Ishikari Subprefecture

Ishikari Subprefecture (石狩振興局, Ishikari-shinkō-kyoku) is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, located in the western part of the island. The subprefecture covers 3,539.86 square kilometres (1,366.75 sq mi) and on July 31, 2023 had a population of 2,379,802.^[1] The subprefecture takes its name from the Ishikari River, the third longest in Japan, which flows through western Hokkaido and empties into the Sea of Japan in the city of Ishikari. There are 6 cities, three towns, and one village under its jurisdiction. Sapporo is both the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. Shikotsu-Toya National Park is located in the southern part of the subprefecture, and Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park in the north.^[2]

Ishikari Subprefecture 石狩振興局
Ishikari-shinkō-kyoku
Prefecture	Hokkaido
Capital	Sapporo
Area
• Total	3,539.86 km2 (1,366.75 sq mi)
Population  (July 31, 2023)
• Total	2,379,802
• Density	672.287/km2 (1,741.22/sq mi)
Website	ishikari.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp

Ishikari Subprefecture

Sapporo

Etymology

The word Ishikari comes from the Ainu language, and several theories exist as to the meaning of the name.^[2][3]

• The most common translation of "Ishikari", proposed by the missionary and researcher of the Ainu language John Batchelor (1854 – 1944) in 1935, is "a greatly wandering river", a reference to the meandering path of the Ishikari River. According to Batchelor Ishikari is a corruption of "i-sikar-pet" or "ishikaripet". The 'i' sound of i-sikar-pet is a prefix meaning "greatly" or "exceedingly"; shikari meaning "zigzag" or "serpentine", and pet is the Ainu word for river.^[4]
• Tōgo Yoshida (1864 – 1918), proposed in the Dai Nihon Chimei Jisho, published between 1907 and 1910, that "Ishikaripet" had its origin in the Ainu language word "Ishikarapet", meaning "a beautifully formed river"; ishu meaning "beautiful", kara meaning "constructed" and pet meaning river.^[5]

"Ishikari" is written in the Japanese language using ateji, or kanji characters used to phonetically represent native or borrowed words. The first, 石, means to "stone", and the second, 狩, means "to hunt". The meaning of the written form of Ishikari has no relationship to the meaning of word in the Ainu language.

Geography

Municipalities

Name		Area (km2)	Population	District	Type	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Chitose	千歳市	594.5	98,047	no district	City
Ebetsu	江別市	187.38	118,764
Eniwa	恵庭市	294.65	70,278
Ishikari	石狩市	722.42	57,764
Kitahiroshima	北広島市	119.05	57,019
Sapporo (prefectural and subprefectural capital)	札幌市	1,121.26	1,959,750
Shinshinotsu	新篠津村	78.04	2,833	Ishikari District	Village
Tōbetsu	当別町	422.86	15,347		Town

Mergers

See also: List of mergers in Hokkaido § Ishikari Subprefecture

History

• 1897: Sapporo Subprefecture established.
• 1922: Renamed Ishikari Subprefecture.
• 1996: Hiroshima Town becomes Kitahiroshima City, dissolving Sapporo District.

Transportation

Ishikari Prefecture has two airports, both serving the greater Sapporo area.

• Okadama Airport (Domestic)
• New Chitose Airport (International) (Located in the city of Chitose)