Aki Province

Aki 安芸国
Province
Map of Japanese provinces (1868) with Aki Province highlighted
Country	Japan
Island	Honshū
Region	Chūgoku

Aki Province (安芸国, Aki 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.

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 Saijō, Higashihiroshima.

In the late Heian Period (12th century), Aki Province became well known for the Itsukushima Shrine. Taira no Kiyomori realized the shrine's importance and donated funds for a new complex of buildings and sutra scrolls. Itsukushima (Miyajima) had a good sea port and had clear strategic significance.

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

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