provinces of Japan

Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国, countries), usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun (郡, districts; earlier called kōri). The provinces were originally established as both administrative units and geographic regions. In the late Muromachi period, however, their function as administrative units was effectively and gradually supplanted by the domains of the sengoku-daimyo. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the provinces were totally replaced as administrative units by daimyo's fiefs. In the Edo period, the fiefs became known as han. The provinces remained as geographical entities and people often referred to a certain place by coupling the name of the province with the name of the han.
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