was a short-lived

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island 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 the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. It corresponded to modern-day

Kushiro Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Kushiro is home to a population of red-crowned cranes, estimated in 2022 to number about 1,900. Geography Municipalities Mergers History *November, 1897: Kushiro Subprefecture estab ...

and part of

Abashiri Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897. Etymology Abashiri Prefecture was named after the subprefectural office ...

History

After 1869, the northern Japanese island became known as Hokkaido; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Hokkaido,"
''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 343. and regional administrative subdivisions were identified, including Kushiro Province. In 1882, the

Hokkaido region is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island 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 from Honshu; th ...

was separated into three prefectures — , , and . In 1886, the three prefectures were abolished, and Hokkaido was put under the .Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau
"History of Development in Hokkaido,"
; retrieved 2013-3-22. At the same time, Kushiro Province continued to exist for some purposes. For example, Kushiro is explicitly recognized in treaties in 1894 (a) between Japan and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and (b) between Japan and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

.US Department of State. (1906)
''A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements'' (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759

Timeline

*1869—use of the name Hokkaido started *August 15, 1869 Kushiro Province established with 7

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

*1872 Census finds a population of 1,734 * July 1881 Abashiri District (網尻郡) incorporated for Abashiri District (網走郡),

Kitami Province was a short-lived province located in Hokkaidō. It corresponded to modern-day Sōya Subprefecture and Abashiri Subprefecture minus part of Abashiri District. History After 1869, the northern Japanese island was known as Hokkaido; and regional ...

* 1882—prefectures established * 1886—Hokkaido Agency established * 1947—Hokkaido Prefecture established

Districts

* Shiranuka (白糠郡) * Ashoro (足寄郡) *

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Mountains * Mount Oakan * Mount Meakan * Mount Akan ...

(釧路郡) *

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

(阿寒郡) *

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the cit ...

(網尻郡) * Kawakami (川上郡) *

Akkeshi is a Towns of Japan, town located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido. As of July 31, 2021, it has a population of 8,922, and an area of 734.82 km2. Lake Akkeshi is a List of Ramsar sites in Japan, Ramsar Site. History *Edo period – Was ...

(厚岸郡)

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Papinot, Edmond. (1910). ''Historical and Geographic Dictionary of Japan.'' Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha
OCLC 77691250
States and territories established in 1869 1882 disestablishments in Japan Former provinces of Japan 1869 establishments in Japan {{Hokkaido-geo-stub