Sagami Province

Sagami Province (相模国, Sagami no kuni^?) was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga Provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay. However, most of the present-day cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki, now part of Kanagawa Prefecture, were not in Sagami, but rather, in Musashi Province. Its abbreviated form name was Sōshū (相州^?).

Sagami was one of the original provinces of Japan established in the Nara period under the Taihō Code. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Although remnants from the Japanese Paleolithic and Yayoi periods are scarce, remains from the Jōmon period are relatively plentiful. Kofun period remains are generally from the 1st – 4th centuries AD. Whether or not Sagami was originally part of Musashi prior to the Nara period is still a topic of controversy.

The original capital of the province may have been located in what is now Hiratsuka, although other contenders include Ōiso and Ebina. Of all the former provinces of Japan, Sagami is the only in which the ruins of the Nara period capital have yet to be found. The Kokubun-ji is located in what is now Ebina. Under the Engishiki classification system, Sagami was ranked as a "major country" (上国) in terms of importance and a “far country (), in terms of disctance from the capital. It was also included as one of the Tōkaidō provinces and was governed by a Kuni no miyatsuko.

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