Mino Province (美濃国) was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviated form name was Nōshū or Jōshū (濃州). Under the Engishiki classification system, Mino was ranked as one of the 13 "great countries" (大国) in terms of importance, and one of the "near countries" (近国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital and ichinomiya were located in what is now the town of Tarui.

Historical record

"Mino" is an ancient place name, and appears in mokkan wooden tags from the ruins of Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō, and other ancient sites, but using the kanji "三野国". Per the Kujiki, there were originally three separate countries in Mino, centered around what is now Ōgaki, Ōno, and Kakamigahara. Each had its own Kuni no miyatsuko, and together with Motosu (in eastern Gifu) and Mugetsu (in north-central Gifu), these five entities were joined under Yamato rule to form the province of Mino. The use of the kanji "美濃" is found in the Kojiki and became prevalent in the Nara period. Early Mino included much of Kiso District in Shinano and portions of northern Owari. The route of the ancient Tōsandō highway connecting the ancient capitals of Japan and the eastern provinces passed through Mino, and even in 713 AD, records indicate that the road was widened to accommodate increasing numbers of travelers. The Nihon Shoki and Shoku Nihongi indicates that numerous immigrants from the Hata clan and from Silla settled in Mino in the Asuka and Nara periods. During the Kamakura and Muromachi Period, the Toki clan held the position of shugo of Mino Province. During the Sengoku period, Saitō Dōsan usurped political power from the Toki, and later the province was conquered by Oda Nobunaga. The Battle of Sekigahara took place at the western edge of Mino, near the mountains between the Chūbu Region and the Kinki Region. With the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, several feudal domains were established in Mino. At the time of the Meiji restoration, Mino was divided into 18 districts, which in turn were divided into 131 subdistricts and 1561 villages. The total assessed kokudaka of the province was 654,872 koku.

Historical districts

Mino Province consisted of twenty-one districts:

Shugo

Below is an incomplete list of the shugo who controlled Mino Province and the years of their control:

Kamakura shogunate

Muromachi shogunate

Edo period Domains

Geography

Mino and Owari provinces were separated by the Sakai River, which means "border river."

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