Sagami Province

Sagami Province (相模国, Sagami no kuni) was an old province of Japan in the area of central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.^[1] It was sometimes called Sōshū (相州).

Map of Japanese provinces with Sagami highlighted

The province had borders with Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces. Its Pacific Ocean border included Sagami Bay.

The ancient capital city of the province was near Hiratsuka.

History

View of Sagami Province, woodblock print by Hiroshige, 1852

Sagami was one of the original provinces of Japan established in the Nara period under the Taihō Code.

In the Edo period, the Tōkaidō road was the main route between Kyoto and Edo. The road passed through Sagami.^[2]

In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. The maps of Japan and Izu Province were reformed in the 1870s.^[3]

All of Sagami became part of the new Kanagawa Prefecture in 1876.^[1]

In 1906, the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Sagami was named after the province.^[4]

Shrines and Temples

Samukawa jinja was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of Hōki. ^[5]

Related pages

• Provinces of Japan
• Prefectures of Japan
• List of regions of Japan
• List of islands of Japan