Editing Fukushima (city) (section)

===19th century===
On November 17, 1868, {{Nihongo|Itakura Katsumi|板倉勝己}}, the head of the Fukushima Domain, surrendered to the [[Satchō Alliance]] and handed over control of Fukushima Castle to {{nihongo|[[Watanabe Kiyoshi]]|渡辺清}}. The Fukushima Domain was abolished the following year. In line with the [[Abolition of the han system|abolition of domains and introduction of the prefecture system]], the first iteration of Fukushima Prefecture came into being on August 29, 1871. The prefecture at the time consisted of the Shinobu, Date, and [[Adachi District, Fukushima|Adachi]] districts.

With permission from the [[Ministry of the Treasury]], on September 10, 1871, the village of {{Nihongo|Fukushima|福島村|Fukushima-mura}} changed its name to the town of {{Nihongo|'''Fukushima'''|福島町|Fukushima-machi}}. Fukushima Prefecture was absorbed into Nihonmatsu Prefecture on November 2, making Nihonmatsu Prefecture consist of approximately the entirety of the Nakadōri area. On November 14, Nihonmatsu Prefecture's name was changed to Fukushima Prefecture. Fukushima City was named the prefecture's capital.

Nearly five years later, on August 21, 1876, Fukushima Prefecture merged with {{Nihongo|[[Iwasaki Prefecture]]|磐前県}} (consisting of the coastal [[Hamadōri]] area) and {{Nihongo|[[Wakamatsu Prefecture]]|若松県}} (consisting of Aizu in the west), thus creating present-day Fukushima Prefecture. Fukushima continued to serve as the prefecture's capital. In 1879, the Shinobu district's government offices were moved to Fukushima.

On November 3, 1881, {{Nihongo|National Route 13|國道13號|Kokudō Jūsan-gō}}, which generally followed a portion of the old [[Ushū Kaidō]], was opened and linked Fukushima to [[Yonezawa, Yamagata|Yonezawa]], approximately 45&nbsp;km to the northwest. On December 15, 1887, the section of the [[Tōhoku Main Line]] running through Fukushima, connecting [[Kōriyama Station (Fukushima)|Kōriyama Station]] in the south to [[Iwakiri Station]] in the north, was opened. In Fukushima, this saw the opening of [[Fukushima Station (Fukushima)|Fukushima Station]] and [[Matsukawa Station]].

In 1888, there was a large-scale merger of municipalities. In the Date district, the village of {{Nihongo|Yuno|湯野村}} absorbed the village of {{Nihongo|Higashiyuno|東湯野村}}, the villages of {{Nihongo|Kamioguni|上小国村}} and {{Nihongo|Shimooguni|下小国村}} merged to form the village of {{Nihongo|Oguni|小国村}}, the villages of {{Nihongo|Tatsukoyama|立小山}} and {{Nihongo|Aoki|青木村}} merged to form the village of {{Nihongo|Tatsuki|立木村}}. In the Adachi district, the village of {{Nihongo|Shimokawasaki|下川崎村}} absorbed the village of {{Nihongo|Numabukuro|沼袋村}}. In the Shinobu district, the village of {{Nihongo|Kamiiizaka|上飯坂村}} became the town of {{Nihongo|Iizaka|飯坂町}}. The Shinobu district reduced one [[Towns of Japan|town]] and 70 [[Villages of Japan|villages]] down to two towns and 26 villages.

1890 saw the opening of the {{Nihongo|Tri-District Joint Association Hospital|三郡共立組合病院}}, which was the predecessor of [[Fukushima Medical University]]. On March 19, 1893, Mt. Azuma's Mt. Issaikyō peak erupted, and on May 15, 1899, Fukushima was linked to Yonezawa by rail via the opening of the {{Nihongo|Ōu South Line|奥羽南線}}, part of the present-day [[Ōu Main Line]]. The opening of [[Niwasaka Station]] corresponded with the opening of the line. Also in 1899, a  [[Bank of Japan]] branch was established in Fukushima, the bank's first branch in the Tōhoku region.