Iga Province
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Japan_prov_map_iga.PNG
Map of Japanese provinces with province highlighted
Iga Province (伊賀国; -no kuni) was an old province of Japan in the area that is today western Mie prefecture. Iga bordered on Ise, Omi, Yamato, and Yamashiro provinces.
The Iga province of Japan is particularly famous for its clan of Ninja, its most notable member being Hanzo Hattori. Both the Iga and Koga provinces are considered the birthplace of ninjutsu. It was also the birthplace of haiku poet Matsuo Basho.
The Iga region is a small mountain ringed basin (the Ueno basin) in the center of Japan’s Kinki region, on the island of Honshu. Iga province was rather inaccessible due to extremely poor road conditions. Iga is close to Nara and Kyoto and easily accessible from Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.
Today, much of the history of Iga province can be viewed at various sightseeing locations scattered throughout Mie. The castle town of the province was at Ueno.
External links
- Iga Province Ninja History (http://www.kankomie.or.jp/kanko/discover/iga.html)