Categories
  Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
  supported by EncyclosphereKSF

Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 9 min

Taiwan was under Japanese rule after the First Sino-Japanese War, as per the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895. There were still several changes until the Japanese political system was adopted in 1920. This system was de facto abolished in 1945 and de jure in 1952.

Introduction

[edit]

Administrative divisions of Taiwan by types and times. Like the administrative divisions in mainland Japan, most of them are translated to "prefectures" in English.

Number of divisions
Start date End date Timespan Summary
May 1895 Aug 1895 3 3 Ken, 1 Chō
Aug 1895 Mar 1896 7 1 Ken, 2 Minseishibu, 1 Chō
Apr 1896 Jun 1897 15 3 Ken, 1 Chō
Jun 1897 Jun 1898 12 6 Ken, 3 Chō
Jun 1898 Apr 1901 34 3 Ken, 3 Chō
May 1901 Nov 1901 7 3 Ken, 4 Chō
Nov 1901 Oct 1909 95 20 Chō
Oct 1909 Aug 1920 130 12 Chō
Sep 1920 Jun 1926 70 5 Shū, 2 Chō
Jul 1926 Apr 1952 239 5 Shū, 3 Chō
Types of the divisions
Name Kanji Kana
Ken 縣 けん
Shū 州 しゅう
Chō 廳 ちょう
Minseishibu 民政支部 みんせいしぶ

Early years (1895–1901)

[edit]

The political divisions changed frequently between 1895 and 1901.

Date May. 1895 – Aug. 1895 Aug. 1895 – Mar. 1896 Mar. 1896 – Jun. 1897
Names Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん
Taiwan Ken 臺灣縣 たいわんけん Taiwan Minseishibu 臺灣民政支部 たいわんみんせいしぶ Taichū Ken 臺中縣 たいちゅうけん
Tainan Ken 臺南縣 たいなんけん Tainan Minseishibu 臺南民政支部 たいなんみんせいしぶ Tainan Ken 臺南縣 たいなんけん
Hōkotō Chō 澎湖島廳 ほうことうちょう Hōkotō Chō 澎湖島廳 ほうことうちょう Hōkotō Chō 澎湖島廳 ほうことうちょう
Div. No. 3 Ken, 1 Chō 1 Ken, 2 Minseishibu, 1 Chō 3 Ken, 1 Chō
Date Jun. 1897 – Jun. 1898 Jun. 1898 – Apr. 1901 May. 1901 – Nov. 1901
Names Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん Taihoku Ken 臺北縣 たいほくけん
Shinchiku Ken 新竹縣 しんちくけん
Taichū Ken 臺中縣 たいちゅうけん Taichū Ken 臺中縣 たいちゅうけん Taichū Ken 臺中縣 たいちゅうけん
Kagi Ken 嘉義縣 かぎけん
Tainan Ken 臺南縣 たいなんけん Tainan Ken 臺南縣 たいなんけん Tainan Ken 臺南縣 たいなんけん
Hōzan Ken 鳳山縣 ほうざんけん Kōshun Chō 恆春廳 こうしゅんちょう
Giran Chō 宜蘭廳 ぎらんちょう Giran Chō 宜蘭廳 ぎらんちょう Giran Chō 宜蘭廳 ぎらんちょう
Taitō Chō 臺東廳 たいとうちょう Taitō Chō 臺東廳 たいとうちょう Taitō Chō 臺東廳 たいとうちょう
Hōko Chō 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう Hōko Chō 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう Hōko Chō 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう
Div. No. 6 Ken, 3 Chō 3 Ken, 3 Chō 3 Ken, 4 Chō

Chō (1901–1920)

[edit]

The former system was abolished 11 November 1901, and twenty local administrative offices (chō) were established.[1] Usage of Ken divisions was discontinued.

Structural hierarchy

[edit]
Administrative divisions of Taiwan in 1901.[2] The red line marks the approximate boundary separating Aboriginal areas and territories under actual Japanese administration.
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Prefecture
廳 chō		 Subprefecture
支廳 shichō 		District
區 ku		 Town
街 gai
Village
庄 jō

Prefectures

[edit]
Nov. 1901 – Oct. 1909 Oct. 1909 – Aug. 1920
Taihoku Chō 臺北廳 たいほくちょう Taihoku Chō 臺北廳 たいほくちょう
Kīrun Chō 基隆廳 きいるんちょう
Shinkō Chō 深坑廳 しんこうちょう
Giran Chō 宜蘭廳 ぎらんちょう
Giran Chō 宜蘭廳 ぎらんちょう
Tōshien Chō 桃仔園廳 とうしえんちょう Tōen Chō 桃園廳 とうえんちょう
Shinchiku Chō 新竹廳 しんちくちょう Shinchiku Chō 新竹廳 しんちくちょう
Byōritsu Chō 苗栗廳 びょうりつちょう
Taichū Chō 臺中廳 たいちゅうちょう
Taichū Chō 臺中廳 たいちゅうちょう
Shōka Chō 彰化廳 しょうかちょう
Nantō Chō 南投廳 なんとうちょう Nantō Chō 南投廳 なんとうちょう
Toroku Chō 斗六廳 とろくちょう
Kagi Chō 嘉義廳 かぎちょう
Kagi Chō 嘉義廳 かぎちょう
Ensuikō Chō 鹽水港廳 えんすいこうちょう
Tainan Chō 臺南廳 たいなんちょう
Tainan Chō 臺南廳 たいなんちょう
Hōzan Chō 鳳山廳 ほうざんちょう
Banshoryō Chō 蕃薯寮廳 ばんしょりょうちょう Akō Chō 阿緱廳 あこうちょう
Akō Chō 阿猴廳 あこうちょう
Kōshun Chō 恆春廳 こうしゅんちょう
Taitō Chō 臺東廳 たいとうちょう Taitō Chō 臺東廳 たいとうちょう
Karenkō Chō 花蓮港廳 かれんこうちょう
Hōko Chō 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう Hōko Chō 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう
20 Chō 12 Chō
  • Shinkō, Byōritsu, Toroku, Ensuikō were split and merge with the two Chō in the right.

Demographics

[edit]

Population of Formosa according to census taken 31 December 1904, arranged by district.[3]

Population of Formosa as of 1915
Prefecture Kanji Japanese Taiwanese Area (km²) Population
Taihoku 臺北廳 Taihoku-chō Tâi-pak-thiaⁿ 1,691.5284 523,502
Giran 宜蘭廳 Giran-chō Gî-lân-thiaⁿ 710.8631 143,912
Tōen 桃園廳 Tōen-chō Thô-hn̂g-thiaⁿ 984.5170 231,409
Shinchiku 新竹廳 Shinchiku-chō Sin-tek-thiaⁿ 1,705.1696 327,164
Taichū 臺中廳 Taichū-chō Tâi-tiong-thiaⁿ 2,271.4004 592,577
Nantō 南投廳 Nantō-chō Lâm-tâu-thiaⁿ 1,274.9484 126,223
Kagi 嘉義廳 Kagi-chō Ka-gī-thiaⁿ 3,249.8356 566,158
Tainan 臺南廳 Tainan-chō Tâi-lâm-thiaⁿ 2,345.5133 569,292
Akō 阿緱廳 Akō-chō A-kâu-thiaⁿ 2,201.6170 259,441
Taitō 臺東廳 Taitō-chō Tâi-tang-thiaⁿ 1,204.4906 36,997
Karenkō 花蓮港廳 Karenkō-chō Hoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ 1,315.7236 45,521
Hōko 澎湖廳 Hōko-chō Phêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ 126.8648 57,726

Shū and Chō (1920–1945)

[edit]
Political division of Taiwan
Second level political division of Taiwan
  Cities / 市 (shi, chhī)
  Districts / 郡 (gun, kūn)
  Subprefectures / 支廳 (shichō, chi-thiaⁿ)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prefectures of Taiwan.

Under a "Dōka policy" (同化) in which the Japanese considered the Taiwanese to be separate but equal, the political divisions in Taiwan became similar to the system used in mainland Japan in 1920.

Structural hierarchy

[edit]
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Prefecture
州 shū (5)
廳 chō (3) 		City
市 shi (11) 		町 chō 丁目 chōme
大字 ōaza 小字 koaza
District
郡 gun (51)
or
Subprefecture
支廳 shichō (2) 		Town
街 gai (68)
Village
庄 jō (197)
Aboriginal area
蕃地 banchi
社 sha (571)
  • Chō (町) and chōme (丁目) are used in the city centers.
  • Sha (社) is used to name the tribes of the indigenous peoples.

Prefectures

[edit]
Name Kanji Kana No. of Subdivisions Wade–Giles
City Dist. Subp.
Taihoku Prefecture 臺北州 たいほくしゅう 3 9 Taipei
Shinchiku Prefecture 新竹州 しんちくしゅう 1 8 Hsinchu
Taichū Prefecture 臺中州 たいちゅうしゅう 2 11 Taichung
Tainan Prefecture 臺南州 たいなんしゅう 2 10 Tainan
Takao Prefecture 高雄州 たかおしゅう 2 7 Kaohsiung
Karenkō Prefecture 花蓮港廳 かれんこうちょう 1 3 Hualien Port
Taitō Prefecture 臺東廳 たいとうちょう 3 Taitung
Hōko Prefecture 澎湖廳 ほうこちょう 2 Penghu
  • Hōko Prefecture was divided from Takao Prefecture in 1926

Cities

[edit]

There were 11 cities in Taiwan in 1945. Most of them are still the most populous municipalities in the country today. The ōaza (大字) in the city center may be named chō (町).

Prefecture Name Kanji Kana Wade–Giles
Taihoku Taihoku City 臺北市 たいほくし Taipei
Kiirun City 基隆市 きいるんし Keelung
Giran City 宜蘭市 ぎらんし Yilan
Shinchiku Shinchiku City 新竹市 しんちくし Hsinchu
Taichū Taichū City 臺中市 たいちゅうし Taichung
Shōka City 彰化市 しょうかし Changhua
Tainan Tainan City 臺南市 たいなんし Tainan
Kagi City 嘉義市 かぎし Chiayi
Takao Takao City 高雄市 たかおし Kaohsiung
Heitō City 屏東市 へいとうし Pingtung
Karenkō Karenkō City 花蓮港市 かれんこうし Hualien

Demographics

[edit]
See also: Demographics of Taiwan § Population census

The 1941 (Showa 16) census of Taiwan was 6,249,468. 93.33% of the population were Taiwanese which consisted of both Han Taiwanese and "civilized" Taiwanese aborigines. Tainan had the largest population followed by Taichū and Taihoku. The largest concentration of ethnic Japanese were in Taihoku followed by Takao and Tainan.

Demographics of Taiwan as of 1942
Prefecture Kanji Japanese Taiwanese Area
(km²)		 Population Population
Density
(/km²)		 Demographics
Japanese national Foreign national
Taiwanese Japanese Korean Chinese Other
Taihoku 臺北州 Taihoku-shū Tâi-pak-chiu 4,594.2371 1,266,924 276 1,078,316 161,306 1,161 26,138 53
Shinchiku 新竹州 Shinchiku-shū Sin-tek-chiu 4,570.0146 856,382 187 832,565 21,632 165 2,020 0
Taichū 臺中州 Taichū-shū Tâi-tiong-chiu 7,382.9426 1,411,846 191 1,359,865 47,688 284 4,001 8
Tainan 臺南州 Tainan-shū Tâi-lâm-chiu 5,421.4627 1,587,513 293 1,524,123 55,389 289 7,699 13
Takao 高雄州 Takao-shū Ko-hiông-chiu 5,721.8672 969,935 170 896,689 65,446 585 7,214 1
Karenkō 花蓮港廳 Karenkō-chō Hoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ 4,628.5713 167,911 36 143,671 21,811 174 2,255 0
Taitō 臺東廳 Taitō-chō Tâi-tang-thiaⁿ 3,515.2528 97,059 28 88,317 7,687 31 1,023 1
Hōko 澎湖廳 Hōko-chō Phêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ 126.8642 70,312 554 66,342 3,888 3 79 0

Changes in 1945

[edit]

When the Republic of China began to rule Taiwan in 1945, the government simply changed the names of the divisions, and named the Aboriginal areas. Those changes were not recognized by the Allies after the surrender of Japan.

Before After
Level Name Character Japanese
Hepburn		 Taiwanese
Pe̍h-ōe-jī 		Name Character Mandarin
Pinyin		 Taiwanese
Pe̍h-ōe-jī		 Level
1 Prefecture 州 shū chiu County 縣 xiàn koān 1
廳 chō thiaⁿ
2 City 市 shi chhī Provincial city 市 shì chhī
County-administered city 縣轄市 xiànxiáshì koān-hat-chhī 2
District 郡 gun kūn County-administered district 縣轄區 xiànxiáqū koān-hat-khu
Subprefecture 支廳 shichō chi-thiaⁿ
3 Town 街 gai ke Urban township 鎮 zhèn tìn 3
Village 庄 jō chng Rural township 鄉 xiāng hiong
Aboriginal areas 蕃地 banchi huan-tē Mountain indigenous township 山地鄉 shāndì xiāng soaⁿ-tē hiong

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Davidson (1903), pp. 597–8: "In place of the former system, which divided the island into 3 prefectures and 3 prefectures of second class, and which was abolished November 11th, 1901, local administrative offices known as "Cho" have been established at the following points: Taihoku, Kelung, Giran (Gilan), Shinko (Chim-hua), Toshien (Tao-hong), Shinchiku (Teck-cham), Bioritsu (Maoli), Taichu, Shoka (Chang-wha), Nanto (Nam-tau), Toroku (Tau-lak), Kagi, Yensuiko (Kiam-tsui kang), Tainan, Banshorio (Han-chu-liao), Hozan (Fang-shan), Ako (A-kau), Koshun (Heng-chun), Taito (Tai-tong), and Boko (Pang-hoo). The Administrative or District Offices (Cho) are in charge of chiefs of Sonin rank, who are assisted by clerks, police inspectors, assistant experts, interpreters, and assistant police, all of Hannin rank. These officers of Hannin rank number 1230 for the whole island. The administration of Formosa, under the direction and superintendence of the Governor General, is entrusted to these district offices."
  2. ^ Davidson (1903), map.
  3. ^ Takekoshi (1907), p. 199.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Davidson, James W. (1903). "Chapter XXXI: Formosa of To-day". The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions. London and New York: Macmillan. OCLC 1887893. OL 6931635M.
  • Takekoshi, Yosaburō (1907). "Chapter XIII: Population and future development of the island resources". Japanese rule in Formosa. London, New York, Bombay and Calcutta: Longmans, Green, and co. OCLC 753129. OL 6986981M.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_divisions_of_Taiwan_(1895–1945)
1 |
↧ Download as ZWI file
Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF