Bizen Province in the context of "San'yō region"

Wake no Kiyomaro (和気 清麻呂; 733–799) was a high-ranking Japanese official during the Nara period. He was born in Bizen Province (now Wake, Okayama) to a family of politically important, devoted Buddhists who hoped to keep Buddhism and politics separate through religious reform. He became a trusted advisor to Emperor Kanmu, a position which he used to encourage the development of Buddhism in a direction which would prevent it from posing a threat to the government. According to the Shoku Nihongi, he was sent to the Usa Shrine to receive a divine message; stating that only those of descent from Amaterasu could become emperor, it refuted the previous divine message claiming Dōkyō was to be the next emperor after Empress Kōken (later Empress Shōtoku). This report angered Dōkyō, who used his influence with the Empress to have an edict issued sending Kiyomaro into exile; he also had the sinews of Kiyomaro's legs cut, and only the protection of the Fujiwara clan saved him from being killed outright.

The following year, however, Empress Shōtoku died. She was succeeded by Emperor Kōnin, who in turn exiled Dōkyō to Shimotsuke Province and not only recalled Wake no Kiyomaro from exile, but also appointed him as both kami (governor) of Bizen Province and Udaijin (junior minister of state). The following year, he petitioned the governor of Dazaifu to send officials to Usa to investigate allegations of "fraudulent oracles"; in his later report, Wake no Kiyomaro stated that out of five oracles checked, two were found to be fabricated. This resulted in the government relieving Usa no Ikemori of his position as head priest and replacing him with the previously-disgraced Ōga no Tamaro. Following this, Wake no Kiyomaro returned to Yamato. He remained a trusted advisor to Emperor Kammu; in the spring of 793, he convinced the emperor to abandon the delay-plagued construction of a capital at Nagaoka and instead seek another location to the northeast, at Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyōto.

Harima Province (播磨国, Harima no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [haꜜ.ɾʲi.ma (no kɯ.ɲi)]) or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji.

During the Edo period of Japanese history, the Akō Domain (fief) was part of Harima. The Forty-seven rōnin were samurai of Akō han. IHI Corporation, a shipbuilder and major Boeing engine subcontractor gets its name from the province.

San'yōdō (山陽道; Japanese pronunciation: [saɰ̃.joꜜː.doː]) is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The San'yōdō corresponds for the most part with the modern conception of the San'yō region. This name derives from the idea that the southern side of the central mountain chain running through Honshū was the "sunny" side, while the northern side was the "shady" (山陰 San'in) side.

The region was established as one of the Gokishichidō (Five provinces and seven roads) during the Asuka period (538-710), and consisted of the following eight ancient provinces: Harima, Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitchū, Bingo, Aki, Suō and Nagato. However, this system gradually disappeared by the Muromachi period (1333-1467).

Bitchū Province (備中国, Bitchū no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [biꜜt.tɕɯː (no kɯ.ɲi), bit.tɕɯꜜː (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, in what is today western Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called Bishū (備州), with Bizen and Bingo Provinces; those three provinces were settled in the late 7th Century, dividing former Kibi Province. Bitchu bordered Hōki, Mimasaka, Bizen, and Bingo Provinces.

The ancient capital and temples were built around Sōja. For much of the Muromachi Period, the province was dominated by the Hosokawa clan, who resided in Shikoku and allowed the province a degree of independence. By the Sengoku Period, other clans fought over Bitchu, and Oda Nobunaga and Mōri Terumoto were fighting in the province when Oda died, leading to a division of the province. After 1600, the province was divided among a variety of han (fiefs), and included a number of castles. By the time the provinces were reorganized into prefectures, the dominant city was the port, Kurashiki.

Mimasaka Province (美作国, Mimasaka no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [mʲi.maꜜ.sa.ka (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area that is northern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū, Bizen, Harima, Hōki, and Inaba Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Sakushū (作州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Mimasaka was one of the provinces of the San'yō circuit.

Under the Engishiki classification system, Mimasaka was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "near countries" (近国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city of Tsuyama.

Kibi Province (吉備国, Kibi no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [kʲiꜜ.bʲi (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was an ancient province or region of Japan, in the same area as Okayama Prefecture and eastern Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called Bishū (備州).

It was divided into Bizen (備前), Bitchū (備中), and Bingo (備後) Provinces in the late 7th century, and Mimasaka Province was separated from Bizen Province in the 8th century. The first three provinces took a kanji from the name of Kibi, and added zen, chū, and go ("near," "middle," and "far") according to their distance from the capital region.

The Ogasawara clan (Japanese: 小笠原氏, Hepburn: Ogasawara-shi) was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano Province during the Sengoku period (c. 1185–1600), and as daimyō (feudal lords) of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period (1600–1867).

During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the clan controlled Shinano province, while related clans controlled the provinces of Awa, Bizen, Bitchū, Iwami, Mikawa, Tōtōmi and Mutsu. According to some theories, the Miyoshi clan and the Mizukami clan were descendants of the Ogasawara clan.