is a

district 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 ...

located in

Nemuro Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Japan claims the southern parts of the disputed Kuril Islands (known as the Northern Territories in Japan) as part of this subprefecture. As of March 2009, the subprefecture has an estimated p ...

Hokkaido 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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As of 2010, its population is estimated at 6,069 and its area is 397.88 km², with a population density of 15.3/km² (according to the ''Basic Resident Register'' 住民基本台帳, 31 March 2010.) The origin of the name "Menashi" comes from the Ainu word ''menashi'', meaning "to the east". The local government in Nemuro, which includes Shiretoko and The Northern Territories, decided to name the whole region "Menashi". Menashi's only town is Rausu. The district was one of the settings of the Menashi-Kunashiri Battle of 1789.

Towns

* Rausu

History

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

(1603–1868), the ruling Tokugawa ''shōgun'' allowed the

Matsumae clan The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...

(''Matsumae han'' 松前藩) to settle in the Menashi region, which was then named

Nemuro Nemuro may refer to: * Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan ** Nemuro, Hokkaido, a city ** Nemuro Peninsula ** Nemuro Strait ** Nemuro Bay * Nemuro Province was an old province in Japan in what is today Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkai ...

. According to the Matsumae clan's ''Chronicles of Shiragi'' (''Shiragi no kiroku'' 新羅の記録), from the first year of the Genna era to about Genna 7 (1615–1622) the region's inhabitants (referred to as the Ezo-people, or " Ainu") traded with the Matsumae clan, noting that the Matsumae received 100 small boats worth of eagle feathers and sea otter pelts. In the first year of the Kansei Era (1789) the native inhabitants rebelled in

Kunashiri , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...

and Menashi resulting in the Kansei-Ezo Uprising (''kansei ezo hōki'' 寛政蝦夷蜂起) and the deaths of a large number of Japanese people ( ''wajin'' 和人.) It was during this time that Rausu Onsen was discovered. Toward the end of the Edo period, Menashi was a part of the general East Ezo (''higashi ezo'' 東蝦夷) region. The ''shōgun'' assumed control and established more of a presence in the Menashi region around 1799 (

Kansei was a after ''Tenmei'' and before ''Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-min ...

11) due to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's menacing southern expansion policies. Menashi was then briefly returned to the jurisdiction of the Matsumae clan in c. 1821 (

Bunsei was a after ''Bunka'' and before ''Tenpō''. This period spanned the years from April 1818 through December 1830. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * April 22, 1818 (): The new era name was created to mark the enthronement of the emper ...

4.) In c. 1855 (

Ansei was a after ''Kaei'' and before ''Man'en''. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * November 27, 1854 (): The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government") ...

2) Menashi fell under the domain of the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' once again via the Aizu clan, who ruled the area severely. It was during the

era (1854–1860) that Rausu Shrine was established.

1800s

*1856 to 1857—there was a sulfur spring eruption on the

Shiretoko Peninsula is located on the easternmost portion of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, protruding into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is separated from Kunashir Island, which is now occupied by Russia, by the Nemuro Strait. The name Shiretoko is derived from the ...

. *1869—the official government withdrew from the area and Menashi became absorbed by the Hokkaido-Nemuro region. *8 February 1882—the region known as Haishichi Prefecture 廃使置県 became Nemuro Prefecture.

1900s

*1 April 1923— Shibetsu District's Shibetsu Village 標津村 and Ichani Village 伊茶仁村 joined with Notsuke District's Chashikotsu Village 茶志骨村 to form Shibetsu Village, Shibetsu District, thus separating from Menashi. The second class government municipality Uebetsu Village was then established consisting of Chūrui Village 忠類村, Kunnebetsu Village 薫別村, and Sakimui Village 崎無意村. *1 July 1930—Uebetsu Village is renamed Rausu Village. *1 August 1961—Rausu Village formed its own town administration, renaming the village ''Rausu Town''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Menashi District, Hokkaido Districts in Hokkaido