was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 "Wa". At first, the name was written with one different character (), but due to its offensive connotation, for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters () (see Names of Japan). The final revision was made in the second year of the Tenpyō-hōji era (c. 758). It is classified as a great province in the Engishiki. The Yamato Period in the history of Japan refers to the late Kofun Period (c. 250–538) and Asuka Period (538–710). Japanese archaeologists and historians emphasize the fact that during the early Kofun Period the Yamato Kingship was in close contention with other regional powers, such as Kibi Province near present-day Okayama Prefecture. Around the 6th century, the local chieftainship gained national control and established the Imperial court in Yamato Province. The battleship , the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet during World War II, was named after this ancient province. Capital During the Kofun period (300 to 538) and the Asuka period, many palace capitals were located in Kashihara, Asuka, and Sakurai. Yamato was the first central government of the unified country in the Kofun period. Heijō-kyō capital was placed in Nara City during the Nara period. In the 14th century, the capital of the Southern Court was established in Yoshino and Anou. Temples The provincial temple for monks is popularly thought to have been Tōdai-ji, but it may have in fact been a different one in Kashihara. The one for nuns was Hokke-ji. The primary shrine was Sakurai's Ōmiwa Shrine, but there have been no records stating as such found at the shrine itself. There were no secondary shrines. The sōja (or principal Shinto shrine in the province) was Kokufu Shrine (Takatori, Takaichi, Nara). Kami of Yamato Minamoto no Shigetoki Minamoto no Suetō Utsunomiya Nobufusa Oda Hidanaga Oda Toshisada Oda Tatsusada Oda Tatsukatsu Mitsuki Naoyori Honjō Fusanaga Tōyama Kagetō Jushii-ge Nakai Masakiyo Jushii-ge Matsudaira Tomonori Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naotsune Jugoi-ge Kanō Hisachika Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naonobu Jushii-ge Matsudaira Tsunenori Jushii-ge Matsudaira Naoyoshi Districts Domains Yagyū Domain Kōriyama Domain Koizumi Domain Yanagimoto Domain Kaijū Domain / Shibamura Domain Kujira Domain Uda-Matsuyama Domain Takatori Domain Okidome Domain Tatsuta Domain Tawaramoto Domain Kishida Domain Yamato-Shinjō Domain Gose Domain Yamato-Gojō Domain See also Yamataikoku