History of Hokkaido, JapanHokkaido had human activities since the Paleolith Age. Around the 2nd century B.C., rice production methods were introduced to the East Asian continent, and the Japanese archipelago entered the Yayoi era. However, Hokkaido's climate was cold at that time, and it was far from the cultural center of western Japan. It was still in the post-Jomon era, and the residents lived by hunting and other activities.
When Honshu entered the Asuka era and the Nara era, Hokkaido began to use the Suhui-ware from Honshu, forming the Chawen culture, which was featured by the brush patterns on the pottery. At this time, the residents of Hokkaido also planted wheat, barnyard grass, and other grains in addition to hunting. The northern coastal areas of Hokkaido entered the heyday of Okhotsk culture. People hunted seals and salmon for a living. The Ainu people's lifestyle was the same as that of the Japanese in the Jomon era.
In the 13th century, the Japanese entered Hokkaido's Dojima Peninsula, and the Ainu culture, which inherited Okhotsk culture and post-Jomon culture, was established and flourished. "Ainu" meant "human" in the Ainu language. The Ainu people lived in the "homesteads" settlement, and their main way of life was to hunt for salmon. They also planted millet and other grains. However, because the Ainu people had no written language, the situation in the Ezo region was mostly unknown. According to Japanese sources, the Japanese built the 12 Donan Pavilions in the southern part of the island to trade with the Ainu people. However, from the perspective of the aborigines, this was an invasion. In 1456, the Japanese killed the Ainu youth and triggered the Battle of Hushe Mayin. After the Ainu people resisted tenaciously, they were suppressed by the general Takeda Shingo, and the scope of Japanese control expanded.
The descendants of Nobuhiro Takeda successively took Kakizaki and Matsuqian as surnames and established Matsuqian Domain during the Edo period. About 150 years after the Battle of Huseyin, Honshu experienced the Warring States Period and entered the Edo Period. Kakizaki Keihiro gained control of the Ezo Land due to his submission to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu and changed his surname to Matsumae. At that time, Japan's economic base was rice, and the stone high system was implemented. The cold shrimp land could not produce rice, but Tokugawa Ieyasu let the Matsuqian family establish the Matsuqian Domain, and the territory was set at 10,000 stone. The Matsuqian family exchanged annual tribute for the exclusive trading rights of the shrimp land, and also gave the trading rights with the Ainu people to the retainer as a salary. The merchants and warriors of the Matsuqian Domain used this opportunity to buy and sell by force. In 1669, the Ainu people, under the leadership of the chief, broke out in the Battle of Samousheyun.
In modern times, after the Meiji government set up a pioneering envoy at the end of the 19th century, it changed the name of the island to Hokkaido. In the course of historical development, the Ainu people in Hokkaido had a rough experience. In 1984, there were less than 25000 Ainu people in Hokkaido. They suffered from discrimination and assimilation in Japanese society, and many people forgot their own national culture and language. In 1997, the Japanese government abolished the much-criticized "Hokkaido Old Territory Protection Law", but refused to integrate the Ainu into society; It was only in 2008 that Japan recognized the Ainu as the indigenous people of Hokkaido; In April 2019, Japan passed the Ainu Promotion Law for the first time and established a "National Symbiotic Symbol Space". However, this move was only a superficial ethnic integration. The rights of the Ainu people were not mentioned and they were still discriminated against in Japan.
At the end and beginning of World War II, Hokkaido fell into chaos. In August 1945, the Soviet army occupied the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. A large number of refugees poured into Hokkaido, leaving behind the sovereignty of the South Kuril Islands (known as the four northern islands in Japan). On October 4 of the same year, the advance troops of the US Army landed in Hakodate and were stationed in various parts of Hokkaido. Hokkaido was occupied by the allied forces. At most, there were 24000 - 25000 US troops stationed in Hokkaido. In 1954, the US Army withdrew completely. At the same time, Hokkaido became one of the important immigration destinations for Japanese returning from overseas after the defeat. From 1945 to 1946, 240,000 Japanese who originally lived abroad immigrated to Hokkaido. In 1947, Hokkaido officially took the name of "Dao" as the administrative district, becoming an autonomous body equal to other prefectures in Japan, and established elected Dao Hall and Dao Council.
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A detailed account of the history of Iwanaka, JapanThe History of Japan's Iwanaka Shoshi is a series of books written by Iwanaka Shoshi. There are four volumes, including "Japan (West)","Japan (East)","Japan (North)" and "Japan (North)". South. This series of books was meant for China readers to gain a deeper understanding of Japan and the Japanese. The author used the unique perspective and feelings of the Japanese to present a real, multi-dimensional and three-dimensional Japan in common and lively language. These books were published by the contemporary world publishing house and translated by different translator. Among them, Liu Chen was the translator of Japan (West), Liu Chen was the translator of Japan (East), and Gao Zhaohui was the translator of Japan (South). Most of these books were published in 2018, and the specific pricing and page number could be referred to their respective ISBN-numbers.