Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)

Template:Short description 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 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	Template:Large	Template:Large
Shū	Template:Large	Template:Large
Chō	Template:Large	Template:Large
Minseishibu	Template:Large	Template:Large

Early years (1895–1901)

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	lang}}	lang}}		Taihoku Ken	lang}}	たいほくけん		Taihoku Ken	lang}}	たいほくけん
	Taiwan Ken	lang}}	lang}}		Taiwan Minseishibu	lang}}	たいわんみんせいしぶ		Taichū Ken	lang}}	たいちゅうけん
	Tainan Ken	lang}}	たいなんけん		Tainan Minseishibu	lang}}	たいなんみんせいしぶ		Tainan Ken	lang}}	たいなんけん
	Hōkotō Chō	lang}}	ほうことうちょう		Hōkotō Chō	lang}}	ほうことうちょう		Hōkotō Chō	lang}}	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	lang}}	たいほくけん		Taihoku Ken	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいほくけん		Taihoku Ken	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいほくけん
	Shinchiku Ken	lang}}	しんちくけん
	Taichū Ken	lang}}	たいちゅうけん		Taichū Ken	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいちゅうけん		Taichū Ken	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいちゅうけん
	Kagi Ken	lang}}	かぎけん
	Tainan Ken	lang}}	たいなんけん		Tainan Ken	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいなんけん		Tainan Ken	lang}}	たいなんけん
	Hōzan Ken	lang}}	ほうざんけん						Kōshun Chō	lang}}	こうしゅんちょう
	Giran Chō	lang}}	ぎらんちょう		Giran Chō	lang}}	ぎらんちょう		Giran Chō	lang}}	ぎらんちょう
	Taitō Chō	lang}}	たいとうちょう		Taitō Chō	lang}}	たいとうちょう		Taitō Chō	lang}}	たいとうちょう
	Hōko Chō	lang}}	ほうこちょう		Hōko Chō	lang}}	ほうこちょう		Hōko Chō	lang}}	ほうこちょう
Div. No.	6 Ken, 3 Chō				3 Ken, 3 Chō				3 Ken, 4 Chō

Chō (1901–1920)

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

Structural hierarchy

Administrative divisions of Taiwan in 1901.Template:Sfnp 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} chō	Subprefecture {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} shichō	District {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ku	Town {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} gai
			Village {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} jō

Prefectures

Nov. 1901 – Oct. 1909				Oct. 1909 – Aug. 1920
Taihoku Chō	lang}}	たいほくちょう		Taihoku Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいほくちょう
Kīrun Chō	lang}}	きいるんちょう
Shinkō Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	しんこうちょう
				Giran Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	ぎらんちょう
Giran Chō	lang}}	ぎらんちょう
Tōshien Chō	lang}}	とうしえんちょう		Tōen Chō	lang}}	とうえんちょう
Shinchiku Chō	lang}}	しんちくちょう		Shinchiku Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	しんちくちょう
Byōritsu Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	びょうりつちょう
				Taichū Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいちゅうちょう
Taichū Chō	lang}}	たいちゅうちょう
Shōka Chō	lang}}	しょうかちょう
Nantō Chō	lang}}	なんとうちょう		Nantō Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	なんとうちょう
Toroku Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	とろくちょう
				Kagi Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	かぎちょう
Kagi Chō	lang}}	かぎちょう
Ensuikō Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	えんすいこうちょう
				Tainan Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいなんちょう
Tainan Chō	lang}}	たいなんちょう
Hōzan Chō	lang}}	ほうざんちょう
Banshoryō Chō	lang}}	ばんしょりょうちょう		Akō Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	あこうちょう
Akō Chō	lang}}	あこうちょう
Kōshun Chō	lang}}	こうしゅんちょう
Taitō Chō	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	たいとうちょう		Taitō Chō	lang}}	たいとうちょう
				Karenkō Chō	lang}}	かれんこうちょう
Hōko Chō	lang}}	ほうこちょう		Hōko Chō	lang}}	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

Population of Formosa according to census taken 31 December 1904, arranged by district.Template:Sfnp

Population of Formosa as of 1915

Prefecture	Kanji	Japanese	Taiwanese	Area (km²)	Population
Taihoku	lang}}	Taihoku-chō	Tâi-pak-thiaⁿ	1,691.5284	523,502
Giran	lang}}	Giran-chō	Gî-lân-thiaⁿ	710.8631	143,912
Tōen	lang}}	Tōen-chō	Thô-hn̂g-thiaⁿ	984.5170	231,409
Shinchiku	lang}}	Shinchiku-chō	Sin-tek-thiaⁿ	1,705.1696	327,164
Taichū	lang}}	Taichū-chō	Tâi-tiong-thiaⁿ	2,271.4004	592,577
Nantō	lang}}	Nantō-chō	Lâm-tâu-thiaⁿ	1,274.9484	126,223
Kagi	lang}}	Kagi-chō	Ka-gī-thiaⁿ	3,249.8356	566,158
Tainan	lang}}	Tainan-chō	Tâi-lâm-thiaⁿ	2,345.5133	569,292
Akō	lang}}	Akō-chō	A-kâu-thiaⁿ	2,201.6170	259,441
Taitō	lang}}	Taitō-chō	Tâi-tang-thiaⁿ	1,204.4906	36,997
Karenkō	lang}}	Karenkō-chō	Hoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ	1,315.7236	45,521
Hōko	lang}}	Hōko-chō	Phêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ	126.8648	57,726

Shū and Chō (1920–1952)

Political division of Taiwan

Second level political division of Taiwan Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend

Template:Sister project 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 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Prefecture {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} shū (5) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} chō (3)	City {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} shi (11)		lang}} chō	lang}} chōme
			{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ōaza	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} koaza
	District {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} gun (51) or Subprefecture {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} shichō (2)	Town {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} gai (68)
		Village {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} jō (197)
		Aboriginal area {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} banchi
			{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} sha (571)

• Chō ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and chōme ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) are used in the city centers.
• Sha ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is used to name the tribes of the indigenous peoples.

Prefectures

Name	Kanji	Kana	No. of Subdivisions			Wade–Giles
			City	Dist.	Subp.
Taihoku Prefecture	lang}}	たいほくしゅう	3	9		Taipei
Shinchiku Prefecture	lang}}	しんちくしゅう	1	8		Hsinchu
Taichū Prefecture	lang}}	たいちゅうしゅう	2	11		Taichung
Tainan Prefecture	lang}}	たいなんしゅう	2	10		Tainan
Takao Prefecture	lang}}	たかおしゅう	2	7		Kaohsiung
Karenkō Prefecture	lang}}	かれんこうちょう	1	3		Hualien Port
Taitō Prefecture	lang}}	たいとうちょう		3		Taitung
Hōko Prefecture	lang}}	ほうこちょう			2	Penghu

• 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).

Prefecture	Name	Kanji	Kana	Wade–Giles
Taihoku	Taihoku City	lang}}	たいほくし	Taipei
	Kiirun City	lang}}	きいるんし	Keelung
	Giran City	lang}}	ぎらんし	Yilan
Shinchiku	Shinchiku City	lang}}	しんちくし	Hsinchu
Taichū	Taichū City	lang}}	たいちゅうし	Taichung
	Shōka City	lang}}	しょうかし	Changhua
Tainan	Tainan City	lang}}	たいなんし	Tainan
	Kagi City	lang}}	かぎし	Chiayi
Takao	Takao City	lang}}	たかおし	Kaohsiung
	Heitō City	lang}}	へいとうし	Pingtung
Karenkō	Karenkō City	lang}}	かれんこうし	Hualien

Demographics

Template:See also 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	lang}}	Taihoku-shū	Tâi-pak-chiu	4,594.2371	1,266,924	276	1,078,316	161,306	1,161	26,138	53
Shinchiku	lang}}	Shinchiku-shū	Sin-tek-chiu	4,570.0146	856,382	187	832,565	21,632	165	2,020	0
Taichū	lang}}	Taichū-shū	Tâi-tiong-chiu	7,382.9426	1,411,846	191	1,359,865	47,688	284	4,001	8
Tainan	lang}}	Tainan-shū	Tâi-lâm-chiu	5,421.4627	1,587,513	293	1,524,123	55,389	289	7,699	13
Takao	lang}}	Takao-shū	Ko-hiông-chiu	5,721.8672	969,935	170	896,689	65,446	585	7,214	1
Karenkō	lang}}	Karenkō-chō	Hoa-liân-káng-thiaⁿ	4,628.5713	167,911	36	143,671	21,811	174	2,255	0
Taitō	lang}}	Taitō-chō	Tâi-tang-thiaⁿ	3,515.2528	97,059	28	88,317	7,687	31	1,023	1
Hōko	lang}}	Hōko-chō	Phêⁿ-ô͘-thiaⁿ	126.8642	70,312	554	66,342	3,888	3	79	0

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.

Before						After
Level	Name	Character	Japanese Hepburn	Taiwanese Pe̍h-ōe-jī		Name	Character	Mandarin Pinyin	Taiwanese Pe̍h-ōe-jī	Level
1	Prefecture	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	shū	chiu		County	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	xiàn	koān	1
		{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	chō	thiaⁿ
2	City	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	shi	chhī		Provincial city	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	shì	chhī
						County-administered city	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	xiànxiáshì	koān-hat-chhī	2
	District	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	gun	kūn		County-administered district	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	xiànxiáqū	koān-hat-khu
	Subprefecture	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	shichō	chi-thiaⁿ
3	Town	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	gai	ke		Urban township	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	zhèn	tìn	3
	Village	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	jō	chng		Rural township	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	xiāng	hiong
	Aboriginal areas	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	banchi	huan-tē		Mountain indigenous township	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	shāndì xiāng	soaⁿ-tē hiong

• Most of the cities in Taiwan became provincial cities, but Yilan (宜蘭市 Giran) and Hualien (花蓮市 Karen) became the first two county-administered cities in the ROC.
• The more basic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are merged to the districts in provincial cities, and/or reformed to villages ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).

See also

• Administrative divisions of Taiwan
• Administrative divisions of Japan
• Prefectures of Japan
• Governor-General of Taiwan

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book