Bingo Province

Bingo Province (備後国, Bingo no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [biꜜŋ.ɡo (no kɯ.ɲi), -ŋo-]) was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, comprising what is today the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes grouped together with Bizen and Bitchu Provinces as Bishū (備州). The 備 bi in the names of these provinces is taken from the second character in the name of Kibi Province, whose ambit also included the area that would be divided off as Mimasaka Province in the early 8th century CE. Bingo bordered Bitchū, Hōki, Izumo, Iwami, and Aki Provinces. The ancient capital is believed to have been in the vicinity of the city of Fuchu. During the Sengoku Period, Bingo was part of the Mori clan's domains, but after the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu reassigned it to one of his allies. A notable landmark includes Fukuyama Castle, which was the main castle of the Bingo-Fukuyama han (clan) during the Edo period of Japanese history.