The west and centre of Hokkaido, with the Ishikari plain, the Iburi and Shiribeshi coasts and the Hidaka salmon rivers, are the heartland of the Satsumon-Ainu: river villages of fishers and hunters who also grow millet and other crops (English Wikipedia's Satsumon page), with iron tools, and trade goods to the south.
No lord, chief or fort is named by any source for 1200.
Who holds it
- Title
- No ruler: the elders of the river villages
- Confidence
- low
Archaeology (English Wikipedia: Satsumon culture, Ainu people).
What it holds
- Salmon rivers
- Hunting grounds
- Trade by sea with Tsugaru and Dewa
Allies and rivals
Trade ties southwards; the Nivkh across the Sakhalin strait.
How things stand that morning
What Kamakura names or controls: nothing. What stops it: nothing is attempted.
Wealth
Salmon, furs, feathers, kelp (recalled); no figure.
Threats
- Climate
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology.
On the map: Soft outline.
Primary sources for Ezo (Hokkaido, Sakhalin tip, south Kurils)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Mirror of the East, Anonymous; compiled by officials of the Kamakura shogunate (compiled about 1300 from the shogunate's records, diaries and family documents). The Kamakura house's own chronicle, in daily entries. Read online
Sources and studies
- KJA_BRIEF.md and the OMNIA board for sheet kja (the lead's notes: [own] computation, [not yet checked against the source] recollection, [en] English Wikipedia)
- Azuma Kagami (the Kamakura chronicle), Kenkyu 10 to Shoji 2 entries, recalled and through the brief; ja.wikipedia and ja.wikisource were refused in this session, so no entry was re-read
- Jeffrey P. Mass, Warrior Government in Early Medieval Japan (1974), from memory; the archive.org full text could not be opened
- English Wikipedia: Satsumon culture (read this session; thin)
- English Wikipedia: Ainu people (read this session; thin)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.