Hakodate (函館市, Hakodate-shi?) is a city and port located in Oshima, Hokkaidō
Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.
As of March 2008, the city has an estimated population of 287,691 and a
density of 442.24 persons per km². The total area is 677.77 km².
History
Pre-Meiji restoration
Hakodate was founded in 1454, when Kono Kaganokami Masamichi constructed a
large manor house in the Ainu fishing village of Usukeshi (the word for bay
in Ainu). The mansion is said to have included a barricade and looked like a
box from the distance giving the area its name, box mansion.
Hakodate flourished during the Hoei period (1704–11) and many new temples
were founded in the area. The town's fortunes received a further boost in
1741 when the Matsumae clan, which had been granted nearby areas on the
Oshima Peninsula as a march fief, moved its Kameda magistracy to Masamichi's
house in Hakodate.
In 1779, the Tokugawa shogunate took direct control over Hakodate, which
triggered rapid development in the area. Merchant Takadaya Kahei, who is
honoured as the founder of Hakodate port, set up trading operations, which
included the opening the northern Etorofu sea route to the Kuril island
fisheries. He is credited with turning Hakodate from a trading outpost into
a thriving city. A Hakodate magistracy was established in 1802.
Meiji restoration
The port of Hakodate was surveyed by a fleet of five U.S. ships in 1854
under the conditions of the Treaty of Kanagawa, as negotiated by Commodore
Matthew Perry.
Lithograph entitled "View of Hakodate from Snow Peak" looking towards the
sea—artist, Wilhelm Heine (1856).
Hakodate port partially opened to foreign ships for provisioning in the
following year and then completely to foreign trade on 2 June 1859 as one of
three Japanese open ports designated in the 1858 Treaty of Amity and
Commerce signed with the U.S.
A mariner in Perry's fleet died during a visit to the area and became the
first U.S. citizen to be buried in Japan when he was interred in Hakodate's
cemetery for foreigners.
20th century to present day
Hakodate was awarded city status on August 1, 1922. The city escaped most of
the ravages of World War II. Areas around Hakodate-yama were fortified and
access restricted to the public. Many prisoners of war were interned in
Hakodate and historians record a total of 10 camps. The city was subjected
to two Allied bombing raids on 14 and 15 July 1945. Around 400 homes were
destroyed on the western side of Hakodate-yama and an Aomori-Hakodate ferry
was attacked with 400 passengers killed.
In 1976, a defecting Soviet pilot named Viktor Belenko flew his plane into
the civilian airport in Hakodate.
Hakodate's size nearly doubled on December 1, 2004 when the town of
Minamikayabe, from Kayabe District, the towns of Esan and Toi, and the
village of Todohokke, all from Kameda District, were merged into it.
Geography
Hakodate is located in the centre of Kameda peninsula.
The city is overlooked by Mount Hakodate (函館山, Hakodate-yama?), a lumpy,
forested mountain whose summit can be reached by hiking trail, cable car, or
car. The night view from the summit is renowned in Japan as one of the best
in the country, and one of the top three in the world along with Hong Kong
and Naples. An obscure local nickname of the bumpy mountain is Gagyūzan
(Mount Cow's Back), alluding to the way the mountain resembles a resting cow
The former Goryōkaku fort is now used in as a public park and is popular in
Hokkaidō for hanami (cherry blossom viewing). Since April 2006, the park has
also featured the tall, white Goryōkaku Tower. Resembling an air traffic
control tower, the structure offers a panoramic view of the park, including
mainland Japan across the Tsugaru Strait on clear days.
Culture
The city is known for Hakodate Shio Ramen, which uses sliced squid in place of chāshū (Char siu, 叉焼 or 焼豚: traditionally barbecued pork but usually a thinly sliced braised pork when used as a ramen topping). On a similar note, Hakodate's city fish is the squid. Every year (August) the city gets together for the Hakodate Port Festival. Hordes of citizens gather in the streets to dance a wiggly dance known as the Ika-odori (Squid Dance), the name of which describes the dance appropriately. The glowing lights of squid-catching boats can be seen in the waters surrounding the city.
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