Changes

The [[Hokkaido Development Commission|colonial government agency]]<!--kaitakushi 開拓使--> was established in [[1869]]/8, with [[Horace Capron]], a former US Secretary of Agriculture who played a prominent role in suppressing Native American opposition to American expansion, as one of the chief advisors. After a series of surveys and investigations, the [[o-yatoi gaikokujin|Western experts]] who had been brought in by the Japanese government disagreed widely. Capron took the lead, suggesting a directed effort to bring in Japanese settlers to colonize Hokkaidô; deciding that the land was no good for growing rice, he advocated a more American way of life, raising wheat, eating bread, and living in Western-style brick homes with Western-style furniture and a largely Western-style diet. This latter set of suggestions was ultimately not followed, however, as lifestyle in Hokkaidô was instead adapted to conform to more Japanese norms - even if the land were indeed better for raising wheat and other grains rather than rice, a hardier strain of rice plant was instead developed, and other elements of Japanese culture and lifestyle were introduced (or imposed).<ref>Morris-Suzuki. "Creating the Frontier." p14.</ref>

The [[Hokkaido Development Commission|colonial government agency]]<!--kaitakushi 開拓使--> was established in [[1869]]/8, with [[Horace Capron]], a former US Secretary of Agriculture who played a prominent role in suppressing Native American opposition to American expansion, as one of the chief advisors. After a series of surveys and investigations, the [[o-yatoi gaikokujin|Western experts]] who had been brought in by the Japanese government disagreed widely. Capron took the lead, suggesting a directed effort to bring in Japanese settlers to colonize Hokkaidô; deciding that the land was no good for growing rice, he advocated a more American way of life, raising wheat, eating bread, and living in Western-style brick homes with Western-style furniture and a largely Western-style diet. This latter set of suggestions was ultimately not followed, however, as lifestyle in Hokkaidô was instead adapted to conform to more Japanese norms - even if the land were indeed better for raising wheat and other grains rather than rice, a hardier strain of rice plant was instead developed, and other elements of Japanese culture and lifestyle were introduced (or imposed).<ref>Morris-Suzuki. "Creating the Frontier." p14.</ref>

The government banned a variety of Ainu practices, including [[tattoos|tattooing]], in [[1871]], and obliged all Ainu to speak [[Standard Japanese]]. In [[1876]], efforts began to force Ainu to adopt Japanese-style names, and the following year, the government began to claim Ainu lands as government property.<ref name=rekihaku>Gallery labels, National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku).[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/11737713963/sizes/l]</ref>

The government banned a variety of Ainu practices, including [[tattoos|tattooing]], in [[1871]], and obliged all Ainu to speak [[Standard Japanese]]. In [[1876]], efforts began to force Ainu to adopt Japanese-style names, and the following year, the government began to claim Ainu lands as government property.<ref name=rekihaku>Gallery labels, National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku).[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/11737713963/sizes/l]</ref>