Shimotsuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture. Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke, Hitachi, Mutsu and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Yashū (野州). Under the Engishiki classification system, Shimotsuke was ranked as one of the 13 "great countries" (大国) in terms of importance, and one of the 30 "far countries" (遠国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital is located in what is now the city of Tochigi. The Ichinomiya of the province is the Futarasan jinja located in what is now the city of Utsunomiya.
ukiyo-e " Shimotsuke " in "The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States" (六十余州名所図会), depicting Mount Nikkō, Urami Waterfall (Shimotsuke, Nikkōsan, Urami no taki)
Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 and has a geographic area of 6,408 km². Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the west, Saitama Prefecture to the south, and Ibaraki Prefecture to the southeast.
Autumn view over the ruins of Sakuyama castle in Gotenyama park, Ōtawara city, Tochigi prefecture
Nikkō Cedar Avenue
The Kegon Falls in Nikkō
Otawara