Yamato Province

was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. It was also called Washū. Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 "Wa". At first, the name was written with one different character (大倭), but due to its offensive connotation, for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters (大養徳) (see Names of Japan). The final revision was made in the second year of the Tenpyō-hōji era (c. 758). It is classified as a great province in the Engishiki. The Yamato Period in the history of Japan refers to the late Kofun Period (c. 250–538) and Asuka Period (538–710). Japanese archaeologists and historians emphasize the fact that during the early Kofun Period the Yamato Kingship was in close contention with other regional powers, such as Kibi Province near present-day Okayama Prefecture. Around the 6th century, the local chieftainship gained national control and established the Imperial court in Yamato Province. The battleship , the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II, was named after this ancient province. During the Kofun period (300 to 538) and the Asuka period, many palace capitals were located in Kashihara, Asuka, and Sakurai. Yamato was the first central government of the unified country in the Kofun period. Heijō-kyō capital was placed in Nara City during the Nara period. In the 14th century, the capital of the Southern Court was established in Yoshino and Anou. The provincial temple for monks is popularly thought to have been Tōdai-ji, but it may have in fact been a different one in Kashihara. The one for nuns was Hokke-ji. The primary shrine was Sakurai's Ōmiwa Shrine, but there have been no records stating as such found at the shrine itself. There were no secondary shrines. The sōja (or principal Shinto shrine in the province) was Kokufu Shrine (Takatori, Takaichi, Nara). Minamoto no Shigetoki Minamoto no Suetō Utsunomiya Nobufusa Oda Hidanaga Oda Toshisada Oda Tatsusada Oda Tatsukatsu Mitsuki Naoyori Honjō Fu