is a Japanese term denoting an ancient division of the country. Kinai is a name for the ancient provinces around the capital Nara and Heian-kyō.[1] The five provinces were called go-kinai after 1760.[2]
The name is still used to describe part of the Kansai region, but the area of the Kinai corresponds only generally to the land of the old provinces.[1]
The region was established as one of the Gokishichidō ("Five provinces and seven roads") during the Asuka period (538-710). It consisted of Yamashiro, Yamato, Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi provinces.[2]