Wikipedia

Karafuto Prefecture

"Karafuto" redirects here. For other uses, seeKarafuto (disambiguation).

Karafuto Prefecture,derived from the JapaneseKarafuto Chō(Hoa thái thính / hoa thái sảnh,からふとちょう), was established by theEmpire of Japanin 1907 to govern the southern part ofSakhalin,referred to by Japan asKarafuto.This territory became part of theEmpire of Japanin 1905 after theRusso-Japanese War,when the portion of Sakhalin south of50°Nwas ceded by theRussian Empireunder theTreaty of Portsmouth.

Karafuto
Hoa thái
Former subdivision of theEmpire of Japan
1905–1945
Flag of Karafuto Chō
Flag of Karafuto during the Takushoku Expo
Emblem of Karafuto Chō
Emblem

Green:Karafuto within Japan in 1942
Light green:Other constituents of theEmpire of Japan
Anthem
Karafuto tōka
CapitalŌtomari(1907–1908)
Toyohara(1908–1945)
Area
• December 1941
36,090.3 km2(13,934.5 sq mi)
Population
• December 1941
406,557
Government
Emperor of Japan
• 1905–1912
Emperor Meiji
• 1912–1926
Emperor Taishō
• 1926–1945
Emperor Shōwa
History
5 September 1905
28 August 1905–31 March 1907
• Karafuto Prefecture established
1 April 1907
• Incorporated intoinner land
1 April 1943
11–25 August 1945
• Karafuto PrefectureDe jureabolished
1 June 1949
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Russian Empire
Soviet Union
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Oblast

Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan'sExternal Land (Gaichi),until it was incorporated into anInner Land (Naichi)of the Japanesemetropolein 1943.Ōtomari(Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 andToyohara(Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945.

In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following theinvasion of South Sakhalinby theSoviet Union.Karafuto Prefecture wasde factoannexed to the Soviet Union, although it continued to existde jureunder Japanese law until it was formally abolished as alegal entityby Japan in June 1949.

Name

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The Japanese nameKarafutopurportedly comes fromAinukamuy kar put ya mosir(カムィ・カㇻ・プッ・ヤ・モシㇼ), which means'the island a god has created on the estuary (ofAmur River)'.[not verified in body]It was formerly known asKita Ezo,meaning NorthernEzo(Ezo was the former name forHokkaido). When Japan governed the southern part of the island, they referred to it asMinami Karafuto(Nam hoa thái,South Karafuto) or simplyKarafuto(Hoa thái). The northern part of the island was calledKita Karafuto(Bắc hoa thái,North Karafuto) or simplySagaren(Tát cáp 嗹).

InRussian,the entire island was namedSakhalinorSaghalien.It is fromManchusahaliyan ula angga hada,meaning "peak of the mouth of Amur River". The southern part was simply calledYuzhny Sakhalin( "South Sakhalin" ). InKorean,the name isSahallinorHwataedo,with the latter name in use duringKorea under Japanese rule.

History

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Map ofSakhalinwithparallelsshowing the division at the50th parallel northwith the Karafuto Prefecture highlighted in red
The Karafuto Prefectural Office in Toyohara

Japanesesettlement on Sakhalin dates to at least theEdo period.Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of theMatsumae domainmapped the island, and named it "Kita-Ezo".Japanese cartographer and explorerMamiya Rinzōestablished that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now namedMamiya Strait(Strait of Tartary) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimedsovereigntyover the whole island in 1845.

The 1855Treaty of Shimodaacknowledged that both theRussian Empireand Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. Attempts by theTokugawa shogunateto purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the newMeiji governmentwas unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories. In theTreaty of Saint Petersburg (1875),Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of theKuril Islands.

Japaninvaded Sakhalinin the final stages of theRusso-Japanese Warof 1904–1905, but per the 1905Treaty of Portsmouthwas allowed to retain only the southern portion of the island below the50° N parallel.Russia retained the northern portion, although the Japanese were awarded favorable commercial rights, including fishing and mineral extraction rights in the north. In 1907, Karafuto Prefecture was officially established, with the capital atŌtomari.In 1908, the capital was relocated toToyohara.

In 1920, Karafuto was officially designated an external territory of Japan, and its administration and development came under the aegis of theMinistry of Colonial Affairs.Following theNikolaevsk Incidentin 1920, Japan briefly seized the northern half of Sakhalin, and occupied it until the establishment of formaldiplomatic relationswith theSoviet Unionin 1925; however, Japan continued to maintainpetroleumandcoalconcessions in northern Sakhalin until 1944. In 1943, the status of Karafuto was upgraded to that of an "inner land",making it an integral part of theEmpire of Japan.

As Japan was extending its influence overEast Asiaand thePacificthrough the establishment of aGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,theImperial Japanese Armyas part of its offensivecontingency plansto invade theSoviet Unionif it either became involved in thePacific Waror collapsed due to theongoing German invasion,proposed the annexation of the remaining northern half of Sakhalin to Japan.[1]

Soviet invasion

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Main article:Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin

In August 1945, after repudiating theSoviet–Japanese Neutrality Pactin April, and according to the signed agreements of Yalta, in which Stalin pledged that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany, theSoviet Unioninvaded Karafuto. The Soviet attack started on 11 August 1945, three days before thesurrender of Japan.The Soviet 56th Rifle Corps, part of the16th Army,consisting of the 79th Rifle Division, the 2nd Rifle Brigade, the 5th Rifle Brigade and the 214 Armored Brigade,[2]attacked theJapanese 88th Infantry Division.Although the SovietRed Armyoutnumbered the Japanese by three to one, they advanced only slowly due to strong Japanese resistance. It was not until the 113th Rifle Brigade and the 365th Independent Naval Infantry Rifle Battalion fromSovetskaya Gavanlanded inTōro,a seashore village in western Karafuto, on 16 August that the Soviets broke the Japanese defense line. Japanese resistance grew weaker after this landing. Actual fighting continued until 21 August. Between 22 and 23 August, most remaining Japanese units agreed to a ceasefire. The Soviets completed the conquest of Karafuto on 25 August 1945, by occupying the capital of Toyohara.

Post-war

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Main article:Evacuation of Karafuto and Kuriles
A Japanese soldier at the border between the Karafuto Prefecture and Soviet Sakhalin

There were over 400,000 people living in Karafuto when the Soviet offensive began in early August 1945. Most were of Japanese or Korean extraction, though there was also a smallWhite Russiancommunity as well as someAinu indigenous tribes.By the time of the ceasefire, approximately 100,000 civilians had managed to escape toHokkaidō.The military government established by theSoviet Armybanned the local press, confiscated cars and radio sets and imposed a curfew. Local managers and bureaucrats were made to aid Russian authorities in the process of reconstruction, before being deported to labor camps, either on North Sakhalin or inSiberia.In schools, courses inMarxism–Leninismwere introduced, and Japanese children were obliged to sing songs in praise ofStalin.

Step by step Karafuto lost its Japanese identity.Sakhalin Oblastwas created in February 1946, and by March all towns, villages and streets were givenRussiannames. More and more colonists began to arrive from mainland Russia, with whom the Japanese were obliged to share the limited stock of housing. In October 1946 the Soviets began to repatriate all remaining Japanese. By 1950 most had been sent, willing or not, to Hokkaidō. They had to leave all of their possessions behind, including any currency, Russian or Japanese. Today some keep alive the memory of their former home in the meetings of theKarafuto Renmei,an association for former Karafuto residents.

In 1945, with the defeat of Japan inWorld War II,the Japanese administration in Karafuto ceased to function. The Japanese government formally abolished Karafuto Prefecture as a legal entity on 1 June 1949. In 1951, at theTreaty of San Francisco,Japan renounced its rights to Sakhalin, but did not formally acknowledge Soviet sovereignty over it.[3]Since that time, no final peace treaty has been signed between Japan and Russia, and the status of the neighboringKuril Islandsremains disputed.

Geography

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Main article:Geography of Karafuto

Demographics

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Ethnic Groups

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Census

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The Results Report of theShōwa10 (1935) National Census
Karafuto Chapter [4]

Population by Civil Registration and Nationality
Population
Total 331,943
Naichi 320,689
Indigenous 1,949
Gaichi 8,842
Korea 8,841
Taiwan 1
Foreigner 463
Manchukuo 11
Republic of China 194
Former Russia[a] 201
Germany 7
Poland 50
The population byregionof Naich people
Region Population
Karafuto 100,853
Hokkaido 86,376
Tōhoku 76,698
Others 53,762
Total 320,689
Population of Naichi,Indigenous,Gaichi people, and foreigners by subprefecture
Subprefecture Population
Naichi Indigenous Gaichi Foreigner Total
Toyohara 64,787 276 694 101 65,858
Ōtomari 61,366 140 300 121 61,927
Honto 22,932 19 251 21 23,223
Maoka 48,353 447 385 16 49,201
Tomarioru 56,928 412 3,601 90 61,031
Motodomari 25,327 33 1,147 37 26,544
Shikuka 40,996 622 2,464 77 44,159
Total 320,689 1,949 8,842 463 331,943
The population of indigenous ethnic groups by subprefecture
Subprefecture Population
Ainu Orok Nivkh Evenki Ulch Yakut Total
Toyohara 276 0 0 0 0 0 276
Ōtomari 138 0 0 2 0 0 140
Honto 19 0 0 0 0 0 19
Maoka 447 0 0 0 0 0 447
Tomarioru 412 0 0 0 0 0 412
Motodomari 32 1 0 0 0 0 33
Shikuka 180 299 110 22 9 2 622
Total 1,504 300 110 24 9 2 1,949

Economy

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This JapaneseD51 steam locomotivestands outside the present dayYuzhno-SakhalinskRailway Station,Sakhalin Oblast,Russia.They were used by theSoviet Railwaysuntil 1979.

The pre-war economy of Karafuto was based onfishing,forestryandagriculture,together with extraction ofcoalandpetroleum.In terms of industry, thepaper industryand thecharcoalproduction industry was well developed. Pulp forrayonproduction inHonshuwas predominately sourced from Karafuto.[5]The territory suffered from a labor shortage through most of its history, and tax incentives were provided to encourage immigration.[6]IndigenousNivkhandOroksworked in Japanese-run fisheries and asynthetic textileplant near the Russian border. For the construction of the Toyohara-Maoka line,bonded laborwas put to use, including Chinese contract laborers. By the end of the 1920s, these laborers would be replaced with Koreans. With the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese Warin 1937, their population would increase substantially.[7]

An extensive railway network was constructed in Karafuto to support the extraction of natural resources. The Karafuto Railway Bureau(Hoa thái thiết đạo cục,Karafuto Tetsudōkyoku)maintained 682.6 kilometers of track in four main lines and an additional 58.2 kilometers of track.

Government

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Karafuto was administered from the central government inTokyoas the Karafuto Agency(Hoa thái thính,Karafuto-chō)under the Colonization Bureau(Thác vụ cục,Takumukyoku)of theHome Ministry.The Colonization Bureau became the Ministry of Colonial Affairs(Thác vụ tỉnh,Takumushō)in 1923 at which time Karafuto was officially designated an overseas territory of theEmpire of Japan.

When the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was absorbed into the newMinistry of Greater East Asiain 1942, the administration of Karafuto was separated, and Karafuto became an integral part of theJapanese archipelago.

Directors of the Karafuto Agency

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Name From To
Kiichirō Kumagai 28 July 1905 31 March 1907
Kusunose Yukihiko 1 April 1907 24 April 1908
Takejirō Tokonami 24 April 1908 12 June 1908
Sadatarō Hiraoka 12 June 1908 5 June 1914
Bunji Okada 5 June 1914 9 October 1916
Akira Sakaya 13 October 1916 17 April 1919
Kinjirō Nagai 17 April 1919 11 June 1924
Akira Sakaya(second term) 11 June 1924 5 August 1926
Katsuzō Toyota 5 August 1926 27 July 1927
Kōji Kita 27 July 1927 9 July 1929
Shinobu Agata 9 July 1929 17 December 1931
Masao Kishimoto 17 December 1931 5 July 1932
Takeshi Imamura 5 July 1932 7 May 1938
Toshikazu Munei 7 May 1938 9 April 1940
Masayoshi Ogawa 9 April 1940 1 July 1943
Toshio Ōtsu 1 July 1943 11 November 1947

Political divisions

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Main article:Political divisions of Karafuto Prefecture
Karafuto Prefecture with 4 subprefectures, namelyToyohara,Maoka,EsutoruandShikuka.Toyohara Citywas also a part of Toyohara Subprefecture.

As of 1945, Karafuto was divided into four subprefectures, which in turn were subdivided into 11districts,in turn divided into 41municipalities(onecity,13towns,and 27villages).

Karafuto's largest city wasToyohara,while other major cities includedEsutoruin the north central andMaokain the south central region.

The list below are the towns and the city of the prefecture. These initalicsare the corresponding currentRussiannames.

Esutoru Subprefecture(Huệ tu thủ chi thính)

Maoka Subprefecture(Chân cương chi thính[8])

Shikuka Subprefecture(Phu hương chi thính)

Toyohara Subprefecture(Phong nguyên chi thính[8])

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Cựu lộ tây árefers to theRussian Empire(1721–1917) and the Russian people who remained living in Southern Sakhalin after it became Japanese territory, as well as theWhite émigréswho came as a result of theRussian Civil War.

References

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  1. ^Krebs, Gerhard (1997). "31. Japan and the German-Soviet War". In Wegner, Bernd (ed.).From peace to war: Germany, Soviet Russia, and the world, 1939–1941.Berghahn Books. p. 551.ISBN1-57181-882-0.
  2. ^16th Army, 2nd Far Eastern Front, Soviet Far East Command, 09.08,45[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^Sevela, Marie. "Sakhalin: The Japanese Under Soviet rule".History Today,Vol. 48, 1998.
  4. ^Hoa thái thính biên (1937).Chiêu hòa 10 niên quốc thế điều tra kết quả báo cáo.Hoa thái thính phong nguyên đinh: Hoa thái thính.
  5. ^Suzuki, Shinichi (January 1935). "The Rayon Industry in Japan".Economic Geography.11(1): 107.doi:10.2307/140653.JSTOR140653.
  6. ^Steven Ivings:Recruitment and coercion in Japan’s far north: Evidence from colonial Karafuto’s forestry and construction industries, 1910–37,in: Labor History, Vol. 57 (2016), No. 2, pp. 215–234.
  7. ^Morris-Suzuki, Tessa (August 2001). "Northern Lights: The Making and Unmaking of Karafuto Identity".The Journal of Asian Studies.60(3):645–671.doi:10.2307/2700105.JSTOR2700105.
  8. ^abcdHoa thái địa danh cải chính minh trị tứ thập nhất niên tam nguyệt tam thập nhất nhật nội vụ tỉnh cáo kỳ đệ nhị thập cửu hào

Further reading

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  • Sevela, Marie, "Sakhalin: The Japanese under Soviet rule".History and Memory,January 1998, pp. 41–46.
  • Sevela, Marie, "Nihon wa Soren ni natta toki. Karafuto kara Saharin e no ikô 1945–1948".Rekishigakukenkû,1995, no. 676, pp. 26–35, 63.
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