Hokkaidō

During the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185), people in Hokkaidō conducted trade with Dewa Province, an outpost of the Japanese central government. From the medieval ages, the people in Hokkaidō began to be called Ezo. Around the same time Hokkaidō came to be called Ezochi () or Ezogashima. 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 created a settlement at the south of the Oshima peninsula. As more people moved to the settlement to avoid battles, disputes arose between the Japanese and the Ainu. The disputes eventually developed into a rebellion. Takeda Nobuhiro killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, and defeated the rebellion in 1457. Nobuhiro's descendants became the rulers of the Matsumae-han, which ruled the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period in 1868.

Matsumae-han's economy relied upon trade with the Ainu. The Matsumae family was granted exclusive trading rights with the Ainu in the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods (1568–1868). During the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa Shogunate realized there was a need to prepare northern defenses against a possible Russian invasion and took over control of most of Ezochi. The Shogunate made the plight of the Ainu slightly easier, but did not change the overall form of rule.

Hokkaidō was known as Ezochi until the Meiji Restoration. Shortly after the Boshin War in 1868, a group of Tokugawa loyalists led by Enomoto Takeaki proclaimed the island's independence as the Republic of Ezo, but the rebellion was crushed in May 1869. Ezochi was subsequently put under control of Hakodate-fu (, Hakodate Prefectural Government). When establishing the Development Commission (), the Meiji Government changed the name of Ezochi to Hokkaidō ().

The primary purpose of the development commission was to secure Hokkaidō before the Russians extended their control of the Far East beyond Vladivostok. Kuroda Kiyotaka was put in charge of the venture. His first step was to journey to the United States and recruit Horace Capron, President Grant's Commissioner of Agriculture. From 1871 to 1873 Capron bent his efforts to expounding Western agriculture and mining with mixed results. Capron, frustrated with obstacles to his efforts returned home in 1875. In 1876 William S. Clark arrived to found an agricultural college in Sapporo. Although he only remained a year, Clark left lasting impression on Hokkaidō, inspiring the Japanese with his teachings on agriculture as well as Christianity.Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur, pp. 355–356 His parting words, "Boys, be ambitious!" can be found on public buildings in Hokkaidō to this day. Whatever the impact these Americans had, the population of Hokkaidō boomed from 58,000 to 240,000 during that decade.Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur, p. 357

In 1882, the Development Commission was abolished, and Hokkaidō was separated into three prefectures, Hakodate (), Sapporo (), and Nemuro (). In 1886, the three prefectures were abolished, and Hokkaidō was put under the Hokkaidō Agency (). Hokkaidō became equal with other prefectures in 1947, when the revised Local Autonomy Law became effective. The Japanese central government established the Hokkaidō Development Agency () as an agency of the Prime Minister's Office in 1949 to maintain its executive power in Hokkaidō. The Agency was absorbed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2001. The Hokkaidō Bureau () and the Hokkaidō Regional Development Bureau () of the Ministry still have a strong influence on public construction projects in Hokkaidō.

Naming of Hokkaidō

When establishing the Development Commission (), the Meiji Government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six ideas, including names such as Kaihokudō () and Hokkaidō () to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as , as a compromise between and because of the similarity with names such as Tōkaidō (). According to Matsuura, the name was thought up because the Ainu called the region Kai. Historically, many peoples who had interactions with the ancestors of the Ainu called them and their islands Kuyi, Kuye, Qoy, or some similar name, which may have some connection to the early modern form Kai. The Kai element also strongly resembles the Sino-Japanese reading of the characters (Sino-Japanese ka.i, Japanese kun emisi), 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 was actually an alteration, influenced by the Sino-Japanese reading of Ka-i, of the Nivkh exonym for the Ainu, namely Qoy or kʰuɣi."Chapter 3: Nivkh as an Aspiration Language," p. 53 (http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/2006/h.shiraishi/03_c3.pdf) , with the inscription "Boys, Be Ambitious" (Sapporo).]]

Geography

The island of Hokkaidō is located at the north end of Japan, near Russia, and has coastlines on the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean. The center of the island has a number of mountains and volcanic plateaus, and there are coastal plains in all directions. Major cities include Sapporo and Asahikawa in the central region and the port of Hakodate facing Honshū.

The governmental jurisdiction of Hokkaidō incorporates several smaller islands, including Rishiri, Okushiri Island, and Rebun. (By Japanese reckoning, Hokkaidō also incorporates several of the Kuril Islands.) Because the prefectural status of Hokkaidō is denoted by the dō in its name, it is rarely referred to as "Hokkaidō Prefecture", except when necessary to distinguish the governmental entity from the island.

The island ranks 21st in the world by area. It is 3.6% smaller than the island of Ireland while Hispaniola is 6.1% smaller than Hokkaidō. By population it ranks 20th, between Ireland and Sicily. Hokkaidō's population is 4.7% less than that of the island of Ireland, and Sicily's is 12% lower than Hokkaidō's.

Seismic activity

• Mount Koma
• Mount Usu and Showashinzan
• Mount Tarumae
• Mount Tokachi
• Mount Meakan

In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 generated a tsunami which devastated Okushiri, killing 202. An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck near the island on September 25, 2003, at 19:50:07 (UTC).

National Parks and quasi-national parks

{| class="wikitable" !colspan="2" align="center"| Quasi-national parks (準国立公園) |- | Abashiri Quasi-National Park || 網走 |- | Hidaka Sanmyaku-Erimo Quasi-National Park || 日高山脈襟裳 |- | Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park || ニセコ積丹小樽海岸 |- | Ōnuma Quasi-National Park || 大沼 |- | Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park || 暑寒別天売焼尻 |}

• Twelve prefectural natural parks (道立自然公園). The prefectual natural parks cover 146,802 ha, the largest area of any prefecture.
  • Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park
  • Furano Ashibetsu Prefectural Natural Park
  • Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park
  • Kamome Island Prefectural Natural Park
  • Kariba-Motta Prefectural Natural Park
  • Kita Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park
  • Matsumae-Yagoshi Prefectural Natural Park
  • Nopporo Forest Park Nopporo Shinrin Prefectural Natural Park
  • Notsuke-Furen Prefectural Natural Park
  • Okumonobe Prefectural Natural Park
  • Sharidake Prefectural Natiural Park
  • Teshiodake Prefectural Natural Park

{| class="wikitable" !colspan="3" align="center"| Ramsar sites |- ! !! !!align="left"| |- | Kushiro Wetland | :ja:釧路湿原 || |- | | :ja:クッチャロ湖 || |- | | :ja:ウトナイ湖 || |- | Kiritappu Wetland | :ja:霧多布湿原 || |- | | :ja:厚岸湖・別寒辺牛湿原 || |- | | :ja:宮島沼 || |- | | :ja:雨竜沼湿原 ||rowspan="6" style="vertical-align:middle;"| |- | Sarobetsu Mire | :ja:サロベツ原野 |- | | :ja:濤沸湖 |- | | :ja:阿寒湖 |- | | :ja:野付半島・:ja:野付湾 |- | | :ja:風蓮湖・:ja:春国岱 |}

Subprefectures

Hokkaidō is one of eight prefectures in Japan that have subprefectures (支庁 shichō). However, it 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 due to 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. {| |style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;"|

• Abashiri
• Hidaka
• Hiyama
• Iburi
• Ishikari

• Kamikawa
• Kushiro
• Nemuro
• Oshima
• Rumoi

• Shiribeshi
• Sorachi
• Sōya
• Tokachi

There is a plan to reorganize the 14 subprefectures as 9 , but as of 2009, the implementation of the plan has stalled.

Before the current political divisions and after 1869, Hokkaidō was divided into provinces. See Former Provinces of Hokkaidō.

Climate

Unlike the other major islands of Japan, Hokkaidō 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.

In winter, the generally high quality of powder snow and numerous mountains in Hokkaidō make it one of Japan's most popular regions for snow sports. The snowfall usually commences in earnest in November and ski resorts (such as those at Niseko, Furano and Rusutsu) usually operate between December and April. Hokkaidō celebrates its winter weather at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

During the winter, passage through the Sea of Okhotsk is often complicated by large ice floes broken loose from the Kamchatka Peninsula. Combined with high winds that occur during winter, this brings air travel and maritime activity almost to a halt on the northern coast of Hokkaidō.

Major cities and towns

in Chuo-ku, Sapporo.]]

Hokkaidō's largest city is the capital, Sapporo. Other major cities include Hakodate in the south and Asahikawa in the central region. Other important population centers include Kushiro, Obihiro, Abashiri, Nemuro.

Hokkaidō has the highest rate of depopulation in Japan. In 2000, 152 (71.7%) of Hokkaidō's 212 municipalities were shrinking. Altogether, shrinking municipalities in Japan in the same year numbered 1,171.

Economy

However, 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 the nation in the production of a host of agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans, potatoes, sugar beet, onions, pumpkins, corn, raw milk, and beef. Hokkaidō also accounts for 22% of Japan's forests with a sizable timber industry. The prefecture is also first in the nation in production of marine products and aquaculture.

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. During the winter, skiing and other winter sports bring other tourists, and increasingly international ones, to the island.

Abashiri brewery