is a term used to distinguish Japan's core land area from its outlying territories. "Mainland Japan" was an official term in the pre-war period, distinguishing Japan proper from its overseas territories (外地, ''gaichi'', lit. "outer lands") in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, such as Japanese Taiwan, Japanese Korea, Karafuto, the South Seas Mandate, and the

Kwantung Leased Territory The Kwantung Leased Territory () was a Concessions in China, leased territory of the Empire of Japan in the Liaodong Peninsula from 1905 to 1945. Japan first acquired Kwantung from the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire in perpetuity in 1895 in the Tre ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, its usage became less common and lost its previous legal significance. The term's literal Japanese meaning might best be translated as "inner Japan" or "inner lands". The term " mainland" is somewhat inaccurate since it usually refers to all or part of a continental landmass, rather than islands. Today, the term is sometimes colloquially used to distinguish the country's four largest islands ( Hokkaidō,

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, and Shikokū) from smaller islands such as the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

and the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

, although these islands were considered part of Mainland Japan in the pre-war period. However, depending on the context, the term "Mainland Japan" may refer only to Honshū, the largest island.

Historical usage

In the Japanese Empire of the pre-war period, ''naichi'' referred to the mainland of the empire. The other territories of the empire was called ''gaichi'' (外地, lit. "outer lands"). The

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...

's Article 1 of the Common Law ( 共通法) enumerates the territories with legal jurisdictions namely:

Naichi

''Naichi'' (内地, lit. "inner lands") referred to the territories under direct control of the government. They consisted of the following: * Karafuto (since 1943) * Chishima Islands (since 1875) * Hokkaidō *

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

* Izu Islands *

(since 1879) * Nanpō Islands (since 1891) ** Ogasawara Islands ** Iwo Islands ** Okinotorishima ** Minamitorishima *Minor outlying islands around them

Gaichi

These territories were called ''gaichi'' (外地, lit. "outer lands"). They were part of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, but not under direct control by the central government. *

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan 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 fr ...

(until 1947) *

(until 1879) *

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

** Shinnan Islands (since 1938) ** Seisa Islands (since 1938) * Karafuto (until 1943) * Chōsen * Kwantung Province * South Manchuria Railway Zone * South Seas Mandate * Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory *

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

* Hankou *

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

* Shashi Although it has never been abolished, the Common Law lost effect from enforcement after Japan lost all the former colonies, or ''gaichi'' as a result of

Modern usage

Residents of places like Hokkaidō, Okinawa and Amami occasionally use ''naichi'' to refer to the "mainland", excluding these areas. The colloquial usage is officially "incorrect", as both areas are legally within ''naichi''. In Hokkaidō, the official term that refers to Japan except Hokkaidō is ''dōgai'' (lit. outside of Hokkaidō). With ''dōgai'' becoming common even in colloquial use, ''naichi'' ceased to be used. Residents of Okinawa also use the term ''hondo'' (lit. mainland) to refer to parts of Japan outside of Okinawa. In Japanese law, the meaning of ''hondo'' is used to make a distinction between the "main islands" of Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū and "outlying islands" referred to as ''ritō''. The term "main islands" (本島 ''hontō'') is used for

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

and Okinawa. The other estimated 6,847 smaller islands are called 'remote islands' (離島 ''ritō'').

References

{{coord, 36, N, 138, E, region:JP, display=title Geography of Japan

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Historical usage

Naichi

Gaichi

Modern usage

See also

References