Group items tagged

We know from archaeological remains that, in Hokkaido, primitive small-scale agriculture existed in the period of the Satsumon ware (scratch-pattern pottery) culture. Foxtail millet, Chinese millet, deccan grass and so on were cultivated in this period.

The Ainu engaged in agriculture as a secondary activity to supplement hunting, fishing and gathering plants in the forests. The cultivated areas thus were small. Women raised crops as a part of housework, and men never took part in agriculture, being principally occupied in hunting and fishing.

The cultivation of vegetables started relatively recently. Potatoes, for example, are believed to have been raised when the Japanese introduced some seed potatoes in 1798 (10 th year of Kansei era). Japanese radish, Ieek, cucumber and pumpkin have been raised since the Edo era. This is said to be because of the influence of the Japanese who engaged in fishing in the area. Other vegetables which the Ainu have raised since ancient times include a kind of turnip called "atane."

Although the Ainu lived by fishing and hunting, they also considered wild plants important food. The following wild plants were gathered as foods : in spring (March to May), Garlic, Lag-wort, Wormwood, Angelica, Angelica Tree, Hogweed, Anemone, brackens, royal ferns, Hog-Peanut, etc. ; in summer (July to August), Heartleaf Lily, Corydalis, Woodbine, Roses, etc. ; in autumn (September to November), chestnuts, walnuts, Oak, Grape-Vine, Tara vines, Cork-tree, Water-nut, mushrooms, etc. Gathering wild plants was a job for women. They were freely allowed to gather wild plants in the vicinity of their own village. Tools for gathering wild plants differed from plant to plant. To gather Hog-Peanut and Garic, the Ainu used "shittap," an excavating tool made of deer horn or wood whose top was hook-shaped. To gather Heartleaf Lily, they used a stick called "tureptani" or "itani." To gather Marsh-Marigold, they used "puytaurayni, " a stick with a sharp tip. Besides these tools, table knives and mountain knives were also used to cut stalks and roots. The Ainu gathered wild plants with these tools and carried them in a "saranip, " a bag made of the bark of Linden or Budozuru.

Hokkaido’s annual mean temperature is around 10.0ºC, which is similar to that of Chicago or Boston in North America. Hokkaido enjoys four distinct seasons with no rainy season and a cool, refreshing summer with low humidity. In winter, there is considerable snowfall on the Sea of Japan side and there are many days with freezing temperatures even in the daytime.

Surrounded in all four directions by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, Hokkaido is home to a variety of magnificent mountains, extensive wetlands, beautiful lakes, marshes, rivers, forests and more. With expansive farmland, also referred to as the breadbasket of Japan, the prefecture produces a variety of products, consisting mainly of rice, dry-field crops, and dairy and livestock products. Hokkaido has two volcanic zones, along which many volcanoes and hot springs exist.