1.
2011 in Japan
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This article lists events in 2011 in Japan. January 22 – An unmanned Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle HTV-2 Resupply craft was launched atop the H-IIB rocket on a mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. January 26 – Shinmoedake volcano erupts in Shinmoedake and the areas, continuing until no earlier than March 10. February 6 – The Japan Sumo Association cancels the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in light of a match fixing scandal, february 26 – Nintendos first 3D portable game console Nintendo 3DS is released in Japan. March 7 – Seiji Maehara resigns as Foreign Minister of Japan after becoming involved in a political donation scandal. March 9 – Takeaki Matsumoto is sworn in as the Foreign Minister of Japan, March 23 – Tokyo tap water became contaminated by radiation due to the Fukushima I nuclear accidents. March 23 – The Grand Bench of the Supreme Court rules that voting weight disparity in the 2009 general election for the House of Representatives was in an unconstitutional state, March 25 – Vegetables grown in Tokyo were contaminated by radiation. March 31 – The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka was due to be closed on this date, but remained open through June 2011 to house people displaced by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear alert. May 4 – Osaka Station City, the largest enclosed shopping mall in Japan, including a complex, a department store. May 10 – GoExPanda becomes Mascot of TV Asahi in Tokyo, may 12 – Worst heist in Japan, 604-million-yen robbery, in which a 36-year-old security companys workers are injured in Tachikawa, Tokyo. Six men are arrested on suspicion the heist on July 31, July 17 – The Japan womens national football team defeats the United States womens national football team on penalties, after a 2-2 extra-time scoreline, to win the 2011 FIFA Womens World Cup. July 21 – Tatsuya Ichihashi is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Lindsay Hawker, July 24 – Analog television ceases operations in 44 of the 47 prefectures of Japan. August 15 – Japans Cabinet approves a plan to establish a new energy watchdog under the Environment Ministry, august 26 – Naoto Kan announces his resignation as Prime Minister of Japan. September 2 – Yoshihiko Noda becomes Prime Minister of Japan, september 5 - Typhoon Talas, following massive rains and landslides in Kii Peninsula, resulting to death toll number of 94 persons. December 23 – Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan, Yamamoto Isoroku was released, november 13 – Miyagi prefectural election,2011, the LDP loses some seats, but remains strongest party with 28 of the 59 assembly seats. February 5 – Hiroko Nagata,65, Japanese radical and murderer, february 13 – Nobutoshi Kihara, Japanese electronics engineer for Sony. April 17 – Osamu Dezaki,67, director of anime, april 21 – Yoshiko Tanaka,55, actress, breast cancer
2.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
3.
Emperor of Japan
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The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law
4.
Akihito
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Akihito is the reigning Emperor of Japan. He is the 125th emperor of his line according to Japans traditional order of succession, Akihito succeeded his father Shōwa and acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 7 January 1989. There has been ongoing coverage of his possible abdication due to age,31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019 has been mentioned as possible dates of such abdication. In Japan, the Emperor is never referred to by his given name, in writing, the Emperor is also referred to formally as The Reigning Emperor. The Era of Akihitos reign bears the name Heisei, and according to custom he will be renamed Emperor Heisei by order of the Cabinet after his death, at the same time, the name of the next era under his successor will also be established. Akihito was born in the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo City, Japan, and is the elder son and the fifth child of the Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. Titled Prince Tsugu as a child, he was raised and educated by his private tutors, unlike his predecessors in the Imperial family, he did not receive a commission as an army officer, at the request of his father, Hirohito. During the American firebombing raids on Tokyo in March 1945, Akihito and his younger brother, during the American occupation of Japan following World War II, Prince Akihito was tutored in the English language and Western manners by Elizabeth Gray Vining. He briefly studied at the Department of Political Science at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, Akihito was heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from the moment of his birth. His formal Investiture as Crown Prince was held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 10 November 1952, in June 1953 Akihito represented Japan at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London. Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries, upon the death of Emperor Hirohito on 7 January 1989, his eldest son the Crown Prince Akihito succeeded to the throne, with an enthronement ceremony taking place on 12 November 1990. In 1998, during a visit to the United Kingdom. Emperor Akihito underwent surgery for cancer on 14 January 2003. Since succeeding to the throne, Emperor Akihito has made an effort to bring the Imperial family closer to the Japanese people, the Emperor and Empress of Japan have made official visits to eighteen countries and to all forty-seven Prefectures of Japan. The Emperor and Empress also made a visit on Wednesday,30 March 2011 to a temporary shelter housing refugees of the disaster and this kind of event is also extremely rare, though in line with the Emperors attempts to bring the Imperial family closer to the people. Later in 2011 he was admitted to suffering from pneumonia. In February 2012 it was announced that the Emperor would be having a coronary examination, however, senior officials within the Imperial Household Agency have denied that there is any official plan for the monarch to abdicate. A potential abdication by the Emperor would require an amendment to the Imperial Household Act, on 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health, this address is interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate
5.
Yoshihiko Noda
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Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, and he was named to succeed Naoto Kan as a result of a runoff vote against Banri Kaieda in his party, and was formally appointed by the Emperor on 2 September 2011. Following a severe loss for the DPJ in the December 2012 general election, Noda conceded defeat and he was succeeded by Shinzō Abe as Prime Minister on 26 December 2012. Noda was born in Funabashi, Chiba on 20 May 1957, unlike many prominent Japanese politicians, Noda has no family connections to Nagatachō. His parents were too poor to pay for a wedding reception, Noda graduated from Chiba Prefectural Funabashi Senior High School in 1975. He graduated from Waseda University with the B. A. degree in Political Science in 1980 and was accepted into the prestigious Matsushita Institute. This institution was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita to groom future civic leaders of Japan and he was first elected to the assembly of Chiba Prefecture in 1987 at the age of 29. In 1993, he was elected to the Diet for first time representing Chibas Lower House District #4 as a member of the now-defunct Japan New Party and he later joined the DPJ and served as its Diet affairs chief as well as head of the partys public relations office. In October 2005, Noda criticized Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi for his position on Japanese class A war criminals as war criminals, however, Noda supported Koizumis visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Noda acted as senior vice finance minister when the DPJ won control of the Diet in September 2009 and he was known as a reformist and had led a DPJ intraparty group critical of ex-DPJ powerbroker Ichirō Ozawa. Upon assuming the post of minister, Noda, a fiscal conservative, expressed his determination to slash Japans deficit. After Naoto Kans resignation in August 2011, Noda stood as a candidate in the party election to replace him and he won a runoff vote against Banri Kaieda in the leadership election, making him the presumptive prime minister. He inherited the challenge of rebuilding from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, during the party caucus making the leadership decision, Noda made a 15-minute speech in which he summarized his political career by comparing himself to dojo loach, a kind of bottom-feeding fish. Paraphrasing a poem by Mitsuo Aida, he said, Ill never be a goldfish in a scarlet robe, Ill work hard for the people, to move politics forward. The loach speech was popular among his colleagues and cemented his reputation at the start of his term. Noda was said to have relations with the United States. On 15 August 2011 —the anniversary of the Surrender of Japan in World War II and this proved controversial and was widely discussed in Japanese society. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government under Governor Shintaro Ishihara sought to buy the Senkaku Islands, on 27 April 2012 the Tokyo government began raising funds from the public to purchase the islands
6.
Chiba Prefecture
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Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. The sixth most populous prefecture, and 27th largest by area, Chiba is on the east coast of Honshu and largely consists of the Bōsō Peninsula. The name of Chiba Prefecture in Japanese is formed from two kanji characters, the first, 千, means thousand and the second, 葉 means leaves. The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko, or regional command office, the name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan and this compound is used in terms such as the Keiyō Line, Keiyō Road, Keiyō Rinkai Railway Rinkai Main Line, and the Keiyō Industrial Zone. Chiba Prefecture was settled in times, as evidenced by the Jōmon period remains in every part of the region. The prefecture holds the largest kaizuka sea shell mounds in Japan, evidence of a population in the prefecture that relied on the rich marine products of the Pacific Ocean. Kofun burial mounds are found across the prefecture, with the largest group being in Futtsu along Tokyo Bay, in the Asuka period, under the Taika Reform of 645, the administrative structure of present-day Chiba Prefecture changed significantly. Awa Province at the south of Chiba Prefecture, was separated from Kazusa Prefecture in 718 and these administrative units existed until they were abolished and merged into Chiba Prefecture after the Meiji restoration. The central government established a provincial temple in each province. The imperial court gradually extended its authority over the three provinces in the Nara and Heian periods, shōen feudal estates were established across the three provinces, and the region became an important source of tax revenue, agricultural and other products to the capital in Kyoto. As the Heian period progressed, however, the provincial governors came to exert military power independent of the central government in Kyoto. The Chiba clan broke entirely with the court and was instrumental in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate. Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15,1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture, the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake caused widespread destruction in Chiba Prefecture, notably in the southernmost part of the Bōsō Peninsula, where 1,300 residents were killed. Koreans in several neighborhoods of Yachiyo were killed, and a tower was erected in 1972 near Yachiyodai Station to memorialize those killed in the incident, the militarization of Chiba Prefecture dates to the Russo-Japanese War. Coastal fortifications were built along Tokyo Bay as far south as Tateyama to protect the capital of the Japanese Empire from attack, after the United States took control of Saipan the northern part of the prefecture, most notably the city of Chiba and Chōshi, were firebombed. Much of the north of the prefecture was destroyed. Operation Coronet, one of two parts of Operation Downfall, was the land invasion of Tokyo in March 1946 by the United States
7.
Yamaguchi Prefecture
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Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region of the main island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture, the largest city, however, is Shimonoseki. Yamaguchi Prefecture was created by the merger of the provinces of Suō, during the rise of the samurai class during the Heian and Kamakura Periods, the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In the Muromachi Period, Ouchi Hiroyo, the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Ouchi clan imitated the city planning of Kyoto. They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea, as a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the Kyoto of the West, and Ouchi culture flourished. Sue Harutaka defeated the 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan, the Sue clan was then defeated by Mōri Motonari, and the Mōri family gained control of the Chugoku region. Yamaguchi was ruled as part of the Mōri clan domain during the Sengoku period, Mōri Terumoto was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas, Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign. After Commodore Matthew Perrys opening of Japan, clans from Nagato played a key role in the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, four years after the Edo Shogunate was overthrown and the Meiji government formed in 1868, the present Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. The Meiji government brought in new systems and modern policies. In the Taisho period, from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, during the post-World War II Shōwa Period, Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes. Thirteen cities are located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, These are the towns in each district, For the purposes of development analysis, although Yamaguchi is not part of the island of Kyushu, it has become a functional satellite of the Kanmon Straits metropolitan area. The most popular place for tourism is Shimonoseki, for example Karato Fish Market, there is a large fireworks festival in summer. Another attraction is the Kintai Bridge in the town of Iwakuni and this five-arched wooden structure is considered a symbol of Western Honshū. Hagi City is in the north of Yamaguchi and it is a very traditional city. The usual color of Japanese post boxes is red, but in Hagi they are painted green or brown, the Hagi Museum is modeled after a traditional samurai residence. The exhibits are detailed and realistic, and are changed every year, the permanent collection is data about Hagis history and collections about Takasugi Shinsaku. Hagi also contains a reverberatory furnace which has designated a World Heritage Site
8.
Chief Cabinet Secretary
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The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The main function of the Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, the Chief Cabinet Secretarys office is located on the fifth floor of the Prime Ministers official residence in Tokyo. Before and during World War II, the position was known in Japanese as 内閣書記官長, the modern position was created on May 3,1947, shortly after the passage of the Constitution of Japan, and elevated to ministerial status in 1966. The present incumbent, Yoshihide Suga, is the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in history, since 1947, the office of Chief Cabinet Secretary has been regarded as a stepping stone to the post of Prime Minister. The first Chief Cabinet Secretary to become Prime Minister was Ichirō Hatoyama, since then, eight other former Chief Cabinet Secretaries have become Prime Ministers, most recently Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda
9.
Osaka Prefecture
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Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka and it is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. Osaka is one of the two prefectures of Japan, Kyoto being the other. Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Osaka prefecture was known as Kawachi, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture was created on June 21,1868, at the very beginning of the Meiji era. During the instigation of Fuhanken Sanchisei in 1868, the received its suffix fu. On September 1,1956, the city of Osaka was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance, in 2000, Fusae Ota became Japans first female governor when she replaced Knock Yokoyama, who resigned after prosecution for sexual harassment. On April 1,2006, the city of Sakai was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance, in 2008, Tōru Hashimoto, previously famous as a counselor on television, was elected at the age of 38 as the youngest governor in Japan. In the 2011 local elections the association was able to win the majority of the prefectural seats, the plan was narrowly defeated in the 2015 referendum. Osaka Prefecture neighbors the prefectures of Hyōgo and Kyoto in the north, Nara in the east, the west is open to Osaka Bay. The Yodo and Yamato Rivers flow through the prefecture, prior to the construction of Kansai International Airport, Osaka was the smallest prefecture in Japan. The artificial island on which the airport was built added enough area to make it larger than Kagawa Prefecture. This represented approximately 48% of the Kinki region, the per capita income was ¥3.0 million, seventh in the nation. Commercial sales the year was ¥60.1 trillion. Overshadowed by such globally renowned electronics giants as Panasonic and Sharp, the number of SMEs based in Osaka in 2006 was 330,737, accounting for 99. 6% of the total number of businesses in the prefecture. The Osaka Securities Exchange, specializing in such as Nikkei 225 Futures, is based in Osaka. There are many electrical, chemical, pharmaceutical, heavy industry, food, and housing companies in Osaka Prefecture. According to the 2005 Population Census of Japan, Osaka prefecture has a population of 8,817,166, as of 2013 this prefecture has about 200,000 ethnic Korean persons, the largest such population of any prefecture in Japan. As of 2013 most ethnic Korean children attend ordinary Japanese public schools, although some Korean schools operated by the Chongryon, during the Japanese rule of Korea many ethnic Koreans came to the Osaka area to look for work
10.
Kanagawa Prefecture
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Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital of the prefecture is Yokohama, Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. Kanagawa Prefecture is home to Kamakura and Hakone, two highly popular side trip destinations from Tokyo, the prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period. About 3,000 years ago, Mount Hakone produced an explosion which resulted in Lake Ashi on the western area of the prefecture. It is believed that the Yamato dynasty ruled this area from the 5th century onwards, in the ancient era, its plains were very sparsely inhabited. In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami, Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the Kamakura period. During the Edo period, the part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyō of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo. Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854 and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the United States. Nearby Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a port and now serves as headquarters for the U. S. 7th Fleet. After the Meiji period, many lived in Yokohama City. The Meiji Government developed the first railways in Japan, from Shinbashi to Yokohama in 1872, the epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka. The sea receded as much as 400 metres from the shore at Manazuru Point, at Kamakura, the total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. At Odawara, ninety percent of the buildings collapsed immediately, Yokohama, Kawasaki and other major cities were heavily damaged by the U. S. bombing in 1945. Casualties amounted to more than several thousand, after the war, General Douglas MacArthur, the chief commander of Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers for the Occupation of Japan, landed in Kanagawa, before moving to other areas. U. S. military bases remain in Kanagawa, including Camp Zama, Yokosuka Naval Base. In 1945, Kanagawa was the 15th most populous prefecture in Japan, in the years after the war, the prefecture underwent rapid urbanization as a part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The population as of September 1,2014, is estimated to be 9.1 million, Kanagawa became the second most populous prefecture in 2006
11.
Hokkaido
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Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city, about 43 km north of Hokkaido lies Sakhalin island, Russia, whereas to its east and north-east are the disputed Kuril Islands. Hokkaido was settled by the Ainu, Nivkh, and Orok before recorded history, the Nihon Shoki, finished in 720 AD, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido in recorded history. According to the text, Abe no Hirafu led a navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with the Mishihase. One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima, which is believed to be present-day Hokkaido. During the Nara and Heian periods, people in Hokkaido conducted trade with Dewa Province, from the Middle Ages, the people in Hokkaido began to be called Ezo. Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezochi 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 war, takeda Nobuhiro killed the Ainu leader, Koshamain, and defeated the opposition in 1457. Nobuhiros descendants became the rulers of the Matsumae-han, which was granted trading rights with the Ainu in the Azuchi-Momoyama. The Matsumae familys economy relied upon trade with the Ainu and they held authority over the south of Ezochi until the end of the Edo period in 1868. The Matsumae clan rule over the Ainu must be understood in the context of the expansion of the Japanese feudal state, medieval military leaders in northern Honshū maintained only tenuous political and cultural ties to the imperial court and its proxies, the Kamakura Shogunate and Ashikaga Shogunate. Feudal strongmen sometimes located themselves within medieval institutional order, taking shogunal titles, in fact many of the feudal strongmen were descended from Emishi military leaders who had been assimilated into Japanese society. The Matsumae clan were of Yamato descent like other ethnic Japanese people, the Emishi were conquered and integrated into the Japanese state dating back as far as the 8th century, and as result began to lose their distinctive culture and ethnicity as they became minorities. By the time the Matsumae clan ruled over the Ainu most of the Emishi were ethnically mixed, there were numerous revolts by the Ainu against feudal rule. The last large-scale resistance was Shakushains Revolt in 1669–1672, in 1789, a smaller movement, the Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion, was also crushed. After that rebellion the terms Japanese and Ainu referred to clearly distinguished groups, in 1799–1821 and 1855–1858 the Edo Shogunate took direct control over Hokkaido in response to a perceived threat from Russia
