Tosa Province in the context of "Gokishichidō"

Shikoku (四国, Shikoku; pronounced [ɕi̥ꜜ.ko.kɯ, ɕi̥.koꜜ.kɯ] , lit. 'four provinces') is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is 225 kilometres (140 miles) long and between 50 and 150 kilometres (30 and 95 miles) wide. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima (伊予之二名島), Iyo-shima (伊予島), and Futana-shima (二名島), and its current name refers to the four former provinces that make up the island: Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo.

The Tosa Domain (土佐藩, Tosa-han) was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by the tozama daimyō Yamauchi clan. Many people from the domain played important roles in events of the late Edo period including Nakahama Manjirō, Sakamoto Ryōma, Yui Mitsue, Gotō Shōjirō, Itagaki Taisuke, Nakae Chōmin, and Takechi Hanpeita. Tosa Domain was renamed Kōchi Domain (高知藩, Kōchi-han) during the early Meiji period until it was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 and became Kōchi Prefecture.

Awa Province (阿波国, Awa no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [aꜜ.wa (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area that is today Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Awa was bordered by Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Ashū (阿州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Awa was one of the provinces of the Nankaidō circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Awa was ranked as one of the 35 "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "middle countries" (中国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city of Tokushima.

Iyo Province (伊予国, Iyo no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [iꜜ.jo (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku. Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa to the east, and Tosa to the south. Its abbreviated form name was Yoshū (予州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Iyo was one of the provinces of the Nankaidō circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Iyo was ranked as one of the "upper countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital was located in what is now the city of Imabari, but its exact location is still unknown. The ichinomiya of the province is the Ōyamazumi Shrine located on the island of Ōmishima in what is now part of Imabari. The people spoke Iyo dialect.

The Meiji oligarchy was the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the domain clique (藩閥, hambatsu).

The members of this class were adherents of kokugaku and believed they were the creators of a new order as grand as that established by Japan's original founders. Two of the major figures of this group were Ōkubo Toshimichi (1832–78), son of a Satsuma retainer, and Satsuma samurai Saigō Takamori (1827–77), who had joined forces with Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. Okubo became minister of finance and Saigō a field marshal; both were imperial councillors. Kido Koin (1833–77), a native of Chōshū, student of Yoshida Shōin, and conspirator with Ōkubo and Saigō, became minister of education and chairman of the Governors' Conference and pushed for constitutional government. Also prominent were Iwakura Tomomi (1825–83), a Kyoto native who had opposed the Tokugawa and was to become the first ambassador to the United States, and Ōkuma Shigenobu (1838–1922), of Hizen, a student of Rangaku, Chinese, and English, who held various ministerial portfolios, eventually becoming prime minister in 1898.

Kōchi Castle (高知城, Kōchi-jō) is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former Tosa Province on the island of Shikoku. From 1601 to 1871, it was the center of Tosa Domain, ruled by the tozama Yamauchi clan under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1959, with the area under protection expanded in 2014.

The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the Tosa Province which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island.

The province was given to the family in 1600 after Yamauchi Kazutoyo led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara. The family stayed loyal to the Tokugawa dynasty until shortly before its overthrow in 1868. The head of the family at that time Yamauchi Toyoshige became prince of the newly formed Kōchi Prefecture under Imperial rule.

Nankaidō (南海道; Japanese pronunciation: [naŋ.kaꜜi.doː], lit. 'Southern Sea Circuit') is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. The road connected provincial capitals in this region. It was part of the Gokishichidō system.

The Nankaidō encompassed the pre-Meiji provincial lands of Kii and Awaji, plus the four provinces that made up the island of Shikoku: Awa, Sanuki, Tosa, and Iyo.

Tosa jinja (土佐神社) is a Shinto shrine located in the Ichinomiya-shinane neighborhood in the northeastern part of the city of Kochi, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of the former Tosa Province. The shrine's main festival is held annually from March 11–13. Several of the shrine structures are designated National Important Cultural Properties. The shrine's Shinane Festival, held on August 25, is known as one of the three major festivals of Kochi.