Hitachi Province (常陸国) was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called Jōshū (常州). Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa (Lower Fusa), Shimotsuke, and Mutsu (Iwase -1718-, Iwashiro -1869-, Iwaki -1718- and -1869-) Provinces. Generally, its northern border was with Mutsu.

History

The ancient provincial capital (Hitachi Kokufu) and temple (Hitachi Kokubun-ji) were located near modern Ishioka and have been excavated, while the chief shrine was further east at Kashima (Kashima Shrine). The province was established in the 7th century. In the Sengoku period the area was divided among several daimyōs, but the chief castle was usually in the Mito Castle of the modern city of Mito. In Edo period, one of the clans originating from Tokugawa Ieyasu, settled in the Mito Domain, known as Mito Tokugawa family or Mito Clan. Mito Domain, was a Japanese domain of the Edo period it was associated with Hitachi Province. In Meiji era the political maps of the provinces of Japan were reformed in the 1870s, and the provinces became prefectures, and also some provinces were modified or merged, when creating the prefectures.

Historical districts

History books about Japan

Two renowned history books about Japan were written in this province: