Hakodate

Lore & Background

Hakodate is a city and port situated in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, serving as the subprefecture’s capital. It is the third-largest city in Hokkaido, following Sapporo and Asahikawa, with an area of 677.86 km² and a population density of 354 persons per square kilometer. The city’s name likely originates from an Ainu word meaning “shallow fort” or from the Japanese term for “box” or “building,” referencing a castle constructed by the Kono clan in the 15th century. Hakodate was founded in 1454 when Kono Kaganokami Masamichi built a large manor in the Ainu fishing village of Usukeshi. Following his death, his son was driven out during an Ainu rebellion in 1512, and the area saw little recorded history for a century amid ongoing conflict between Ainu and armed merchants. The town flourished during the Hoei period (1704–11), with many new temples, and its fortunes rose further in 1741 when the Matsumae clan moved its magistracy there. In 1779, the Tokugawa shogunate took direct control, spurring rapid development; merchant Takadaya Kahei is credited with transforming Hakodate from a trading outpost into a thriving city by opening northern sea routes. A magistracy was established in 1802, and by 1807 shogunal power extended across the region, though control reverted to the Matsumae clan in 1821. Hakodate’s port was surveyed by U.S. ships in 1854 under the Convention of Kanagawa, partially opened for provisioning in 1855, and fully opened to foreign trade on June 2, 1859, as one of five Japanese open ports. The Hakodate foreign settlement remains a legacy of this era. The city played a central role in the Boshin War, hosting the short-lived Republic of Ezo in 1868–69, whose rebels used the European-style Goryōkaku fort as their defensive center. The Naval Battle of Hakodate in May 1869 ended with an Imperial Japanese Navy victory. Hakodate was designated an urban prefecture in 1868, later enlarged into Hakodate-ken in 1882, and became part of Hokkaido in 1886. A devastating fire in March 1934 destroyed roughly two-thirds of the city’s buildings.

Reader's Guide

Hakodate's significance lies in its role as Japan's first port opened to foreign trade, which made it a crucial point of contact between Japan and the outside world during the mid-19th century. This opening, following the Convention of Kanagawa, initiated a period of foreign influence that left lasting legacies such as the Hakodate foreign settlement, consulates, and the introduction of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The city was also a central stage in the Boshin War, serving as the base for the short-lived Republic of Ezo and the site of the Naval Battle of Hakodate, which marked the end of Tokugawa resistance. The Goryōkoku fort, now a public park, remains a symbol of this era. Today, Hakodate is the third-largest city in Hokkaido and a historical reference point for Japan's modernization and foreign relations.

Did You Know?

• A mariner in Commodore Perry's fleet is sometimes claimed to be the first U.S. citizen buried in Japan, interred in Hakodate's cemetery for foreigners, but this claim is disputed and not universally accepted as establish

Ainu Roots and the Kono Clan's Founding

Hakodate's story begins long before it became a port city. But the Kono family's hold was fragile. The Oshima Peninsula was a zone of persistent low-level conflict, where armed merchant families like the Kono set up bases to control regional trade.

Gateway to the World

When Commodore Matthew C. Perry's fleet of five U.S. The consequences were immediate and layered. A mariner from Perry's own fleet died during the visit and became the first American citizen interred in Japan, buried in Hakodate's cemetery for foreigners. A cluster of historical missionary churches — Orthodox, Anglican, and Catholic — still stands as a visible reminder of that era of foreign presence.

The Republic of Ezo and the Battle for the Fort

Hakodate became the dramatic stage for one of Japan's most consequential conflicts. On December 25 of that year, they formally proclaimed the Republic of Ezo, attempting to secure international recognition by appealing to the American, French, and Russian legations already stationed in Hakodate. The rebels made their stand from Goryōkaku, the city's distinctive European-style star fort, using it as the center of their southern Hokkaido defenses. Military leader Hijikata Toshizō was among those killed in the fighting. The city and its fort were surrendered to the Emperor.

Fire, War, and Enduring Identity

Hakodate's modern identity has been shaped as much by catastrophe as by achievement. The city had been the largest in Hokkaido before that disaster. During World War II, Hakodate largely escaped the bombing that ravaged other Japanese cities, but the area around Hakodate-yama was heavily fortified and closed to civilians. Historians record ten prisoner-of-war camps in the region. Its layered past — Ainu, feudal, Meiji, and modern — remains woven into its streets, its port, and its identity as the capital of Oshima Subprefecture.