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Trade between Hokkaidô and the central parts of the Japanese state is documented in some of the earliest Japanese texts, including the ''[[Nihon shoki]]'', ''[[Shoku Nihongi]]'', and ''[[Engishiki]]''. Japanese traded iron tools and other products for bear and sable furs, seal skins, bird feathers, ''[[kombu]]'' seaweed, and other natural products.<ref>Gallery labels, Hokkaido Museum.</ref>
Trade between Hokkaidô and the central parts of the Japanese state is documented in some of the earliest Japanese texts, including the ''[[Nihon shoki]]'', ''[[Shoku Nihongi]]'', and ''[[Engishiki]]''. Japanese traded iron tools and other products for bear and sable furs, seal skins, bird feathers, ''[[kombu]]'' seaweed, and other natural products.<ref>Gallery labels, Hokkaido Museum.</ref>
The Yamato state launched expeditions into [[Emishi]] ("barbarian") lands in northeastern Japan as early as the 7th century; though these largely took place in what is now considered the [[Tohoku|Tôhoku region]] of [[Honshu|Honshû]], Tôhoku at that time was in significant ways an extension of the same cultural area as Hokkaidô; these expeditions contributed to pushing the indigenous peoples north, out of Tôhoku and into Hokkaidô, as the Yamato state gradually expanded its influence over the region.
The Yamato state launched expeditions into [[Emishi]] ("barbarian") lands in northeastern Japan as early as the 7th century; though these largely took place in what is now considered the [[Tohoku|Tôhoku region]] of [[Honshu|Honshû]], Tôhoku at that time was in significant ways an extension of the same cultural area as Hokkaidô; these expeditions contributed to pushing the indigenous peoples north, out of Tôhoku and into Hokkaidô, as the Yamato state gradually expanded its influence over the region. As the term "Emishi" was used not only for "barbarian" peoples who were ethnically or culturally distinct from the Japanese (Wajin), but also for people who were simply politically distinct - those outside the sway of the Yamato state or those actively rejecting the authority of that state - it is difficult to make blanket statements about whether "the Emishi" as a whole were or were not Ainu. However, scholars such as [[Tessa Morris-Suzuki]] have noted that very few, if any, sources prior to the 14th century employ the term "Ainu," and very few after that time employ the term "Emishi." In other words, there is an argument to be made that these are different terms for the same people - to at least some extent - and not for wholly distinct groups.<ref>Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. "Creating the Frontier: Border, Identity, and History in Japan's Far North." ''East Asian History'' 7 (June 1994). pp4.</ref>
One particularly notable Ainu revolt took place in [[1457]]. Led by a chieftain named [[Koshamain]], Ainu attacked a Japanese settlement headed by the samurai [[Takeda Nobuhiro|Kakizaki (Takeda) Nobuhiro]]. Though this would be one of the largest Ainu revolts in all of history, it ultimately ended in defeat for the Ainu. Though the Japanese still did not claim or exercise anything approaching total control of the territory, nevertheless, Nobuhiro and his settlement remained, additional settlements were established, including [[Katsuyama castle]] in [[1462]], and some groups of Ainu or other local native populations were obliged to begin paying [[tribute]] to samurai settlement heads.
===Edo Period===
===Edo Period===
[[Matsumae Yoshihiro|Kakizaki Yoshihiro]], a descendant of the Kakizaki Nobuhiro who defeated Koshamain's Revolt in the 15th century, was the predominant power-holder in the southern tip of Hokkaidô at the end of the 16th century. Submitting to the authority of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], he then later submitted to the authority of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] as well, and in [[1606]] changed his name from Kakizaki to Matsumae.
Yoshihiro built Matsumae castle that same year, and made it the primary seat of governance and administration for his newly-renamed Matsumae clan. The shogunate granted the clan exclusive rights and responsibilities by the shogunate for overseeing relations with the Ainu, management of the vast northern frontier zone, and defense of the realm against threats from the north. However, unlike all other daimyô clans, the Matsumae were not formally enfeoffed in any designated territory, nor associated with a specified ''[[kokudaka]]'' (numerical ranking of power or wealth based on a presumed rice productivity of their land).
Throughout this period, while Wajin and Ainu remained distinct populations for the most part, that distinction was porous. Ainu could come to be regarded as Wajin, by adopting Wajin names and lifeways, and Wajin could abandon such lifeways and come to be regarded by Wajin communities as having become Ainu, though it is unclear to what extent such individuals were ever accepted and incorporated into Ainu communities. In response to Russian encroachment, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Matsumae (or the shogunate) made explicit efforts at times to promote Ainu assimilation into Wajin lifeways and communities - or even to force this upon Ainu communities - incorporating the Ainu and their land more strongly and more explicitly into Wajin territory. At times, this was relaxed or even reversed, however, as suited the political expediencies of the moment.
The [[1855]] [[Treaty of Shimoda]] resolved these tensions between Russia and Japan to a certain extent, as it declared [[Iturup]] and all the islands to the south of it, including Hokkaidô, to be Japanese territory, though it left the question of [[Sakhalin]] unresolved.
The [[1855]] [[Treaty of Shimoda]] resolved these tensions between Russia and Japan to a certain extent, as it declared [[Iturup]] and all the islands to the south of it, including Hokkaidô, to be Japanese territory, though it left the question of [[Sakhalin]] unresolved.
===Meiji Period===
===Meiji Period===
In the final stages of the [[Boshin War]] that accompanied the [[Meiji Restoration]], some pro-Tokugawa loyalists were pushed back farther and farther north by pro-Imperial forces until they reached Ezochi; they regrouped there, nominally declaring a separate government - the [[Republic of Ezo]]. The Republic fell quickly, however.
Ezochi was formally incorporated into the Japanese state and renamed Hokkaidô in the 8th month of [[1869]]. The [[Hokkaido Development Office]], or Kaitakushi, was established at the same time.
[[Category:Geographic Locations]]
[[Category:Geographic Locations]]
