was a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

created during the

Meiji Era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

. It originally contained the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

from Kunashiri northwards, and later incorporated Shikotan as well. Its original territory is currently occupied by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and its territory was renounced in the San Francisco Treaty except for the southern Kuril islands (see

Kuril Islands dispute The Kuril Islands dispute, known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan, is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the ownership of the four southernmost Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands that stretch ...

History

After 1869, the northern Japanese island was known as

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 ...

; and regional administrative subdivisions were identified, including Chishima Province. Satow, Ernest. (1882). "The Geography of Japan" in *1869 Japan occupied Kunashir. *August 15, 1869 Chishima Province created with 5

districts 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 ...

. *1872 The population was counted as 437 *November, 1875 Karafuto (

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

) ceded to Russia in exchange for Kuril Islands in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875). Kuril Islands divided into 3 new districts *January, 1885 Shikotan Island transferred from Nemuro Province. Becomes Shikotan District. *In 1945 the Soviet Union province of Sakhalin been formed which included Kunashir District.

Districts

* Kunashiri (国後郡), around Kunashir Island (occupied and administered by

, see Kuril Island conflict) * Etorofu (択捉郡), around

Iturup Iturup (; ), also historically known by #Names, other names, is an island in the Kuril Archipelago separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly mi ...

island (occupied and administered by Russia) *Furebetsu (振別郡) (dissolved April, 1923 when its villages merged with several villages in Shana and Etorofu districts to form the village of Rubetsu in Etorofu) * Shana (紗那郡) (occupied and administered by Russia) * Shibetoro (蘂取郡) (occupied and administered by Russia) * Shikotan (色丹郡) (split off of Hanasaki District in 1885; currently occupied and administered by Russia) * Uruppu (得撫郡), around Uruppu island, Acquired in Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), ceded in San Francisco Treaty * Shimushiru (新知郡), around Shimushiru island, Acquired in Treaty of Saint Petersburg, ceded in San Francisco Treaty * Shumushu (占守郡), around Shumushu island, Acquired in Treaty of Saint Petersburg, ceded in San Francisco Treaty

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128

Other websites

1869 establishments in Japan Former provinces of Japan History of the Kuril Islands {{Hokkaido-geo-stub