Musashi Province
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Musashi (jap. 武蔵国, Musashi no kuni) or Bushū (武州) was one of the historical provinces of Japan. Musashi is now occupied by Tokyo and Saitama prefectures, with a small corner falling to Kanagawa Prefecture, mainly the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered the provinces of Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, Shimousa, Shimotsuke and Shinano.
Musashi was the largest province of the Kantō region. It had its ancient capital (kokufu) in modern Fuchū (an alternative name for a provincial capital) near Tokyo, and the provincial temple (kokubunji) was located near the modern city of the same name.
In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu exchanged the Tokyo Bay area for his old territories further west and began to expand Edo, which was strategically more conveniently located with its castle. Edo was then his headquarters before the Battle of Sekigahara, and Edo became the dominant city of Japan in the Edo period named after it. After the Meiji Restoration, Edo became the seat of the Tennō and was renamed Tokyo.
Musashi has survived in the names Tōbu (東武, "East Musashi") and Seibu (西武, "West Musashi"), namely the names of the two private railway companies Tōbu Tetsudō and Seibu Tetsudō respectively. The name of the Sōbu main line (総武本線) also indicates that it connects Shimousa or Sōshū (総州) province with Musashi. As elsewhere, some place or station names are officially or colloquially given the suffix 武蔵 Musashi- to distinguish them from otherwise similarly named places in other provinces (examples: Musashi-Murayama, Musashi-Fuchū, Musashi-Kosugi, Musashi-Takahagi).
35.80611111139.40916666667Coordinates: 35° 48′ N, 139° 25′ E
Map of the provinces of Japan, Musashi marked in red
