Ōsumi Province

Ōsumi Province (大隅国) was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to the eastern half of modern Kagoshima Prefecture, and including the Ōsumi Islands. Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga to the northeast, and Satsuma Province to the northwest. Its abbreviated form was Gūshū (隅州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Ōsumi was one of the provinces of the Saikaidō circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Ōsumi was ranked as one of the "middle countries" (中国) in terms of importance, and one of the "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital.

The Ōsumi region has developed its own distinct local dialect. Although Ōsumi is part of Kagoshima Prefecture today, this dialect is different from that spoken in the city of Kagoshima. There is a notable cultural pride in traditional poetry written in Ōsumi and Kagoshima dialects.

Japan's first satellite, Ōsumi, was named after the province.



Early history
Before the establishment of the Ritsuryō system in 701, Ōsumi was a stronghold of the Kumaso people, an Austronesian tribe which was conquered (per the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki) by the legendary general Yamato Takeru during the late Kofun period. Their land was called Sokuni or Sonokuni (襲国). However, the area was very much a frontier region and was ruled as part of Hyūga Province. During the Asuka and early Nara period, resistance to Yamato rule by the Hayato people (who may or may not have been the same as the Kumaso) persisted, and many Hayato were forced from their homes in Buzen and northern Hyūga tor resettle in Ōsumi, which was separated from Hyūga in 713 to become a separate province. The Hayato fought back in 720 with the Hayato Rebellion, but were defeated in 721 by an army led by Ōtomo no Tabito. The Handen-Shūju system was implemented in their lands in 800. The population of Yamato immigrants in Kagoshima Prefecture in the early 8th century has been estimated at around 9,000 people and one-seventh of the total population. By this estimate, the Hayato population of the time can be calculated as consisting of around 54,000 people. Many were made to emigrate to the Kinai region, and were active in the protection of the court, the arts, sumo, and bamboo work. In 824, Tane Province was abolished and added to Ōsumi.

The kokufu of the province was established in what is now the Kokubu neighborhood of the city of Kirishima, although its ruins have not bee positively identified. However, the ruins of the Ōsumi Kokubun-ji, which must have been located in the vicinity, are known. The ichinomiya of the province is the Kagoshima Shrine, also known as the Ōsumi Shō-Hachimangū.

In the Heian period, the province was subject to occasional raids by tribes from the south, possibly the Ryukyu Islands or Taiwan. It was also involved in conflicts with officials from the central government at Dazaifu. In 1007 the provincial governor Kanno Shigetada was killed by a Dazaifu official, and in 1029, Taira Kimoto, a Dazaifu magistrate and ruler of the Shimazu shōen burned down the Ōsumi kokufu. The Shimazu shōen used these conflicts to take control of trade with the southern islands and also to annex territory within Ōsumi. They were opposed by the Shō-Hachimangū, which had become a great landowner in its own right, and was involved in constant conflicts with the Usa Hachiman-gū over both secular and religious matters. Thus, from the late Heian through the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the province was divided between control by the Shimazu clan and minor warlords connected with the Shō-Hachimangū. In the Sengoku period, the Shimazu clan gradually conquered the remainder of the province.

Edo Period and early modern period
Ōsumi was completely under the control of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain throughout the Edo period. With the abolition of the han system on August 29, 1871, Ōsumi became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. In 1879, the Amami Islands became part of Ōshima District, Kagoshima and were considered to be part of former Ōsumi Province. On April 1, 1891 Higashihitsugi District and Minamori District of former Hyuga Province were added to former Ōsumi Province, along with the Tokara Islands, which were formerly part of Satsuma Province. However, the current Mishima Village and Toshima Village areas were transferred to Kagoshima District in 1973, returning to former Satsuma Province, although the old provincial name has long since become obsolete.

Per the early Meiji period Kyudaka kyuryo Torishirabe-chō (旧高旧領取調帳), an official government assessment of the nation's resources, Ōsumi Province had 248 villages with a total kokudaka of 262,168 koku. Ōsumi Province consisted of: