Kokura Prefecture

Lore & Background

Kokura Prefecture was formed in the wake of the Meiji Restoration's administrative reforms, which replaced the feudal han system with prefectures. Its territory was assembled from several domains that had themselves been briefly renamed as prefectures earlier in 1871, including Chizuka, Kokura, and Nakatsu. The prefecture also incorporated the Nakatsu Province, Toyotsu Province (formerly Kawara Domain, later Toyotsu Domain), and parts of Hita Province and Chizuka Province. It covered most of Buzen Province and included the port of Moji and the city of Kokura, which was later founded as a municipality in 1900. The prefecture existed for only about four years before being merged into Fukuoka Prefecture in 1876.

Reader's Guide

Kokura Prefecture represents a transitional phase in Japan's modernization, when the feudal domain system was rapidly replaced by a centralized prefectural structure. Though it lasted only from December 1871 to 1876, its formation illustrates the complex process of consolidating smaller territories—some of which had been independent domains for centuries—into larger administrative units. The prefecture's absorption into Fukuoka Prefecture was part of a broader nationwide consolidation that reduced the number of prefectures from over 300 to 47. The old wooden Kokura prefectural office building, which later served as a police station, law court, and medical clinic, still stands in Kokura Kita ward, Kitakyushu, opposite the modern Riverwalk Kitakyushu, symbolizing the contrast between the prefecture's brief existence and the region's later urban development.

Did You Know?

• Kokura Prefecture was founded in December 1871 after the abolition of the clan system.
• The prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture in 1876.
• The old Kokura prefectural office building still stands in Kokura Kita ward, Kitakyushu, in dilapidated condition.