Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)

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

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 dateEnd dateTimespanSummary
May 1895Aug 189533 Ken, 1 Chō
Aug 1895Mar 189671 Ken, 2 Minseishibu, 1 Chō
Apr 1896Jun 1897153 Ken, 1 Chō
Jun 1897Jun 1898126 Ken, 3 Chō
Jun 1898Apr 1901343 Ken, 3 Chō
May 1901Nov 190173 Ken, 4 Chō
Nov 1901Oct 19099520 Chō
Oct 1909Aug 192013012 Chō
Sep 1920Jun 1926705 Shū, 2 Chō
Jul 1926Apr 19522395 Shū, 3 Chō
Types of the divisions
NameKanjiKana
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)

The political divisions changed frequently between 1895 and 1901.

Administrative divisions of Taiwan in 1901.[1] The red line marks the approximate boundary separating savage district and territories under actual Japanese administration.
DateMay. 1895 – Aug. 1895Aug. 1895 – Mar. 1896Mar. 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 Chō1 Ken, 2 Minseishibu, 1 Chō3 Ken, 1 Chō
DateJun. 1897 – Jun. 1898Jun. 1898 – Apr. 1901May. 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 Chō3 Ken, 3 Chō3 Ken, 4 Chō

Chō (1901–1920)

The former system was abolished 11 November 1901, and twenty local administrative offices (chō) were established.[2] Usage of Ken divisions was discontinued.

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

Prefectures
Nov. 1901 – Oct. 1909Oct. 1909 – Aug. 1920
Taihoku Chōja|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 Chō12 Chō
  • Shinkō, Byōritsu, Toroku, Ensuikō were split and merge with the two Chō in the right.

Demographics

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

Population of Formosa as of 1915
PrefectureKanjiJapaneseTaiwaneseArea (km²)Population
Taihoku臺北廳Taihoku-chōTâi-pak-thiaⁿ1,691.5284523,502
Giran宜蘭廳Giran-chōGî-lân-thiaⁿ710.8631143,912
Tōen桃園廳Tōen-chōThô-hn̂g-thiaⁿ984.5170231,409
Shinchiku新竹廳Shinchiku-chōSin-tek-thiaⁿ1,705.1696327,164
Taichū臺中廳Taichū-chōTâi-tiong-thiaⁿ2,271.4004592,577
Nantō南投廳Nantō-chōLâm-tâu-thiaⁿ1,274.9484126,223
Kagi嘉義廳Kagi-chōKa-gī-thiaⁿ3,249.8356566,158
Tainan臺南廳Tainan-chōTâi-lâm-thiaⁿ2,345.5133569,292
Akō阿緱廳Akō-chōA-kâu-thiaⁿ2,201.6170259,441
Taitō臺東廳Taitō-chōTâi-tang-thiaⁿ1,204.490636,997
Karenkō花蓮港廳Karenkō-chōHoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ1,315.723645,521
Hōko澎湖廳Hōko-chōPhêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ126.864857,726

Shū and Chō (1920–1945)
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
Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 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
NameKanjiKanaNo. of SubdivisionsWade–Giles
CityDist.Subp.
Taihoku Prefecture臺北州たいほくしゅう39Taipei
Shinchiku Prefecture新竹州しんちくしゅう18Hsinchu
Taichū Prefecture臺中州たいちゅうしゅう211Taichung
Tainan Prefecture臺南州たいなんしゅう210Tainan
Takao Prefecture高雄州たかおしゅう27Kaohsiung
Karenkō Prefecture花蓮港廳かれんこうちょう13Hualien Port
Taitō Prefecture臺東廳たいとうちょう3Taitung
Hōko Prefecture澎湖廳ほうこちょう2Penghu
  • Hōko Prefecture was divided from Takao Prefecture in 1926

Cities

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).

PrefectureNameKanjiKanaWade–Giles
Taihoku Taihoku City臺北市たいほくしTaipei
Kīrun 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
See also: Demographics of Taiwan § Population census

The 1941 (Shōwa 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
PrefectureKanjiJapaneseTaiwanese Area
(km²)		PopulationPopulation
Density
(/km²)		Demographics
Japanese nationalForeign national
TaiwaneseJapaneseKoreanChineseOther
Taihoku臺北州Taihoku-shūTâi-pak-chiu4,594.23711,266,924276 1,078,316161,3061,16126,13853
Shinchiku新竹州Shinchiku-shūSin-tek-chiu4,570.0146856,382187 832,56521,6321652,0200
Taichū臺中州Taichū-shūTâi-tiong-chiu7,382.94261,411,846191 1,359,86547,6882844,0018
Tainan臺南州Tainan-shūTâi-lâm-chiu5,421.46271,587,513293 1,524,12355,3892897,69913
Takao高雄州Takao-shūKo-hiông-chiu5,721.8672969,935170 896,68965,4465857,2141
Karenkō花蓮港廳Karenkō-chōHoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ4,628.5713167,91136 143,67121,8111742,2550
Taitō臺東廳Taitō-chōTâi-tang-thiaⁿ3,515.252897,05928 88,3177,687311,0231
Hōko澎湖廳Hōko-chōPhêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ126.864270,312554 66,3423,8883790

Changes in 1945

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.

BeforeAfter
LevelNameCharacterJapanese
Hepburn		Taiwanese
Pe̍h-ōe-jī		 NameCharacterMandarin
Pinyin		Taiwanese
Pe̍h-ōe-jī		Level
1 Prefecture州shūchiu County縣xiànkoān 1
廳chōthiaⁿ
2 City市shichhī Provincial city市shìchhī
County-administered city縣轄市xiànxiáshìkoān-hat-chhī 2
District郡gunkūn County-administered district縣轄區xiànxiáqūkoān-hat-khu
Subprefecture支廳shichōchi-thiaⁿ
3 Town街gaike Urban township鎭zhèntìn 3
Village庄jōchng Rural township鄕xiānghiong
Aboriginal areas蕃地banchihuan-tē Mountain indigenous township山地鄕shāndì xiāngsoaⁿ-tē hiong

See also

References
  1. Davidson (1903), map.
  2. 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."
  3. Takekoshi (1907), p. 199.

Bibliography
  • 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.
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