Tosa is asteroid #3150 and also known as 1983 CB. Tosa is a member of the Hirayama-family Alauda. Tosa’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 3.20 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.12, a period of revolution of 2 090 days, and an inclination of 22.1 degrees. Tosa was discovered by Seki Tsutomu (関 勉) at the Geisei Observatory, where Seki Tsutomu (関 勉) is the director.

Tosa is named after Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国), also called Doshū (土州). It was a province on the Japanese island Shikoku (四国), that is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. The territory of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) now is the prefecture of Kōchi (高知). Its administrative seat is named Kōchi (高知), too. The Kojiki (古事記) and the Nihonshoki (日本書紀) already mention Tosa (土佐). They additionally offer the alternative spellings Tosa (土左) and Tosa (都佐). So the spelling most likely is meant to be only phonetic. Tosa (土佐) was seen as a very remote area in antiquity, so was used for exiling or banishing people to there. A governor in the late 7th century reporting the loss of some transport ships is the first hint that Tosa (土佐) was treated as a province. Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) was ruled by different clans in the different periods of Japanese history. Ki-no-Tsurayuki (紀 貫之) was a governor of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) and lived there from 930 A.D. until 935 A.D. He is the suspected author of the Tosa-Nikki (土佐日記), which still influences works presented in the style of diaries. Ki-no-Tsurayuki (紀 貫之) probably mourned the loss of his daughter in Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) this way. 930 A.D. was the year, when Daigo-tennō (醍醐天皇), the 60. emperor of Japan, ended his reign and died, but not without appointing Fujiwara-no-Tadahira (藤原 忠平) as the sesshō (摂政) for the 61. emperor of Japan. A sesshō (摂政) is somebody, who rules instead of and in behalf of the emperor of Japan, when this emperor isn’t an adult. This was the case with Suzaku-tennō (朱雀天皇), who was only seven years of age when he ascended the throne in 930 A.D. He was the third son of Daigo-tennō (醍醐天皇) and the 61st emperor of Japan. So maybe Ki-no-Tsurayuki (紀 貫之) went to Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) because of a time of political uncertainty or for the sake of avoiding contact with Fujiwara-no-Tadahira (藤原 忠平). The clans, who reigned Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) later, used not to reside in Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). These were first the Hosokawa (細川), a sideline of the Ashikaga (足利), and then the Ichijō (一条), a sideline of the Fujiwara (藤原) and ally of the Ashikaga (足利), during the Muromachi (室町) Period or Ashikaga (足利) Shogunate. The Hosokawa (細川) refused to go to Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) and instead appointed the family Oohira (大平) to be in charge of the affairs in Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). The Oohira (大平) also stayed in the capital and refused to go to Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). The Ichijō (一条) then sent a sideline of the family to Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). This sideline became known as the Tosa-Ichijō (土佐一条). It reigned Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) until the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period came the clans Motoyama (本山), Aki (安芸), Kira (吉良), Tsuno (津野), Chōsokabe (長宗我部), Kōsokabe (香宗我部), and Oohira (大平) in power in the center and the east of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国), while the Tosa-Ichijō (土佐一条) maintained their power in the west of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). The clans in the east fought each other, so the Chōsokabe (長宗我部) preferred an alliance with the Tosa-Ichijō (土佐一条), while the Motoyama (本山) defeated all other clans. The alliance allowed the Chōsokabe (長宗我部) not only to defeat the Motoyama (本山), but also to unite all of Shikoku (四国) and finally also to defeat the Tosa-Ichijō (土佐一条) with these new resources. But the famous warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉), known as “Great Unifier” of Japan, disliked the rise to power of the Chōsokabe (長宗我部), so conquered Shikoku (四国) and limited the territory of the Chōsokabe (長宗我部) to Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) in 1585. None of the warlords of the Warring States Period wanted to see the Ashikaga (足利) and their allies back in power, so didn’t give them their territories back. But the Warring States Period ended with the establishment of the Tokugawa (徳川) Shogunate. So the Yama-no-Uchi (山内), who fought as allies of the Tokugawa (徳川), got Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) as their fiefdom in 1600 A.D. It got renamed to Tosa-han (土佐藩) or Tosa Domain in 1601 because the fiefdoms were named domains under the Tokugawa (徳川). The Yama-no-Uchi (山内) became an ally of the Tokugawa (徳川) only after the Battle of Sekigahara or Sekigahara-no-Tatakai (関ヶ原の戦い). Feudal lords, who became allies of the Tokugawa (徳川) after this important battle, are called Tozama-Daimyō (外様大名). This doesn’t have anything to do with Tosa (土佐) in particular. The Yama-no-Uchi (山内), later pronounced Yama’uchi (山内), became a rich and powerful clan because the Tosa-han (土佐藩) was huge, albeit known as rather poor. Tosa-han (土佐藩) again got renamed in 1868, when the the Meiji (明治) Era began. Tosa-han (土佐藩) from then on was Kōchi-han (高知藩) or the Kōchi (高知) Domain. A domain was in Japan a fiefdom given by the shōgun (将軍) to a feudal lord. The most important part of the Meiji (明治) reforms was that all feudal lords handed over their authority over land or people to the Emperor of Japan. The feudal lords became government officials and the domains were turned into prefectures under the Emperor’s jurisdiction. So Kōchi-han (高知藩) became Kōchi-ken (高知県) or the Kōchi (高知) Prefecture in 1871. Kōchi-han (高知藩) played an important role in the Meiji (明治) Restoration because Yama’uchi Yōdō (山内 容堂) was the first retainer, who suggested in a letter to the shōgun (将軍) that the shōgun (将軍) should abdicate and restore the power of the emperor this way.

Tosa (土佐) could be translated as “earth-rescue”. If this sounds stupid, then because the alternative spellings in antiquity already have proven that the spelling is meant as a merely phonetic spelling. So the true meaning of Tosa is unknown. An astrological meaning of the asteroid Tosa can only be derived from the history of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). Its territory seems to have never changed. The reign over Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) was given to different clans during the course of history. Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国) saw some battles during the Warring States Period. This seems to be the complete history of Tosa-no-Kuni (土佐国). You could say that Tosa (土佐) ceased to exist because it became Kōchi (高知). Because this name was given rather late in history, so the meaning “high knowledge” certainly got considered. Maybe as a reward for the early support of the Meiji (明治) Restoration. Hence I suggest that Tosa represents praise by superiors.