Shakushain's revolt

Not to be confused with Shukushin.

The revolt of Shakushain (シャクシャインの戦い, Shakushain no tatakai) was an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 and 1672 in the Edo period. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, who represented Japanese trading and governmental interests in the area of Hokkaidō, then controlled by the Japanese (Yamato people).

Shakushain's revolt
Part of the Ainu rebellions
Monument to Shakushain at the site of the surrender
Date 1669 to 1672 Location Hokkaidō, Japan Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Matsumae clan	Ainu
Commanders and leaders
Norihiro Matsumae Yasuhiro Matsumae	Shakushain †

Background

The Matsumae clan were given the area around present-day Matsumae, Hokkaidō, what would become the Matsumae Domain, as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They were charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" of the north.^[1]

Trade between the Ainu and the Yamato changed greatly over time. In the early days, the Ainu traveled to Matsumae Domain to carry out transactions. However, in the first half of the 17th century, the Matsumae began to grant the trading right with the Ainu to their samurai as a substitute for a fief. The samurai were assigned trading posts set up in various parts of Hokkaidō to trade with the Ainu. The samurai began to force trade goods on the unwilling Ainu, and to overfish salmon using large nets. Furthermore, in 1665, the Matsumae set the exchange rate at a disadvantage to the Ainu. It is believed that this type of trade caused growing dissatisfaction among the Ainu towards the Yamato.^[2][3]

Revolt

The war began as a fight for resources between Shakushain's people and a rival Ainu clan in the Shibuchari River (Shizunai River) basin of what is now Shinhidaka, Hokkaidō. The war developed into a last-dich effort by the Ainu to keep their political independence and regain control over the terms of their trade relations with the Yamato. The Ainu began to attack Yamato people and ships in Hokkaidō, and they also aimed to capture the colonial cities in the Matsumae Domain.^[4]

According to scholar Brett Walker:^[5]

The war of Shakushain stands out as a watershed event in the history of the conquest of Ezo. Shakushain exploded onto the scene as a charismatic leader who proved able to bridge regional differences among Ainu communities, threatening to unite them against the Japanese intrusion from the south. The Tokugawa shogunate reacted by solidifying its own united front of military allies in the northeast, replacing local Matsumae generals with men of its own choosing, thus illustrating its self-appointed role as defender of the realm.

At the end of 1669, Shakushain's forces surrendered to the Matsumae, assassinated by Matsumae warriors. Afterwards, the war lasted for about three years, but the leaderless rebels eventually surrendered to the Matsumae.^[6]

Aftermath

After suppression of the revolt, Japan consolidated its control of Hakkaidō. The peace treaty bound the Ainu to swear allegiance to Matsumae. The Ainu tribes remained autonomous, but trade relations between the Ainu and Matsumae turned into a trade monopoly, which means the Ainu lost their pricing power in goods and labor transactions with the Yamato. Those unable to support themselves had no choice but to work as forced labor in fish factories in Honshu on a salary about a seventh of the rate paid to the Yamato.^[4]

See also

Other Ainu-Yamato conflicts:

• Koshamain's Revolt (1457)
• Menashi–Kunashir rebellion (1789)