Editing Saga Prefecture (section)

===Feudal period===
[[File:Sagajyou shachinomon.jpg|thumb|[[Saga Castle]] (Shachi gate)]]
[[File:Romon gate and Honden of Yutoku Inari Shrine.jpg|thumb|[[Yūtoku Inari Shrine]]]]
[[File:La Montgorlfier Nocturne.JPG|thumb|[[Saga International Balloon Fiesta]]]]
[[File:Nijinomatsubara.jpg|thumb|[[Nijinomatsubara]]]]
From the [[Kamakura period]] to the [[Muromachi period]], it is thought that over 100 feudal clans existed. Also exerting great influence during this time was a samurai clan operating along the [[Genkai Sea]] called the Matsuratō. Upon entering the [[Sengoku period]], the [[Ryūzōji clan]] expanded their control to include all of Hizen and [[Chikugo Province]]s, and part of [[Higo Province|Higo]] and [[Chikuzen Province]]s. After the death of ''[[daimyō]]'' [[Ryūzōji Takanobu]], [[Nabeshima Naoshige]] took control of the political situation, and by 1607 all of the Ryūzōji clan's domain was under the control of the [[Nabeshima clan]].

In the [[Edo period]] this area was called the [[Saga Domain]] (佐賀藩 ''Saga-han''), and it included three sub-domains: the Hasunoike, Ogi and Kashima Domains. Also within the current borders of Saga Prefecture during this time were the [[Karatsu Domain]] (唐津藩 ''Karatsu-han'') and two territories of the [[Tsushima-Fuchū Domain]] (対馬府中藩 ''Tsushimafuchū-han''). Saga Domain and its sub-domains continued to be ruled by the Nabeshima clan, its various illegitimate family lineages and members of the former Ryūzōji clan, and politically the area was relatively stable. The cost of defending [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] was increasing and, difficult from the start, the financial situation was worsened by the great [[Kyōhō]] famine and the [[Siebold typhoon|Siebold Typhoon]] of 1828. Due to the large area of reclaimed land from the [[Ariake Sea]], arable land was increased significantly and by the 1840s the annual [[koku]] of Saga Domain increased to about 670,000, twice that of 200 years before.

Around the middle of the 19th century, [[Naomasa Nabeshima]] strove to set right the domain's financial affairs, reduce the number of government officials, and encourage local industry such as [[Arita porcelain]], [[green tea]], and coal. Also, thanks to the proximity of the international port of Nagasaki, new technologies were introduced from overseas, such as the [[reverberatory furnace]] and models of [[steam locomotive]]s.

After the [[Boshin War]], many people from Saga Domain assisted in the [[Meiji Restoration]]. In the [[Meiji era]] the modernization of coal mines in [[Kishima District, Saga|Kishima]] and [[Higashimatsuura District, Saga|Higashimatsuura districts]], among others, progressed bolstered by the construction of railroads.