The , at long, is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river drains an area of , making it the second largest in Japan, with a total discharge of around per year. It originates from

Mount Ishikari is part of the Ishikari Mountains, Hokkaidō, Japan. On its slopes are the head waters of the Ishikari River. See also * Central Ishikari Mountains * Daisetsuzan National Park , or Taisetsuzan is located in the mountainous center of the ...

in the

Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group The is a volcanic group of peaks arranged around the wide caldera in Hokkaidō, Japan. In the Ainu language it is known as ''Nutapukaushipe'' (which means "the mountain above the river"),

and flows through

Asahikawa is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiy ...

and

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

. Major tributaries of the river include the Chūbetsu, Uryū, Sorachi and Toyohira rivers. Until 40,000 years ago, it flowed into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

near

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 households ...

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

from the volcanic Shikotsu mountains dammed the river and moved its mouth to the

Ishikari Bay is a bay located in Hokkaido of Japan, connected to the Sea of Japan. Ishikari Bay is the area east of the straight line from Cape Shakotan on the west of Shakotan Peninsula to Cape Ofuyu. Geography Border communities ;Shiribeshi Subprefecture : ...

. The name of the river is derived from the Ainu for "make(s) itself go round about something" (''i-si-kari'' < ''kari'' meaning "(to be a) circle, round, loop; spin, turn, go around, go back and forth," ''si-'' "reflexive prefix, itself, oneself," and ''i-'' "it, something, an impersonal third person object marking prefix, middle voice inflection prefix), ''i.e.'' "winding (river)." As it suggests, the river once meandered in the

Ishikari Plain Ishikari Plain () is a plain in western Hokkaido. The area of the plain is approximately 3800km. The central city is Sapporo. Rice cultivation The history of rice cultivation is an interdisciplinary subject that studies archaeological and docume ...

and was as long as the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing ...

, the longest river in Japan. Massive construction shortened the river by 100 kilometers and left many in the plain. The landscape and human activities along the Ishikari River, especially the hard life of tenant farmers, are described in the novel 'The Absentee Landlord' published in 1929 by the Japanese writer

Takiji Kobayashi was a Japanese writer of proletarian literature. He is best known for his short novel '' Kanikōsen'', or ''Crab Cannery Ship'', published in 1929. It tells the story of the hard life of cannery workers, fishermen and seamen on board a cannery ...

References

External links

Ishikari-gawa
- Britannica Rivers of Hokkaido Rivers of Japan {{Japan-river-stub