Sagami Province, Ancient province in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Sagami was an administrative unit that stretched from the ocean to the mountain ranges west of present-day Kanagawa Prefecture. The area covered coastal towns along the bay as well as forested hills and valleys inland.
The area was outlined in the 7th century as part of the first nationwide reforms to standardize administration. Later it became the center of a warrior government that ruled from 1192 until 1333.
The name refers to the flat land by the sea, where fishers and traders maintained their harbors for centuries. In the western mountains, farmers settled and grew rice and tea.
Travelers find traces of the old boundaries in the names of towns and districts still used today. The coastal sections and mountain routes often follow paths laid out centuries ago.
Archaeologists have never located the capital from the Nara period, despite searching for decades. This gap remains a puzzle in Japanese antiquarian studies.
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