Were Kyoto Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture different countries?
As many scholars of history have already clarified, the territory of Japan during the Ritsuryo period was broadly divided into the Kinai region and the seven circuits (Shichido), and as if to symbolize this, the rank given to the Gunji (district official) class was an 'outer rank (gei)' such as Outer Fifth Rank.
I will leave the details regarding court ranks and the division between Kinai and non-Kinai regions to the excellent research of scholars such as Tadao Nomura and Shohachi Hayakawa, but for the Japanese people of the Nara and Heian periods, the area outside the five Kinai provinces was categorized as if it were a different world. Mutsu Province, which encompasses the area from present-day Fukushima Prefecture to Aomori Prefecture, and Omi Province, which corresponds to present-day Shiga Prefecture, are both classified under the same 'Tosan-do'.Mutsu ProvinceandOmi Provinceare both classified under the same 'Tosan-do'.
From the perspective of modern Japanese values, this is a surprising geographical classification. The fact that the area from Shiga Prefecture to the Tohoku region is the same 'Tosan-do' is equivalent to them beingpositioned as the same region or the same area.
I am not sure if this analogy is appropriate, but it is like treating Ui Yamakawa (a 4th generation member of Sakurazaka46) from Miyagi Prefecture and Yui Takemoto (a 2nd generation member of Sakurazaka46) as idols from the same region or area. If, for instance, Ui Yamakawa and Yui Takemoto were to say on the TV Tokyo program 'Soko Magattara, Sakurazaka?' that 'We are both from the same Tosan-do region' or 'We are from the same hometown,' many Sakurazaka fans would likely be surprised.
Furthermore, a glimpse of the view of the country and geographical awareness of that time can also be found in the waka poems included in the 'Kokin Wakashu' (based on Volume 11 of the 'Shinpen Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshu' published by Shogakukan).Kokin Wakashu.
In Volume 8 of the 'Kokin Wakashu', 'Parting Poems', there is a poem recorded with the preface: 'Composed by a mother when Ono no Chikafuru was leaving for his post as Assistant Governor of Mutsu'.
〇 May my heart, which accompanies you as a mother's protection, not be blocked by the mountain passes.
Also, immediately following that, the following poem is recorded with the preface: 'Composed on the night of a farewell party when Fujiwara no Kiyoo was leaving for his post as Assistant Governor of Omi'.
〇 Although I think that we part today and meet tomorrow in Omi, has the night already deepened? My sleeves are damp with dew.
They haveplaced the farewell poem for someone leaving for Mutsu Province (Tohoku)andthe farewell poem for someone leaving for Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture),which is located next to Yamashiro Province (southeastern Kyoto Prefecture),side by side. Note that the Tosan-do begins in Omi and continues to the coast of the Tsugaru Strait.
To put it somewhat simply, for the Japanese people of that time, especially government officials, both Mutsu Province and Omi Province were likely perceived as truly foreign or different worlds. Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture) and Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture), which should be neighbors, were different worlds, while Omi Province and Mutsu Province (Tohoku region), which should be far apart, were in the same region...!!
When times change, views of the nation and geographical awareness also change...
*For those who wish for more accurate research from the perspectives of legal and political history, I recommend reading specialized books at university or public libraries.
Thank you very much for reading until the end.