Hokkaido

For the dog breed, see Hokkaido (dog).

Hokkaidō (island)

Geography
Location	Boundary between northwestern Pacific Ocean, Sea of Japan, and Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates	43°N 142°E
Archipelago	Japanese Archipelago
Administration
Japan
Demographics
Population	approx. 5,600,000

(北海道, literally "North Sea Circuit"), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.

History

Archeologists theorize that Hokkaidō was settled by Ainu, Gilyak, and Oroke 20,000 years ago. The Nihon Shoki, finished in 720, 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 the Mishihase and Emishi. One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima ([渡島] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)), which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaidō. However, many theories exist in relation to 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 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 ([蝦夷地] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) 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 ([箱館府] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help), Hakodate Prefectural Government). When establishing the Development Commission ([開拓使] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)), the Meiji Government changed the name of Ezochi to Hokkaidō ([北海道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)).

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. 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.

In 1882, the Development Commission was abolished, and Hokkaidō was separated into three prefectures, Hakodate ([函館県] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)), Sapporo ([札幌県] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)), and Nemuro ([根室県] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)). In 1886, the three prefectures were abolished, and Hokkaidō was put under the Hokkaidō Agency ([北海道庁] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)). 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 ([北海道開発庁] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) 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 ([北海道局] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) and the Hokkaidō Regional Development Bureau ([北海道開発局] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) of the Ministry still have a strong influence on public construction projects in Hokkaidō.

Map of Hokkaidō.

Naming of Hokkaidō

When establishing the Development Commission ([開拓使] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)), the Meiji Government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted six ideas, including names such as Kaihokudō ([海北道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) and Hokkaidō ([北加伊道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaidō, but decided to write it as [北海道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help), as a compromise between [海北道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help) and because of the similarity with names such as Tōkaidō ([東海道] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)). 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 [蝦夷] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help) (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 [蝦夷] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help) Ka-i, of the Nivkh exonym for the Ainu, namely Qoy or /kʰuɣi/.

File:ClarkBoysBeAmbitious.jpg

Statue of William S. Clark, with the inscription "Boys, Be Ambitious" (Sapporo).

Geography

Sōunkyō, a gorge in the Daisetsu-zan Volcanic Area.

Satellite image of Hokkaidō.

The Oyashio Current colliding with the Kuroshio Current off the coast of Hokkaidō. When two currents collide, they create eddies. Phytoplankton growing in the surface waters become concentrated along the boundaries of these eddies, tracing out the motions of the water.

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

Like the rest of Japan, Hokkaidō is seismically active. Aside from numerous earthquakes, the following volcanoes are still considered active (at least one eruption since 1850):

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

See also: Category:Volcanoes of Hokkaidō

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

There are still many undisturbed forests in Hokkaidō, including:

National parks
Shiretoko National Park*	知床
Akan National Park	阿寒
Kushiro Shitsugen National Park	釧路湿原
Daisetsuzan National Park	大雪山
Shikotsu-Toya National Park	支笏洞爺
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park	利尻礼文サロベツ

* designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2005-07-14.

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

Ramsar sites
		since
Kushiro Wetland	ja:釧路湿原	1980-06-17
	ja:クッチャロ湖	1989-07-06
	ja:ウトナイ湖	1991-12-12
Kiritappu Wetland	ja:霧多布湿原	1993-06-10
	ja:厚岸湖・別寒辺牛湿原	1993-06-10, enlarged 2005-11-08
	ja:宮島沼	2002-11-18
	ja:雨竜沼湿原	2005-11-08
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

Map of Hokkaidō showing the subprefectures and the biggest cities.

Main article: Subprefectures in Hokkaidō

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.

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 general development bureaus (総合振興局, sōgō shinkō-kyoku), 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

Satellite image of Hokkaidō in winter.

Hokkaidō is known for its cooler summers and icy winters. Most of the island falls in the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfa (humid continental) in some inland lowlands, Dfb (hemiboreal) in most other areas). The average August temperature ranges from 17 °C to 22 °C (63 °F to 72 °F), while the average January temperature ranges from −12 °C to −4 °C (10 °F to 25 °F) depending on elevation and latitude. The island tends to see isolated snowstorms that develop long-lasting snowbanks, in contrast to the constant flurries seen in the Hokuriku region.

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

See also: List of cities in Hokkaidō

Former Hokkaido Government Office 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

Although there is some light industry (most notably paper milling, 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.

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

The Abashiri brewery in Hokkaidō sells a range of beers, including Bilk, a blend of beer and milk. Bilk has a fruity taste, and is sold in 330 ml bottles. It was developed in response to declining milk consumption resulting in a milk surplus.

Transportation

Hokkaidō's only land link to the rest of Japan is the Seikan Tunnel. Most travelers to the island arrive by air: the main airport is New Chitose Airport at Chitose, just south of Sapporo. Tokyo-Chitose is in the top 10 of the world's busiest air routes, handling 45 widebody round trips on four airlines each day. One of the airlines, Air Do was named after Hokkaidō. Hokkaidō can also be reached by ferry from Sendai, Niigata and some other cities, with the ferries from Tokyo dealing only in cargo.

Within Hokkaidō, there is a fairly well-developed railway network (see Hokkaidō Railway Company), but many cities can only be accessed by road.

Hokkaidō is home to one of Japan's three Melody Roads, which is made from grooves cut into the ground, which when driven over causes a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the car body.

Education

The Hokkaidō Prefectural Board of Education oversees public schools (except colleges and universities) in Hokkaidō. Public elementary and junior high schools (except Hokkaido Noboribetsu Akebi Secondary School and schools attached to Hokkaido University of Education) are operated by municipalities, and public high schools are operated by either the prefectural board or municipalities. The board web site has a list of public high schools in Japanese.

Hokkaido has 37 universities (7 national, 5 local public, and 25 private universities), 34 junior colleges, and 5 colleges of technology (4 national and 1 local public colleges). National universities located in Hokkaido are:

• Hokkaido University (former Sapporo Agricultural College)
• Hokkaido University of Education
• Muroran Institute of Technology
• Otaru University of Commerce
• Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
• Asahikawa Medical College
• Kitami Institute of Technology

Hokkaido prefectural government runs Sapporo Medical University, a medical school in Sapporo.

Sports

The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo.

The sports teams listed below are based in Hokkaidō.

Association Football/Soccer

• Consadole Sapporo (Sapporo)

Baseball

• Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters (Sapporo)

Ice Hockey

• Nippon Paper Cranes (Kushiro)
• Oji Ice Hockey Team (Tomakomai)

Basketball

• Rera Kamuy Hokkaido (Sapporo) Japan Basketball League (JBL)

Friendship partners

Hokkaidō has relationships with several provinces, states, and other entities worldwide.

• Alberta, Canada, since 1980
• Heilongjiang, China, since 1980
• Massachusetts, United States of America, since 1988
• Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, since 1998
• Busan, South Korea, since 2005
• Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, since 2006

As of July 2008, 73 individual municipalities in Hokkaidō have sister city agreements with 111 cities in 19 different countries worldwide.

See also

• Kuril islands dispute
• 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
• 2006 Kuril Islands tsunami
• Asia League Ice Hockey
• Former Hokkaidō government office building
• Sankebetsu brown bear incident
• Category:People from Hokkaidō

References

• Walter A. McDougall, Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur, Basic Books, New York, 1993
• J. D. Bisignani, Japan Handbook, Moon Publications Inc., Chico, 1993

External links

• Hokkaido Official Website
• Location of melody roads on Sound Tourism website
• Template:Wikitravel