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69-449: Yahata ( 八幡市 , Yahata-shi ) was a city in Japan until it was absorbed into the newly created city of Kitakyushu in 1963. Its former area is as of 2007 part of two distinct wards : Yahata Higashi-ku and Yahata Nishi-ku . This Fukuoka Prefecture location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cities of Japan A city ( 市 , shi )

138-895: A conducive environment for emigration and settlement. However, the Japanese did not have expertise in modern agricultural techniques, and only possessed primitive mining and lumbering methods. Kuroda Kiyotaka was put in charge of the project, and turned to the United States for help. His first step was to journey to the United States and recruit Horace Capron , President Ulysses S. Grant's commissioner of agriculture. From 1871 to 1873 Capron bent his efforts to expounding Western agriculture and mining, with mixed results. Frustrated with obstacles to his efforts, Capron returned home in 1875. In 1876, William S. Clark arrived to found an agricultural college in Sapporo . Although he only remained

207-516: A large number of ships in ports along Hokkaidō's southern coastline as well as in northern Honshu. In addition, on 15 July a force of three battleships and two light cruisers bombarded the city of Muroran . Before the Japanese surrender was formalized, the Soviet Union made preparations for an invasion of Hokkaidō , but U.S. President Harry Truman made it clear that the surrender of all of

276-519: A modern ethnolinguistic point of view, the Ainu people have extended their domain to a large part of Sakhalin and the entire Kuril Islands. Another phrase, yaunmosir (ヤウンモシㇼ) has gained prominence. It literally means the "onshore land", as opposed to the "offshore land" ( repunmosir ), which, depending on context, can refer to the Kuril Islands, Honshu, or any foreign country. If the speaker

345-457: A municipality to be designated as a city: The designation is approved by the prefectural governor and the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications . A city can theoretically be demoted to a town or village when it fails to meet any of these conditions, but such a demotion has not happened to date. The least populous city, Utashinai, Hokkaido , has a population of three thousand, while

414-461: A non-Japanese identity. In fact, many of the feudal strongmen were descended from Emishi military leaders who had been assimilated into Japanese society. The Matsumae clan were of Yamato descent like other ethnic Japanese people , whereas the Emishi of northern Honshu were a distinctive group related to the Ainu. The Emishi were conquered and integrated into the Japanese state dating back as far as

483-475: A settlement at the south of the Oshima Peninsula , with a series of fortified residences such as that of Shinoridate . As more people moved to the settlement to avoid battles, disputes arose between the Japanese and the Ainu. The disputes eventually developed into war. Takeda Nobuhiro (1431 – 1494) killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, and defeated the opposition in 1457. Nobuhiro's descendants became

552-541: A town in the same prefecture, Otofuke, Hokkaido , has over forty thousand. Under the Act on Special Provisions concerning Merger of Municipalities ( 市町村の合併の特例等に関する法律 , Act No. 59 of 2004) , the standard of 50,000 inhabitants for the city status has been eased to 30,000 if such population is gained as a result of a merger of towns and/or villages , in order to facilitate such mergers to reduce administrative costs. Many municipalities gained city status under this eased standard. On

621-454: A year, Clark left a lasting impression on Hokkaidō, inspiring the Japanese with his teachings on agriculture as well as Christianity. His parting words, "Boys, be ambitious!" , can be found on public buildings in Hokkaidō to this day. The population of Hokkaidō increased from 58,000 to 240,000 during that decade. Kuroda hired Capron for $ 10,000 per year and paid for all expenses related to

690-434: Is seismically active. Aside from numerous earthquakes , the following volcanoes are considered still active (at least one eruption since 1850): In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 generated a tsunami which devastated Okushiri , killing 202 inhabitants. An earthquake of magnitude 8.3 struck near the island on September 26, 2003. On September 6, 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck with its epicenter near

759-674: Is 83,423.84 km (32,210.12 sq mi) which make it the second-largest island of Japan. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu ( Aomori Prefecture ); La Pérouse Strait separates Hokkaidō from the island of Sakhalin in Russia; Nemuro Strait separates Hokkaidō from Kunashir Island in the Russian Kuril Islands . The governmental jurisdiction of Hokkaidō incorporates several smaller islands, including Rishiri , Okushiri Island , and Rebun . (By Japanese reckoning, Hokkaidō also incorporates several of

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828-543: Is a local administrative unit in Japan . Cities are ranked on the same level as towns ( 町 , machi ) and villages ( 村 , mura ) , with the difference that they are not a component of districts ( 郡 , gun ) . Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947. Article 8 of the Local Autonomy Law sets the following conditions for

897-578: Is a resident of Hokkaido, yaunmosir can refer to Hokkaido. Yet another phrase, akor mosir (アコㇿモシㇼ) means " our (inclusive) land". If uttered among Hokkaido Ainus, it can refer to Hokkaido or Japan as a whole. During the Jomon period the local culture and the associated hunter-gatherer lifestyle flourished in Hokkaidō, beginning over 15,000 years ago. In contrast to the island of Honshu, Hokkaidō saw an absence of conflict during this time period. Jomon beliefs in natural spirits are theorized to be

966-433: Is almost 11 times bigger than the national average of 2.4 hectares. Tourism is an important industry, especially during the cool summertime when visitors are attracted to Hokkaidō's open spaces from hotter and more humid parts of Japan and other Asian countries. During the winter, skiing and other winter sports bring other tourists, and increasingly international ones, to the island. Coal mining played an important role in

1035-653: Is divided into 179 municipalities. There are 35 cities in Hokkaidō: These are the towns and villages in Hokkaido Prefecture: As Japan's coldest region, Hokkaidō has relatively cool summers and icy/snowy winters. Most of the island falls in the humid continental climate zone with Köppen climate classification Dfb ( hemiboreal ) in most areas but Dfa (hot summer humid continental) in some inland lowlands. The average August temperature ranges from 17 to 22 °C (62.6 to 71.6 °F), while

1104-461: Is its capital, Sapporo , which is also its only ordinance-designated city . Sakhalin lies about 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the north of Hokkaidō, and to the east and northeast are the Kuril Islands , which are administered by Russia , though the four most southerly are claimed by Japan . The position of the island on the northern end of the archipelago results in a colder climate, with

1173-599: Is normally not affected by the June–July rainy season and the relative lack of humidity and typically warm, rather than hot, summer weather makes its climate an attraction for tourists from other parts of Japan. Hokkaidō's largest city is the capital, Sapporo , which is a designated city. The island has two core cities: Hakodate in the south and Asahikawa in the central region. Other important population centers include Tomakomai , Iwamizawa , Kushiro , Obihiro , Kitami , Abashiri , Wakkanai , and Nemuro . Although there

1242-416: Is some light industry (most notably paper milling and beer brewing) most of the population is employed by the service sector. In 2001, the service sector and other tertiary industries generated more than three-quarters of the gross domestic product. Agriculture and other primary industries play a large role in Hokkaidō's economy. Hokkaidō has nearly one fourth of Japan's total arable land. It ranks first in

1311-496: Is the only one of the eight to have such offices covering the whole of its territory outside the main cities (rather than having them just for outlying islands or remote areas). This is mostly because of its great size; many parts of the prefecture are simply too far away to be effectively administered by Sapporo. Subprefectural offices in Hokkaidō carry out many of the duties that prefectural offices fulfill elsewhere in Japan. Hokkaidō

1380-515: The Ainu language as critically endangered. Given the Meiji state's full political control over the island, the subsequent subjugation of its indigenous inhabitants, aggressive economic exploitation, and ambitious permanent settlement endeavors, Hokkaido emerged as the sole successful settler colony of Japan. After the Meiji colonization of Hokkaido, Meiji Japan depended on prison labour to accelerate

1449-582: The Japanese home islands would be accepted by General Douglas MacArthur per the 1943 Cairo Declaration . Hokkaidō became equal with other prefectures in 1947, when the revised Local Autonomy Act became effective. The Japanese central government established the Hokkaidō Development Agency ( 北海道開発庁 , Hokkaidō Kaihatsuchō ) as an agency of the Prime Minister 's Office in 1949 to maintain its executive power in Hokkaidō. The agency

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1518-406: The Kuril Islands .) Hokkaidō Prefecture is the largest and northernmost Japanese prefecture . The island ranks 21st in the world by area . Hokkaidō has the third-largest population of Japan's five main islands, with 5,111,691 people as of 2023 . It has the lowest population density in Japan, with just 61 inhabitants per square kilometre (160/sq mi). Hokkaidō ranks 21st in population among

1587-678: The Laxman expedition  [ ru ] of 1793 and the Golovnin Incident of 1804. Once the respective Russian threats appeared to subside, the assimilation programs were halted until 1855. However, in 1855, once the Treaty of Shimoda was signed, which defined the borders between Russian Empire and Tokugawa Japan, the Tokugawa again viewed Russia as a threat to Japanese sovereignty over Hokkaido and reinstated assimilation programs on

1656-601: The Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate realized the need to prepare northern defenses against a possible Russian invasion and took over control of most of Ezochi in 1855-1858. Many Japanese settlers regarded the Ainu as "inhuman and the inferior descendants of dogs". The Tokugawa irregularly imposed various assimilation programs on the Ainu due to the Tokugawa's perception of a threat from Russia. For example, assimilation programs were implemented in response to perceived threats from Russia, which included

1725-648: The Mishihase and Emishi . One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima ( 渡島 ) , which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaidō. However, many theories exist concerning the details of this event, including the location of Watarishima and the common belief that the Emishi in Watarishima were the ancestors of the present-day Ainu people . During the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185), people in Hokkaidō conducted trade with Dewa Province , an outpost of

1794-807: The Sea of Japan (to the west of the island), the Sea of Okhotsk (to the north), and the Pacific Ocean (to the east). The center of the island is mountainous, with volcanic plateaux . Hokkaidō has multiple plains such as the Ishikari Plain 3,800 km (1,500 sq mi), Tokachi Plain 3,600 km (1,400 sq mi), the Kushiro Plain  [ ja ] 2,510 km (970 sq mi) (the largest wetland in Japan) and Sarobetsu Plain 200 km (77 sq mi). Hokkaidō

1863-409: The Sea of Okhotsk is often complicated by large floes of drift ice . Combined with high winds that occur during winter, this frequently brings air travel and maritime activity to a halt beyond the northern coast of Hokkaidō. Ports on the open Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan are generally ice-free year round, though most rivers freeze during the winter. Unlike the other major islands of Japan, Hokkaidō

1932-555: The University of Florida , prior to 1868 Japan used proximity as its claim to Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands ; however, Japan had never thoroughly explored, governed, or exploited the areas, and this claim was invalidated by the movement of Russia into the Northeast Pacific area and by Russian settlements on Kamchatka (from 1699), Sakhalin (1850s) and the Sea of Okhotsk Coast (1640s onwards). Prior to

2001-451: The "city code" ( shisei , 市制) of 1888 during the "Great Meiji mergers" ( Meiji no daigappei , 明治の大合併) of 1889. The -shi replaced the previous urban districts /"wards/cities" (-ku) that had existed as primary subdivisions of prefectures besides rural districts (-gun) since 1878. Initially, there were 39 cities in 1889: only one in most prefectures, two in a few (Yamagata, Toyama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Fukuoka), and none in some – Miyazaki became

2070-685: The "replacement" theory that posits the Jōmon was replaced by the Yayoi. There were numerous revolts by the Ainu against feudal rule. The last large-scale resistance was Shakushain's revolt in 1669–1672. In 1789, a smaller movement known as the Menashi–Kunashir rebellion was crushed. After that rebellion, the terms "Japanese" and "Ainu" referred to clearly distinguished groups, and the Matsumae were unequivocally Japanese. According to John A. Harrison of

2139-500: The 8th century and as result began to lose their distinctive culture and ethnicity as they became minorities. By the time the Matsumae clan ruled over the Ainu, most of the Emishi were ethnically mixed and physically closer to Japanese than they were to Ainu. From this, the "transformation" theory postulates that native Jōmon peoples changed gradually with the infusion of Yayoi immigrants into the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, in contrast to

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2208-525: The Ainu people by forcing them to leave their traditional lands and relocating them to the rugged, mountainous regions in the center of the island. The act prohibited the Ainu from fishing and hunting, which were their main source of subsistence. The Ainu were valued primarily as a source of inexpensive manual labor, and discriminatory assimilation policies further entrenched their sense of inferiority as well as worsened poverty and disease within Ainu communities. These policies exacerbated diasporic trends among

2277-603: The Ainu population, as many sought employment with the government or private enterprises, often earning meager wages that barely sustained their families. The Meiji government embarked on assimilation campaigns aimed not only at assimilating the Ainu but also eradicating their language and culture entirely. They were forced to take on Japanese names and language, and gradually saw their culture and traditions eroded. The Ainu were forbidden to speak their own language and taught only Japanese at school. Facing pervasive stigma, many Ainu concealed their heritage. UNESCO has recognized

2346-619: The Ainu. Prior to the Meiji era, the island was called Ezochi, which can be translated as "land of the barbarians" or "the land for people who did not obey the government." Shortly after the Boshin War in 1868, a group of Tokugawa loyalists led by Enomoto Takeaki temporarily occupied the island (the polity is commonly but mistakenly known as the Republic of Ezo ), but the rebellion was defeated in May 1869. Through colonial practices, Ezochi

2415-613: The Development Commission was to secure Hokkaidō before the Russians extended their control of the Far East beyond Vladivostok . The Japanese failed to settle in the interior lowlands of the island because of aboriginal resistance. The resistance was eventually destroyed, and the lowlands were under the control of the commission. The most important goal of the Japanese was to increase the farm population and to create

2484-515: The Japanese central government. From the feudal period , the people in Hokkaidō began to be called Ezo . Hokkaidō subsequently became known as Ezochi ( 蝦夷地 , lit. "Ezo-land") or Ezogashima ( 蝦夷ヶ島 , lit. "Island of the Ezo") . The Ezo mainly relied upon hunting and fishing and obtained rice and iron through trade with the Japanese. During the Muromachi period (1336–1573), the Japanese established

2553-422: The Japanese was organized and supported through collaboration between the Japanese state and American experts and technology. From the 1870s to the 1880s, Japanese leaders placed their efforts on settling Hokkaido by systematically migrating former samurai lords, samurai retainers, and common citizens, which included farmers and peasants, providing them with "free" land and financial assistance. This transformation

2622-596: The Pacific side. The generally high quality of powder snow and numerous mountains in Hokkaidō make it a popular region for snow sports. The snowfall usually commences in earnest in November and ski resorts (such as those at Niseko, Furano, Teine and Rusutsu) usually operate between December and April. Hokkaidō celebrates its winter weather at the Sapporo Snow Festival . During the winter, passage through

2691-486: The United States. This included declaring large portions of Hokkaido as ownerless land, providing a pretext for the dispossession of the Ainu people. Japan established the Hokkaido Colonization Board in 1869, a year after the start of the Meiji era, with the goal of encouraging Japanese settlers to Hokkaido. Mainland Japanese settlers began migrating to Hokkaido, leading to Japan's colonization of

2760-498: The average January temperature ranges from −12 to −4 °C (10.4 to 24.8 °F), in both cases depending on elevation and distance from the ocean, though temperatures on the western side of the island tend to be a little warmer than on the eastern. The highest temperature ever recorded is 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 26 May 2019. The northern portion of Hokkaidō falls into the taiga biome with significant snowfall. Snowfall varies widely from as much as 11 metres (400 in) on

2829-523: The city of Tomakomai , causing a blackout across the whole island. On May 16, 2021, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck off Japan's Hokkaidō prefecture. * designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2005-07-14. As of April 2010 , Hokkaidō has nine General Subprefectural Bureaus (総合振興局) and five Subprefectural Bureaus (振興局). Hokkaidō is one of eight prefectures in Japan that have subprefectures (支庁 shichō ). However, it

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2898-922: The colonization process. The Japanese built three prisons and rendered Hokkaido a prison island, where political prisoners were incarcerated and used as prison labour. During the opening ceremony of the first prison, the Ainu name “Shibetsuputo” was replaced with the Japanese name “Tsukigata,” as an attempt to “Japanize” Hokkaido's geography. The second prison opened near the Hokutan Horonai coal mine , where Ainu people were forced to work. Cheap prison labour played an important role in coal and sulphur mining, as well as road construction in Hokkaido. Eventually, several types of indentured labour, Korean labour, child labour and women labour replaced convict labour in Hokkaido. Working conditions were difficult and dangerous. Japan's transition to capitalism depended heavily on

2967-508: The expansion of the Japanese feudal state. Medieval military leaders in northern Honshu (ex. Northern Fujiwara , Akita clan ) maintained only tenuous political and cultural ties to the imperial court and its proxies, the Kamakura shogunate and Ashikaga shogunate . Feudal strongmen sometimes defined their own roles within the medieval institutional order, taking shogunate titles, while in other times they assumed titles that seemed to give them

3036-555: The growth of the coal mining sector in Hokkaidō. The importance of coal from Hokkaidō increased throughout the First World War, and the mines required a large amount of labourers. In mid-July 1945, various shipping ports, cities, and military facilities in Hokkaidō were attacked by the United States Navy 's Task Force 38 . On 14–15 July, aircraft operating from the task force's aircraft carriers sank and damaged

3105-543: The industrial development of Hokkaidō, with the Ishikari coalfield . Cities such as Muroran were primarily developed to supply the rest of the archipelago with coal. In 2023, Rapidus Corporation announced Hokkaido's largest business investment with a 5 trillion yen plan to build a semiconductor manufacturing factory in Chitose . The site is expected to eventually host over 1,000 employees. Hokkaido's only land link to

3174-416: The island seeing significant snowfall each winter. Despite the harsher climate, it serves as an agricultural breadbasket for many crops. Hokkaido was formerly known as Ezo , Yezo , Yeso , or Yesso . Although Japanese settlers ruled the southern tip of the island since the 16th century, Hokkaido was primarily inhabited by the Ainu people . In 1869, following the Meiji Restoration , the entire island

3243-531: The island. Motivated by capitalist and industrial goals, the Meiji government forcefully appropriated fertile land and mineral-rich regions throughout Hokkaido, without consideration for their historical Ainu inhabitancy. The Meiji government implemented land seizures and enacted land ownership laws that favored Japanese settlers, effectively stripping Ainu people of their customary land rights and traditional means of subsistence. The 1899 Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act further marginalized and impoverished

3312-551: The island. There are more brown bears in Hokkaidō than anywhere else in Asia besides Russia. The Hokkaidō brown bear is separated into three distinct lineages. There are only eight lineages in the world. Those on Honshu died out long ago. The native conifer species in northern Hokkaidō is the Sakhalin fir ( Abies sachalinensis ). The flowering plant Hydrangea hirta is also found on the island. Like many areas of Japan, Hokkaidō

3381-481: The large geographical entity. The phrase aynumosir ( アイヌモシㇼ ) has been a preferred choice among Japanese activists. Its primary meaning is the "land of humans", as opposed to the "land of gods" ( kamuymosir ). When contrasted with sisammosir (the land of the neighbors, often pointing to Honshu or Japanese settlements on the southern tip of Hokkaido), it means the land of the Ainu people, which, depending on context, can refer to Hokkaido, although from

3450-546: The last prefecture to contain its first city in 1924. In Okinawa -ken and Hokkai-dō which were not yet fully equal prefectures in the Empire, major urban settlements remained organized as urban districts until the 1920s: Naha-ku and Shuri-ku, the two urban districts of Okinawa were only turned into Naha -shi and Shuri-shi in May 1921, and six -ku of Hokkaidō were converted into district-independent cities in August 1922. By 1945,

3519-807: The mission. Kuroda and his government were likely intrigued by Capron's previous colonial experience, particularly his involvement in the forced removal of Native Americans from Texas to new territories after the Mexican–American War . Capron introduced capital-intensive farming techniques by adopting American methods and tools, importing seeds for Western crops, and bringing in European livestock breeds, which included his favorite North Devon cattle . He founded experimental farms in Hokkaido, conducted surveys to assess mineral deposits and agricultural potential, and advocated for improvements in water access, mills, and roads. The settler colonization of Hokkaido by

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3588-502: The mountains adjacent to the Sea of Japan down to around 1.8 metres (71 in) on the Pacific coast. The island tends to have isolated snowstorms that develop long-lasting snowbanks. Total precipitation varies from 1,600 millimetres (63 in) on the mountains of the Sea of Japan coast to around 800 millimetres (31 in) (the lowest in Japan) on the Sea of Okhotsk coast and interior lowlands and up to around 1,100 millimetres (43 in) on

3657-402: The name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six proposals, including names such as Kaihokudō ( 海北道 ) and Hokkaidō ( 北加伊道 ) , to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as 北海道 , as a compromise between 海北道 and 北加伊道 because of the similarity with names such as Tōkaidō ( 東海道 ) . According to Matsuura, the name

3726-404: The nation in the production of a host of agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans, potatoes, sugar beets, onions, pumpkins, corn, raw milk, and beef. Hokkaidō also accounts for 22% of Japan's forests with a sizable timber industry. The prefecture is first in the nation in production of marine products and aquaculture. The average farm size in Hokkaidō is 26 hectares per farmer in 2013, which

3795-463: The number of cities countrywide had increased to 205. After WWII , their number almost doubled during the "great Shōwa mergers" of the 1950s and continued to grow so that it surpassed the number of towns in the early 21st century (see the List of mergers and dissolutions of municipalities in Japan ). As of October 1 2018, there are 792 cities of Japan. Hokkaid%C5%8D The largest city on Hokkaido

3864-444: The origins of Ainu spirituality. About 2,000 years ago, the island was colonized by Yayoi people, and much of the island's population shifted away from hunting and gathering towards agriculture. The Nihon Shoki , finished in 720 AD, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaidō in recorded history . According to the text, Abe no Hirafu led a large navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with

3933-448: The other hand, the municipalities recently gained the city status purely as a result of increase of population without expansion of area are limited to those listed in List of former towns or villages gained city status alone in Japan . The Cabinet of Japan can designate cities of at least 200,000 inhabitants to have the status of core city , or designated city . These statuses expand the scope of administrative authority delegated from

4002-547: The prefectural government to the city government. Tokyo , Japan's capital, existed as a city until 1943, but is now legally classified as a special type of prefecture called a metropolis ( 都 , to ) . The 23 special wards of Tokyo , which constitute the core of the Tokyo metropolitan area, each have an administrative status analogous to that of cities. Tokyo also has several other incorporated cities, towns and villages within its jurisdiction. Cities were introduced under

4071-584: The provinces of Oshima , Shiribeshi , Iburi , Ishikari , Teshio , Kitami , Hidaka , Tokachi , Kushiro , Nemuro and Chishima . The initiative to colonize Ezo, which later became Hokkaido, traces back to 1869, where Japanese proponents argued that the colonization of Ezo would serve as a strategic move to enhance Japan's standing and influence on the global stage, particularly in negotiations with Western powers, specifically Russia. The Meiji government invested heavily in colonizing Hokkaido for several reasons. Firstly, they aimed to assert their control over

4140-412: The region as a buffer against potential Russian advances. Secondly, they were attracted to Hokkaido's rich natural resources, including coal, timber, fish, and fertile land. Lastly, since Western powers viewed colonial expansion as a symbol of prestige, Japan viewed the colonization of Hokkaido as an opportunity to present itself as a modern and respected nation to Western powers. The primary purpose of

4209-586: The rulers of the Matsumae-han , which was granted exclusive trading rights with the Ainu in the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods (1568–1868). The Matsumae family 's economy relied upon trade with the Ainu, who had extensive trading networks. The Matsumae held authority over the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period. The Matsumae clan rule over the Ainu must be understood in the context of

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4278-418: The same way 都 ( -to ) is used for Tokyo . The prefecture's government calls itself the "Hokkaidō Government" rather than the "Hokkaidō Prefectural Government". With the rise of indigenous rights movements, there emerged a notion that Hokkaido should have an Ainu language name. If a decision to change the name is made, however, whichever Ainu phrase is chosen, its original referent is critically different from

4347-453: The world's islands. Major cities include Sapporo and Asahikawa in the central region, and the port of Hakodate facing Honshu in the south. Sapporo is Hokkaidō's largest city and the fifth-largest in Japan. It had a population of 1,959,750 as of 31 July 2023 and a population density of 1,748/km (4,530/sq mi). There are three populations of the Ussuri brown bear found on

4416-505: Was annexed , colonized and renamed Hokkaido by Japan. Japanese settlers dispossessed the Ainu of their land and forced them to assimilate . In the 21st century, the Ainu are almost totally assimilated into Japanese society; as a result, the majority of Japanese of Ainu descent have no knowledge of their heritage and culture. When establishing the Development Commission , the Meiji government decided to change

4485-609: Was absorbed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2001. The Hokkaidō Bureau ( 北海道局 , Hokkaidō-kyoku ) and the Hokkaidō Regional Development Bureau ( 北海道開発局 , Hokkaidō Kaihatsukyoku ) of the ministry still have a strong influence on public construction projects in Hokkaidō. The island of Hokkaidō is located in the north of Japan, near Russia ( Sakhalin Oblast ). It has coastlines on

4554-731: Was actually an alteration, influenced by the Sino-Japanese reading of 蝦夷 Ka-i , of the Nivkh exonym for the Ainu, namely Qoy or IPA: [kʰuɣɪ] . In 1947, Hokkaidō became a full-fledged prefecture. The historical suffix 道 ( -dō ) translates to "prefecture" in English, ambiguously the same as 府 ( -fu ) for Osaka and Kyoto , and 県 ( -ken ) for the rest of the "prefectures". Dō , as shorthand, can be used to uniquely identify Hokkaido, for example as in 道道 ( dōdō , "Hokkaido road") or 道議会 ( Dōgikai , " Hokkaido Assembly "),

4623-407: Was annexed into Japanese territory. Ezochi was subsequently put under control of Hakodate Prefectural Government. When establishing the Development Commission ( 開拓使 , Kaitakushi ) , the Meiji government introduced a new name. After 1869, the northern Japanese island was known as Hokkaidō, which can be translated to "northern sea route," and regional subdivisions were established, including

4692-415: Was facilitated with the expertise of American advisors who introduced various colonization technologies, transforming Hokkaido into land suitable for Japan's capitalist aspirations. Japanese leaders drew inspiration from American settler colonialism during their diplomatic visits to the United States. Japanese colonial officials learned settler colonial techniques from Western imperial powers, particularly

4761-518: Was thought up because the Ainu called the region Kai . The kai element also strongly resembles the On'yomi , or Sino-Japanese , reading of the characters 蝦夷 ( on'yomi as [ ka.i , カイ], kun'yomi as [ e.mi.ɕi , えみし]) which have been used for over a thousand years in China and Japan as the standard orthographic form to be used when referring to Ainu and related peoples; it is possible that Matsuura's kai

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