History glossary
prefectures
administrative units governed under the central state rather than hereditary domain lords.
- Category
- Administrative unit
- Region
- Japan
- Date range
- 1871-present
What it means
Prefectures were the administrative units that replaced Japan's domains after the Meiji government abolished them in 1871. They answered to centrally appointed officials and helped the state standardise taxation, law and administration.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval Europe
From the arrival of Gothic peoples at the Danube to the crowning of Charlemagne, this story traces how the Western Roman Empire fragmented into successor kingdoms and how a new medieval world took shape.
The Qing Dynasty
From Manchu conquest to republican revolution, the Qing dynasty built China's largest empire, oversaw centuries of prosperity, and then struggled to survive foreign intervention, rebellion, and the collapse of imperial legitimacy.
