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Noto Province (能登国, Noto no Kuni) was an old province in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula (Noto-hantō) which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called Nōshū (能州). Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces. The ichinomiya of the province was Keta Shrine.
Nanao, Ishikawa was the ancient capital and the main castle town of Noto. For much of the Sengoku Period Noto was ruled by a minor branch of the Maeda clan of Kaga.
Following the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system in 1871, Noto Province was renamed Nanao Prefecture and Imizu District from Etchu Province was added. However, in 1872 Nanao was merged with Kanazawa Prefecture (the former Kaga Province) to form today's Ishikawa Prefecture and Imizu District was given back to Niikawa Prefecture (the renamed Etchu Province).
Maps of Japan and Noto Province were reformed in the 1870s when the prefecture system was introduced. At the same time, the province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Noto is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the United States and (b) between Japan and the United Kingdom.
Historical districts
Noto Province had 4 districts.