is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Iburi,

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of September 2016, the town had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 17,759. It was established in 1867 by the feudal lords of

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

. Most of the area of the town is forested and parts lie within the

Shikotsu-Tōya National Park is a national park in the western part of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Named after the volcanic caldera lakes of Lake Shikotsu and Lake Tōya, it has a total area of 993.02 square kilometers. The popular hot spring resorts of Noboribetsu ...

History

Shiraoi, like the rest of Hokkaido, was populated by the Ainu. According to the town's official website, the name, Shiraoi, means ''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

s'' in the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...

. Other sources state that the name comes from ''Shiraunai'' meaning ''

Horse-flies Horse flies and deer flies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. The adults are often large and agile in flight. Only females bite land vertebrates, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in sunli ...

''. In 1867, the Sendai domain established a fort in Shiraoi and work began on . The following year the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

caused Sendai to retreat from Shiraoi and return to Sendai proper. After the revolt was put down the government dismantled the fort in 1870. The end of the 19th century saw expansion of the town. A road was established connecting Shiraoi with

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 76,385, with 43,494 households and a population density of . The ...

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, and

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

in 1873. Nineteen years later, the first railroad station was established. The villages of Shadai and Shikiu were established. Two significant events occurred during this expansion: in 1874,

Mount Tarumae is located in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is located near both Tomakomai and Chitose towns and can be seen clearly from both. It is on the shores of Lake Shikotsu, a caldera lake. Tarumae is a 1,041 metre active a ...

erupted, and in 1881, the

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

visited.

Geography

The total area is . The town is East to West and North to South. 82% of this area is forested. Shiraoi is crossed by a number of rivers running from the mountains like Mount Horohoro to the

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

. These include: * Shadai River * Shiraoi River * Shikyu River * Betsubetsu River Mount Horohoro and Lake Kuttara are part of Shikotsu-Tōya National Park.

Lake Poroto A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

is also in the area.

Climate

Shiraoi has an oceanic climate, mild when compared to the rest of Hokkaido. The annual temperature ranges between the extremes of and . The average annual temperature is . Shiraoi receives of precipitation annually. This only results in of snow annually. In a typical year, the snow lingers for 80 days. Accumulated snow rarely exceeding . Wind velocity averages merely , that is less than half of the neighboring Tomakomai and Muroran.

Demographics

Shiraoi has a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 42 persons per km².

Economy

In the 1930s, Shiraoi began the cultivation of mushrooms, such as

Shiitake The shiitake (; ''Chinese/black mushroom'' or ''Lentinula edodes'') is a macrofungus native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed around the globe. Taxonomy The fungus was first described scientifically as '' Agaricus edodes'' by ...

, and mullet

roe Roe, ( ) or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooking, c ...

(or ''

karasumi Karasumi is a food product made by salting mullet roe pouch and drying it in sunlight. A theory suggests that it got its name from its resemblance to the blocks of ''sumi'' (inkstick) imported from China ('' Kara'') for use in Japanese calligra ...

'') at Kojohama. Shiraoi imported the knowledge of mullet roe production from Iwanai. Shiraoi has been involved in the harvest of marine products such as the Horsehair crab and

konbu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...

. Because of dwindling resources, harvesting of hair crab has been reduced to a test operation from the middle of July until the middle of August. Shiraoi introduced the raising of beef cattle from

Shimane Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...

in 1954. In 1966, Shiraoi began with the production of chicken eggs. Shiraoi boasts 550,000 chickens, and a business worth ¥2.8 billion.

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

Shiraoi has four annual festivals: * Shiraoi Dosanko Winter Festival — early February * Shiraoi Beef Festival — early June * Shiraoi Port Festival — early August * Shiraoi Cheipu Festival — early September

Museums and other points of interest

* The

Ainu Museum The , also known as Porotokotan, is a former museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Shiraoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The facility began its existence in 1976 as the Shiraoi Foundation for the Preservation of Ainu Culture. In 1984 this was extended to include the ...

, commonly known as Poroto Kotan – A natural history museum depicting a traditional Ainu village. Performers show traditional crafts and dances like the ''iomante rimse''. * Ayoro Beach * Inkura Falls * Kojohama hotsprings * Lake Kuttara * Mount Horohoro * *

Education

Elementary schools

* * * - Closed in 2016 * - Closed in 2016 * - Merged in 2016 with Shadai, and Midorigaoka. *

Middle schools

* * - Closed in 2013, now site of Hakusho Middle School * * - Closed in 2013 * - Closed in 2013

Other schools

Infrastructure

Transportation

Shiraoi has several stations on the

Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Oshamambe, Hokkaido, Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of Ibu ...

: * Kojōhama * Takeura * Kita-yoshihara * Hagino * Shiraoi * Shadai Shiraoi is served by the following bus companies: *Donan bus Co., Ltd *Hokkaido Chuo Bus Co., Ltd. Shiraoi is served by the following roads and highways: *

Hokkaidō Expressway is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

** Interchange at Shiraoi ** Parking area at Hagino *

National highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

: **

Japan National Route 36 is a national highway connecting Sapporo and Muroran in Hokkaidō, Japan. The highway is home to one of the most accident prone intersections in Hokkaidō. Route data *Length: 133.0 km (82.7 mi) *Origin: Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Sapporo ( ...

*Prefectural roads: ** Hokkaidō Highway 86 ** Hokkaidō Highway 350 ** Hokkaidō Highway 388 ** Hokkaidō Highway 701 ** Hokkaidō Highway 1045

Sister cities

Shiraoi has the following twin city relationships: * Quesnel, Canada since 1981 *

Sendai, Japan is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the twelfth most populated city in Japan. The modern city was founded in 1600 by th ...

since 1981 * Morita (now part of Tsugaru), Japan since 1991

Sports

The

Shadai Stallion Station is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s to early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida, and is now run jointly by his sons (Katsumi, Haruya, and Teruya Yoshida), know ...

is located here. Shadai Stallion Station has bought high-profile

thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered ...

for their breeding program, such as

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

winner

War Emblem War Emblem (February 20, 1999 – March 11, 2020) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was later exported to Japan as a breeding stallion. Background War Emblem was bred by ...

Notable people from Shiraoi

Giichi Nomura Giichi Nomura (野村義一, October 20, 1914 – December 28, 2008) was an advocate and activist for the Ainu people of Japan. Born in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Nomura, of Ainu descent, became a career fisheries executive. In 1960 he joined the Hokkai ...

, advocate and activist for the Ainu people * Hiromi Yamamoto, speed skater

References

External links

*
Official Website

The Ainu Museum Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiraoi, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido