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Karafuto Prefecture
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Karafuto Prefecture
Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁, Karafuto-chō; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.ɾa.ɸɯ̥.to]) was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Portsmouth.
Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan's External Land (Gaichi), until it was incorporated into an Inner Land (Naichi) of the Japanese metropole in April 1943. Ōtomari (Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 and Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945.
In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following the invasion of South Sakhalin by the Soviet Union. Karafuto Prefecture was annexed to the Soviet Union, although it continued to exist under Japanese law until it was formally abolished by Japan in June 1949.
The Japanese name Karafuto purportedly comes from Ainu kamuy 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 (of Amur River)'.[not verified in body] It was formerly known as Kita Ezo, meaning Northern Ezo (Ezo was the former name for Hokkaido). When Japan governed the southern part of the island, they referred to it as Minami Karafuto (南樺太, South Karafuto) or simply Karafuto (樺太). The northern part of the island was called Kita Karafuto (北樺太, North Karafuto) or simply Sagaren (薩哈嗹).
In Russian, the entire island was named Sakhalin or Saghalien. It is from Manchu sahaliyan ula angga hada, meaning "peak of the mouth of Amur River". The southern part was simply called Yuzhny Sakhalin ("South Sakhalin"). In Korean, the name is Sahallin or Hwataedo, with the latter name in use during Korea under Japanese rule.
Japanese settlement on Sakhalin dates to at least the Edo period. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the Matsumae domain mapped the island, and named it "Kita-Ezo". Japanese cartographer and explorer Mamiya Rinzō established that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now named Mamiya Strait (Strait of Tartary) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845.
The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both the Russian Empire and 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 the Tokugawa shogunate to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new Meiji government was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories. In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands.
Japan invaded Sakhalin in the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, but per the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth was allowed to retain only the southern portion of the island below the 50° 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 at Ōtomari. In 1908, the capital was relocated to Toyohara.
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Karafuto Prefecture
Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁, Karafuto-chō; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.ɾa.ɸɯ̥.to]) was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Portsmouth.
Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan's External Land (Gaichi), until it was incorporated into an Inner Land (Naichi) of the Japanese metropole in April 1943. Ōtomari (Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 and Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945.
In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following the invasion of South Sakhalin by the Soviet Union. Karafuto Prefecture was annexed to the Soviet Union, although it continued to exist under Japanese law until it was formally abolished by Japan in June 1949.
The Japanese name Karafuto purportedly comes from Ainu kamuy 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 (of Amur River)'.[not verified in body] It was formerly known as Kita Ezo, meaning Northern Ezo (Ezo was the former name for Hokkaido). When Japan governed the southern part of the island, they referred to it as Minami Karafuto (南樺太, South Karafuto) or simply Karafuto (樺太). The northern part of the island was called Kita Karafuto (北樺太, North Karafuto) or simply Sagaren (薩哈嗹).
In Russian, the entire island was named Sakhalin or Saghalien. It is from Manchu sahaliyan ula angga hada, meaning "peak of the mouth of Amur River". The southern part was simply called Yuzhny Sakhalin ("South Sakhalin"). In Korean, the name is Sahallin or Hwataedo, with the latter name in use during Korea under Japanese rule.
Japanese settlement on Sakhalin dates to at least the Edo period. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the Matsumae domain mapped the island, and named it "Kita-Ezo". Japanese cartographer and explorer Mamiya Rinzō established that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now named Mamiya Strait (Strait of Tartary) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845.
The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both the Russian Empire and 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 the Tokugawa shogunate to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new Meiji government was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories. In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands.
Japan invaded Sakhalin in the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, but per the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth was allowed to retain only the southern portion of the island below the 50° 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 at Ōtomari. In 1908, the capital was relocated to Toyohara.
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