Mikawa Province

Mikawa Province (三河国, Mikawa no kuni^?) was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Its abbreviated form name was Sanshū (三州 or 参州^?). Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces.

Mikawa is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. Under the Engishiki classification system, Mikawa was ranked as a "superior country" (上国) and a "near country" (近国) in terms of its distance from the capital.

Mikawa is mentioned in records of the Taika Reform dated 645, as well as various Nara period chronicles, including the Kujiki, although the area has been settled since at least the Japanese Paleolithic period, as evidenced by numerous remains found by archaeologists. Early records mention a “Nishi-Mikawa no kuni” and a “Higashi-Mikawa no kuni”, also known as Ho Province (穂国, Ho no kuni^?). Although considered one administrative unit under the Engishiki classification system, this division (roughly based at the Yasaku River) persisted informally into the Edo period.

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