- Bungo Province
nihongo|Bungo|豊後国|Bungo no kuni was a province of
Japan in easternKyūshū . It bordered Buzen, Hyuga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen provinces. Today, the area isŌita Prefecture .History
At the end of 7th century,
Toyo Province was split into "Buzen" (literally, "the front of "Toyo") and "Bungo" ("the back of "Toyo"). Until theHeian period , Bungo was read as "Toyokuni no Michi no Shiri".It is believed that the capital of Bungo was located in the "Kokokufu" (古国府), literally "old capital," section of the city of Ōita but to this day, no remains have been found.
The honor of the holiest
Shinto shrine of Bungo province (豊前一宮, "Buzen ichinomiya") was given to Usa shrine known as UsaHachiman gu or UsaJingu in Usa district (todayUsa, Ōita ). Usa shrine had not only religious authority but also political influence to local governance, but their influence was reduced till the Sengoku period.During the
Sengoku period , in the middle of16th century , Bungo was a stronghold of theŌtomo clan . TheŌuchi clan in the westernChūgoku region was influenced to Buzen politics. In the middle of the period, both clans declined. AfterToyotomi Hideyoshi also took the power in Kyūshū, 120 thousandkoku of Buzen province was given toKuroda Yoshitaka since1587 , who made Kokura, currentdays a part ofKitakyushu, Fukuoka his site and built the castle. Other parts of the province were divided into pieces and given to otherdaimyo .Former Districts
*Hita District (日高郡)
*Kusu District (球珠郡)
*Naoiri District (直入郡)
*Ōno District (大野郡)
*Amabe District (海部郡)
*Ōita District (大分郡)
*Hayami District(速見郡)
*Kunisaki District (国埼郡)
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