Hokkaido
[key], island, c.30,130 sq mi (78,040 sq km), N Japan, separated from
Honshu island by the Tsugaru Strait and from Sakhalin, Russia, by the Soya
Strait. It is the second largest, northernmost, and most sparsely populated
of the major islands of Japan. Once called Yezo, it received the name
Hokkaido [region of the northern sea] in 1869. Its rugged interior with many
volcanic peaks rises to 7,511 ft (2,289 m) in Asahi-dake and, like all of
Japan, the island is subject to earthquakes. The Ishikari, second longest
river of Japan, traverses W Hokkaido; its valley is an important urban and
industrial region. Hokkaido has a humid continental climate and receives
much snow. Forests, covering most of the island, are a source of lumber,
pulp, and paper (milled in Hokkaido). Coal, iron, and manganese are mined;
the Ishikari coal field produces a major part of Japan's supply. Although
large areas of the island are unsuited to farming, agriculture is an
important occupation. Hokkaido is one of the major fishing centers of the
world. The island is the chief winter resort and sports area in Japan; the
1972 Winter Olympics were held there, at Sapporo. Hokkaido's scenic beauty
is preserved in several national parks. The population is concentrated
largely in the west and southwest. Sapporo, Hakodate, and Otaru are the
chief cities. Kushiro is the main port for E Hokkaido.
The island was originally inhabited by Ainu, aborigines of uncertain ancestry. Until 1800 the Ainu outnumbered the Japanese, who had begun (16th cent.) to settle the southwest peninsula; there are now c.16,000 Ainu in Hokkaido. With the Meiji restoration (1868) Japan began the first serious effort to people the island as a means of strengthening the northern frontier. Under a government-sponsored plan to develop the island, Horace Capron, an American agriculturalist, introduced (1872–76) scientific methods of farming. In 1885, Hokkaido was made an administrative unit and was granted a central government. The growth of the railroads helped speed settlement, but despite subsidies, the severe winters discouraged emigration from S Japan. Parts of the island, particularly in the north, are still relatively underpopulated. The completion of the Seikan Tunnel (1988), which carries a rail line connecting Hokkaido and Honshu, has further decreased the isolation of Japan's northernmost island.
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