between Mino Province and Shinano Province was widened.  There were increasing numbers of travelers on this road.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).  Annalles des empereurs du japon, p. 64.

In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures.  Maps of Japan and Shinano Province weres reformed in the 1870s.Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.

The World War II–era Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano was named after this old province.

Shrines and Temples
Suwa taisha was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of Shinano.  
"Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 . Retrieved 2012-1-18.

Related pages
 Provinces of Japan
 Prefectures of Japan
 List of regions of Japan
 List of islands of Japan

References

Other websites 

  Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903
 Hokusai,  A View of Mount Fuji across Lake Suwa, circa 1831

Category:Former provinces of Japan
Category:Nagano Prefecture