Aki Province

Aki (安芸国; -no kuni) or Geishū (芸州) was a province in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, comprising the western part of what is today Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

When Emperor Shōmu ordered two official temples for each province (one for male Buddhist priests and one for nuns), two temples were founded in Aki province. The provincial temple was founded in present-day Higashihiroshima.

From the late Heian period (12th century), Aki province became known as the site of Itsukushima Shrine. Taira no Kiyomori donated a new complex of building and sutra scrolls. Itsukushima (Miyajima) had a good sea port and had strategic significance.

In the Sengoku period it was the original seat of the Mori clan until 1600. In 1555 Mori Motonari won the Battle of Itsukushima against Sue Harutaka and established his power in the western part of Honshū.

Mori Terumoto, one of the Council of Five Elders Toyotomi Hideyoshi appointed for his son, sided with Ishida Mitsunari before the Battle of Sekigahara, 1600 and lost Aki and many of his other domains.

After a short rule by Fukushima Masanori, in 1619 Asano Nagaakira was appointed as the daimyo of Hiroshima with 420, 000 koku. Until the Meiji restoration the Asano governed almost all the province.

Aki province was abolished in 1871 and renamed to Hiroshima prefecture. After some mergers the current area of Hiroshima prefecture was established.

This article incorporates text from OpenHistory.