Mino Province

• See also: List of Provinces

Mino Province

Mino Province (美濃国) also known as Nōshū (濃州) was an old Province of Japan, located in what is now Gifu Prefecture.

It is included as one of the eight Provinces which made up the Tōsandō Region. It is well known for its Mino Ware and Mino Paper.

The Engi Rites list a shrine to Kanayamabiko in this Province.³

Legendary Period

Yamanobe no Ohotaka passed through here on his way to catch a swan for the Prince Homutsuwake.³

Later Yamatohime passes through here when trying to find a place to enshrine Amaterasu.⁵

Emperor Keikō‘s is mentioned to have stayed here during the 4th year of his reign and the archer Otohikogimi is said to have lived here.⁵

Prince Ōsu is sent here to act as governor and Yamato Takeru meets Kibi no Takehiko here during their exploits in dealing with the Emishi.⁵

Nara Period

The Priest Manzei is known to have been posted here as Governor in 706 and again in 708.⁴

Heian Period

During this period the Minamoto Clan took roots here, with there decendants (the Toki Family), ruling the area as Shugo (Military Governors) until their displacement during the Muromachi Period.

Muromachi Period

Soon after the displacement of the Toki Family, Oda Nobunaga takes control of Gifu Castle and so gains control of the region.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

Due to the areas close location to Kyoto, it became the spot of many civil wars, including the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.¹

Yōkai

The Yōkai known as the Satori is said to dwell in the mountains of this Province and Hida Province.²

Footnotes

1. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
2. Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: over Publications, Inc.
3. Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
4. Miller, R. A.. (1981) “The Lost Poetic Sequence of the Priest Manzei”. Monumenta Nipponica. Vol.36 No.2 pp.133-172
5. Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.

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