Tokachi Subprefecture

Tokachi (十勝支庁 Tokachi-shichō) is the largest subprefecture in Hokkaidō with a land area of 10,830.99 km². This is greater than all but five (Akita, Fukushima, Iwate, Nagano, Niigata) of the 46 prefectures in the southern Japanese islands. However the population density is much less. In 2006 the estimated number of inhabitants was 358,639.

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History

Statue of Yoda Benzō, the founder of modern Tokachi, in Nakajima Park, Obihiro
Statue of Yoda Benzō, the founder of modern Tokachi, in Nakajima Park, Obihiro

Tokachi is thought to have come from the Ainu tokapchi meaning 'a place with breasts'. The name was used for the river as well as the region.

Tokachi Province (十勝国 Tokachi no kuni) was established at the beginning of the Meiji Period in 1869, but then abolished with the other Hokkaidō provinces in 1882. However the modern history of Tokachi really began in 1883 with the arrival of the Banseisha, a group of settlers (27 members of 13 families) from Izu in Shizuoka Prefecture led by Yoda Benzō. The Banseisha were given 10,000 hectares of land by the government and settled initially in Oberiberi (now in the northeastern section of Obihiro near the Obihiro Shrine).

Kasai Subprefecture was set up in 1897 and then renamed as Tokachi in 1932. The subprefecture took its present form in 1948 when an area in the northeast was added to Tokachi after being transferred from Kushiro Subprefecture.

Geography

Tokachi is located between 42° 17' and 43° 28' north, and 142° 51' and 143° 45' east, in southeast Hokkaidō.

The Tokachi Plain is the heart of Tokachi, but the subprefecture extends considerably beyond it to include large tracts of forest and mountain land (accoounting for about 45 percent of the total land area). In the north are the Daisetsu Mountains, in the west the border of Tokachi extends to the central ridge of the Hidaka Mountains. In the east there are the Shiranuka Hills in the east and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south.

The Tokachi River (which is 156 km long and begins near Mount Tokachi in the Daisetsu Mountains) and its tributaries drain the whole of the northern and central parts of the subprefecture.

Climate

Tokachi, at least in the central plain area, is described as having a continental climate with cold, dry winters and warm, wetter summers.

Obihiro is colder than Sapporo (in the west of Hokkaidō) every month of the year and dryer in nine of them, which translates into more sunlight and less snow. Obihiro has around 2,000 hours of sunshine a year.

Environment

The settlers at the end of the 19th century were required to clear the land. This inevitably had environmental consequences including floods, dust storms and soil salination. Today little or no ancient forest remains except in the mountains. Most trees are planted in straight lines, functioning as windbreaks. There are ongoing projects to control the flow of water on the Tokachi river and its tributaries, the last major flood being in 1981.

Tokashi is also in an active region for earthquakes. The offshore Tokachi-Oki Earthquake on 26 September 2003 (magnitude 8.3) was the latest in a series of subduction-related quakes centring on the deep Kuril Trench off the coast of Tokachi. Previous large-scale earthquakes were in 1952, 1968 and 1993.

Agriculture

Tokachi is a major food producing area. It grows 31 percent of Japan's wheat, 33 percent of its potatoes, 33 percent of its azuki beans, 70 percent of its kidney beans and 44 percent of its beet. There is also a considerable amount of dairy and livestock farming.

Transport and communications

A road expressway link between Tokachi and Sapporo in the west is under construction with the mountainous section between Tomamu and Yubari still being built. This road at present extends from Tomamu, in the northwest, to Ashoro, in the northeast, to Kōfuku, just south of Obihiro.

The JR Hokkaidō Nemuro Main (railway) Line (根室本線 Nemuro Honsen) from Sapporo to Nemuro passes through Tokachi, stopping at Shintoku, Memuro, Obihiro, Ikeda and other stations. (The section of the line from Obihiro to Kushiro opened in 1905.) The Furusato Ginga Line (ふるさと銀河線 Furusato Gingasen, formerly the Abashiri Line), running from Ikeda in the south up to Rikubetsu in the northeast of Tokachi, closed on 21 April 2006. (It was first opened in 1910.)

Tokachi-Obihiro Airport on the southern outskirts of the city of Obihiro is the only airport in Tokachi. It is managed by the city government and has regular flights to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

Local government

External links


Obihiro and the districts, towns and villages of Tokachi Subprefecture

Obihiro City • Ashoro District: Ashoro • Rikubetsu • Hiroo District: Hiroo • Taiki • Kamikawa District: Shimizu • Shintoku • Kasai District: Memuro • Nakasatsunai • Sarabetsu • Katō District: Kamishihoro • Otofuke • Shihoro • Shikaoi • Nakagawa District: Honbetsu • Ikeda • Makubetsu • Toyokoro • Tokachi District: Urahoro

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