Quick Facts
- Related Places:
- Japan
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Tosa
historical region, Japan
Tosa, Historic region of the Japanese island of Shikoku. It dates at least to the Heian period, when Ki no Tsurayuki (868?–945?), editor of Japan’s first imperially commissioned poetry anthology, wrote a fictional diary drawing on his experiences as governor of Tosa. In 1571 it became a unified domain (han) whose daimyo opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu when he consolidated his control of Japan in the early 17th century; this historical enmity became important at the time of the Meiji Restoration (1868), when samurai from Tosa, like those from Satsuma and Chōshū, helped overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. See also Itagaki Taisuke; Tokugawa period.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.