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Map of Japanese provinces with province highlighted

Musashi (武蔵国; -no kuni) was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture, mainly Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces.

Musashi was the largest province in the Kantō region. It had its ancient capital in modern Fuchu, Tokyo and its provincial temple in what is now Kokubunji, Tokyo. By the Sengoku period, the main city was Yedo, which became the dominant city of eastern Japan. Edo Castle was the headquarters of Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara and became the dominant city of Japan during the Edo period, being renamed Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration.

It gave its name to the battleship of the Second World War Musashi.

Historical record

Change of Era

Wadō gannen (和銅元年) or Wadō 1 (708): The new era name Wadō (meaning "Japanese silver") was created because some kind of precious metal was discovered in Musashi province. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in the spring of Keiun 5.^[1]
Wadō gannen or Wadō 1, on the 11th day of the 4th month (708): A sample of the precious metal discovered in Musashi was presented in Gemmei's Court as Japanese silver.^[2]

References

Notes

^ This explanation comes from the 1834 French translation of an 1652 chronicle written originally in Japanese and Chinese, Nipon o daï itsi ran at p. 63:
The Dutch translater wrote: "Au printemps de l'année (708), on offrit à cette princesse du cuivre de la province de Mousasi; c'était le premier qu'on avait trouveé dans l'empire. Pour cette raison, Ghen mio [Gemmei-tennō] donna aux années de son règne le titre honorifique de Wadō ("Ho thoung"), qui veut dire cuivre japonais." ["In the spring of 708, the empress was offered a sample of silver from the province of Musashi. This was the first time that silver had been found in the country. For that reason, Empress Gemmei gave the honorific name of Wadō to the early years of her reign. Wadō is how one says Japanese silver in Japanese."]

The German editor Klaproth noted at p. 63: "On lit dans le Sio Nipon ki: 'Le 11e jour de la 4e lune de la 1re années Wadō, le Daïiri Ghen mio ten o reçut du cuivre du district de Tsitsi bou-no kori ("Thsieou fou kiun"), dans la province de Mousasi, d'où le nengō prit le nom de Wadō, qui veut dire cuivre japonais.'" ["One can read in the Sio Nipon ki: 'On the 11th day of the 4th month of Wadō gannen or Wadō 1, Empress Gemmei received some silver from the district of "Tsitsi bou-no kori" ("Thsieou fou kiun") in the province of Musashi, from whence the nengō took the name of Wadō, which how one says "Japanese silver" in Japanese."]
Another account suggests tht it was copper that was discovered in Musashi (the region that includes modern day Tokyo), not silver. The Japanese word for copper is dō (銅), and since it was indigenous copper, it could have been combined with "wa", which was the ancient term for Japan. Alternately, the "wa" could have been a plausible reference to the copper which was discovered as being relatively pure (without needing much refining.
^ Titsingh, p. 63.

Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo, 1652]. Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris.--Two digitized examples of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006. Click here to read the original text in French.

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[1] This explanation comes from the 1834 French translation of an 1652 chronicle written originally in Japanese and Chinese, Nipon o daï itsi ran at p. 63:
The Dutch translater wrote: "Au printemps de l'année (708), on offrit à cette princesse du cuivre de la province de Mousasi; c'était le premier qu'on avait trouveé dans l'empire. Pour cette raison, Ghen mio [Gemmei-tennō] donna aux années de son règne le titre honorifique de Wadō ("Ho thoung"), qui veut dire cuivre japonais." ["In the spring of 708, the empress was offered a sample of silver from the province of Musashi. This was the first time that silver had been found in the country. For that reason, Empress Gemmei gave the honorific name of Wadō to the early years of her reign. Wadō is how one says Japanese silver in Japanese."]

The German editor Klaproth noted at p. 63: "On lit dans le Sio Nipon ki: 'Le 11e jour de la 4e lune de la 1re années Wadō, le Daïiri Ghen mio ten o reçut du cuivre du district de Tsitsi bou-no kori ("Thsieou fou kiun"), dans la province de Mousasi, d'où le nengō prit le nom de Wadō, qui veut dire cuivre japonais.'" ["One can read in the Sio Nipon ki: 'On the 11th day of the 4th month of Wadō gannen or Wadō 1, Empress Gemmei received some silver from the district of "Tsitsi bou-no kori" ("Thsieou fou kiun") in the province of Musashi, from whence the nengō took the name of Wadō, which how one says "Japanese silver" in Japanese."]
Another account suggests tht it was copper that was discovered in Musashi (the region that includes modern day Tokyo), not silver. The Japanese word for copper is dō (銅), and since it was indigenous copper, it could have been combined with "wa", which was the ancient term for Japan. Alternately, the "wa" could have been a plausible reference to the copper which was discovered as being relatively pure (without needing much refining.

[2] Titsingh, p. 63.

[1]

[2]

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 ==References==
 ===Notes===
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 ===Further reading===

v t e Former provinces of Japan (List)
Kinai	Izumi Kawachi Settsu Yamashiro Yamato Yoshino 716–738
Tōkaidō	Awa Hitachi Iga Ise Izu Kai Kazusa Mikawa Musashi Owari Sagami Shima Shimōsa Suruga Tōtōmi
Tōsandō	Dewa -1869 Hida Iwaki 718–724 Iwaki 1869– Iwase 718–724 Iwashiro 1869– Kōzuke Mino Ōmi Mutsu –1869 Rikuō (or Mutsu) 1869– Rikuchū 1869– Rikuzen 1869– Shimotsuke Shinano Suwa 721–731 Ugo 1869– Uzen 1869–
Hokurikudō	Echigo Echizen Etchū Kaga Noto Sado Wakasa
San'indō	Hōki Inaba Izumo Iwami Oki Tajima Tanba Tango
San'yōdō	Aki Bingo Bitchū Bizen Harima Mimasaka Nagato Suō
Nankaidō	Awa Awaji Iyo Kii Sanuki Tosa
Saikaidō	Bungo Buzen Chikugo Chikuzen Higo Hizen Hyūga Iki Ōsumi Satsuma Tane 702–824 Tsushima
Hokkaidō 1869–	Chishima Hidaka Iburi Ishikari Kitami Kushiro Nemuro Oshima Shiribeshi Teshio Tokachi
Pre-Taihō Code provinces	Chichibu Fusa Hi Keno Kibi Koshi Kumaso Toyo Tsukushi
Source: Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books; excerpt, "Japan's former provinces were converted into prefectures by the Meiji government ... [and] grouped, according to geographic position, into the 'five provinces of the Kinai' and 'seven circuits'."