Hokkaido

For the dog breed, see Hokkaido (dog).

(北海�" Hokkaidō, literal meaning: "North Sea Route", Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo, is the second largest island and largest prefecture of Japan. The Tsugaru Strait separates it from Honshu, although it is connected to Honshu by the underwater Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is the prefectural capital, Sapporo.

History

The Nihonshoki is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido 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, which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaido. 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.

During the Nara and Heian periods, people in Hokkaido conducted trade with the Dewa Province, the outpost of the Japanese central government. From the medieval ages, the people in Hokkaido began to be called Ezo. Around the same time Hokkaido 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, 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 battle. Takeda Nobuhiro killed the Ainu leader and established a Japanese victory. Nobuhiro's descendants became the rulers of the Matsumae Han, which ruled the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period.

The 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. The Han gradually changed trade conditions so they came to favor Japanese merchants. As a result, some Ainu rebelled against the Matsumae han, but the rebellions were defeated. During the Meiji Restoration, the Shogunate realized there was a need to prepare northern defenses against Russian aggressions and took over most control of Ezochi. The Shogunate made the Ainu burden slightly easier, but did not change the overall form of rule.

Hokkaido 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 the Colonization Office. When establishing the Colonization Office, the Meiji Government decided to change the name of Ezochi. Matsuura Takeshirō submitted 6 ideas, including names such as Kaihokudo (海北�") and Hokkaido (北加伊�") to the government. The government eventually decided to use the name Hokkaido, but decided to write it as 北海�", as a compromise between 海北�" and because of the similarity with names such as Tokaido (東海�"). According to Matsuura, the name was thought up because the Ainu called the region "Kai." In 1882, the Colonization Office was abolished, and Hokkaido was separated into three prefectures, Hakodate, Sapporo, and Nemuro. In 1886, the three prefectures were abolished, and Hokkaido was put under the Hokkaido Agency. Hokkaido became equal with other prefectures in 1947, when the revised Local Autonomy Law became effective.

Geography

Sounkyo, Gorge in Daisetsu-zan Volcanic Area

Satellite image of Hokkaido

Hokkaido Island 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 Honshu.

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

Seismic Activity

Like the rest of Japan, Hokkaido is seismically active. Aside from numerous earthquakes, the following volcanoes are still considered active (at least one eruption since 1850):
* Mount Komaga
* Mount Usu and Showashinzan
* Mount Tarumae
* Mount Tokachi
* Mount Meakan

See also :Category:Volcanoes of Hokkaido.

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

National Parks and Quasi National Parks

There are still many undisturbed forests in Hokkaidō, including:
* 6 national parks:
** Shiretoko National Park (知床): On July 14, 2005, UNESCO designated the area a World Heritage Site.
** Akan National Park (阿�')
** Kushiro Shitsugen National Park (釧路湿原)
** Daisetsuzan National Park (大雪山)
** Shikotsu-Toya National Park (�"�笏洞爺)
** Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park (利尻礼文サロベツ)
* 5 quasi-national parks (準国立公�')
** Onuma Quasi-National Park
** Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park
** Abashiri Quasi-National Park
** Hidaka Sanmyaku-Erimo Quasi-National Park
** Shokambetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park
* 12 prefectural natural parks (�"立自然公�')

There are also a number of Ramsar Sites.
* Kushiro wetland (:ja:釧路湿原) - since 1980-6-17
* :ja:クッチャロ湖 - since 1989-7-6
* :ja:ウトナイ湖 - since 1991-12-12
* Kiritappu Wetland (:ja:霧多布湿原) - since 1993-6-10
* :ja:厚岸湖・別�'辺牛湿原 - since 1993-6-10,　2005-11-8 enlarged
* :ja:宮島沼 - since 2002-11-18
*:ja:雨竜沼湿原 - since 2005-11-8
*Sarobetsu Mire (:ja:サロベツ原野) - since 2005-11-8
*:ja:濤沸湖 - since 2005-11-8
*:ja:阿�'湖 - since 2005-11-8
*:ja:野付半島・:ja:野付湾 - since 2005-11-8
*:ja:風�"�湖・:ja:春国岱 - [since 2005-11-8

Subprefectures

Map of Hokkaido showing the subprefectures and the biggest cities.

Hokkaidō is one of 8 prefectures in Japan that are divided into subprefectures (the others being Tokyo, Yamagata Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture and Shimane Prefecture). 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 would fulfill elsewhere in Japan.{| style="padding-right:1em; vertical-align:top;" |
*Abashiri
*Hidaka
*Hiyama
*Iburi
*Ishikari
*Kamikawa