was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the Russian Empire under the Treaty of Portsmouth.
Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan's External Land (Gaichi), until it was incorporated into an Inner Land (Naichi) of the Japanese metropole in April 1943. Ōtomari (Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 and Toyohara (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945.
In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following the Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin. The Soviet Union annexed Karafuto Prefecture, although it continued to exist under Japanese law until Japan formally abolished it in June 1949.
Name
The Japanese name Karafuto purportedly comes from Ainu (), which means . It was formerly known as Kita Ezo, meaning Northern Ezo (Ezo was the former name for Hokkaido). When Japan governed the southern part of the island, they referred to it as Minami Karafuto (, South Karafuto) or simply Karafuto (). The northern part of the island was called Kita Karafuto (, North Karafuto) or simply Sagaren ().
In Russian, the entire island was named Sakhalin or Saghalien. It is from Manchu sahaliyan ula angga hada, meaning "peak of the mouth of Amur River". The southern part was simply called Yuzhny Sakhalin ("South Sakhalin"). In Korean, the name is Sahallin or Hwataedo, with the latter name in use during Korea under Japanese rule.
History
200px|thumb|right|Map of [[Sakhalin with parallels showing the division at the 50th parallel north with the Karafuto Prefecture highlighted in red]]
right|thumb|250px|The Karafuto Prefectural Office in Toyohara
Japanese settlement on Sakhalin dates to at least the Edo period. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the Matsumae domain mapped the island, and named it "Kita-Ezo". Japanese cartographer and explorer Mamiya Rinzō established that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now named Mamiya Strait (Strait of Tartary) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845.
The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda acknowledged that both the Russian Empire and Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. Attempts by the Tokugawa shogunate to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new Meiji government was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories. In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the Kuril Islands.
Japan invaded Sakhalin in the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, but per the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth was allowed to retain only the southern portion of the island below the 50° N parallel. Russia retained the northern portion, although the Japanese were awarded favorable commercial rights, including fishing and mineral extraction rights in the north. In 1907, Karafuto Prefecture was officially established, with the capital at Ōtomari. In 1908, the capital was relocated to Toyohara.
In 1920, Karafuto was officially designated an external territory of Japan, and its administration and development came under the aegis of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs. Following the Nikolaevsk Incident in 1920, Japan . This occupation would continue until the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1925 with the Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention. The treaty permitted Japan petroleum and coal concessions in northern Sakhalin. The former would be operated by institutions such as the until 1944. In 1943, the status of Karafuto was upgraded to that of an "inner land", making it an integral part of the Empire of Japan.
As Japan was extending its influence over East Asia and the Pacific through the establishment of a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Imperial Japanese Army as part of its offensive contingency plans to invade the Soviet Union if it either became involved in the Pacific War or collapsed due to the ongoing German invasion, proposed the annexation of the remaining northern half of Sakhalin to Japan.
Soviet Invasion
right|thumb|250px|A Japanese soldier at the border between the Karafuto Prefecture and Soviet Sakhalin
In August 1945, after repudiating the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April, and according to the signed agreements of Yalta, in which Stalin pledged that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany, the Soviet Union invaded Karafuto. The Soviet attack started on 11 August 1945, three days before the surrender of Japan. The Soviet 56th Rifle Corps, part of the 16th Army, consisting of the 79th Rifle Division, the 2nd Rifle Brigade, the 5th Rifle Brigade and the 214 Armored Brigade, attacked the Japanese 88th Infantry Division. Although the Soviet Red Army outnumbered the Japanese by three to one, they advanced only slowly due to strong Japanese resistance. It was not until the 113th Rifle Brigade and the 365th Independent Naval Infantry Rifle Battalion from Sovetskaya Gavan landed in Tōro, a seashore village in western Karafuto, on 16 August that the Soviets broke the Japanese defense line. Japanese resistance grew weaker after this landing. Actual fighting continued until 21 August. Between 22 and 23 August, most remaining Japanese units agreed to a ceasefire. The Soviets completed the conquest of Karafuto on 25 August 1945, by occupying the capital of Toyohara.
Post-War Status
By the end of hostilities, 80,000 residents had already fled Karafuto and civilian casualties numbered from 3,500 to 3,700. This left the prefecture with a population of about 300,000. From the end of the war to 1946, the remaining population would live and work alongside incoming Soviet settlers. Karafuto's municipal and industrial leaders retained their positions and would stay on as deputies after being replaced by Soviet equivalents. Marxism-Leninism was added to school curricula and Shintoism was removed, though temples and religious gatherings were still permitted. Following an agreement between the United States and the USSR on December 19 1946, repatriation of the Japanese population began.
At the conclusion of the repatriation program in July 1949, there were 279,356 people who had arrived from Karafuto to Japan, with 35% claiming no familial connection to the Japanese home islands. Repatriates had their property confiscated as colonial holdings as in Korea and Taiwan, but the refused to provide aid on account of Karafuto’s 1943 reclassification from outer to inner land.
The majority of repatriates resettled in Hokkaido. At least 17,600 were sent to prefectures in the Tohoku region and 296 homeless repatriates were sent to Tottori. A Japanese population of 332 would remain in Sakhalin after 1949. Following the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, most of this small population would be repatriated as well.
Repatriation being limited to Japanese residents and the subsequent Korean War prevented the repatriation of Karafuto’s Korean population. Resulting in a population of Sakhalin Koreans persisting into the present day.
The Japanese government formally abolished Karafuto Prefecture as a legal entity on 1 June 1949. With the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan renounced its rights to Sakhalin, despite not formally acknowledging Soviet sovereignty over it, nor the Kuril Islands. Both territories currently compromise the Russian Federation's Sakhalin Oblast. The Japan-Sakhalin Association currently exists to maintain ties between former Japanese residents of Sakhalin and its current inhabitants.
Geography
Demographics
Ethnic groups
- Japanese
- Korean
- Ainu
- Orok
- Nivkh
Census
The Results Report of the Shōwa 10 (1935) National Census<br>
Karafuto Chapter
{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ Population by civil registration and nationality
|-----
!align=center|
!align=center|Population
|-----
|align=center|Total
|align=right|331,943
|-----
|align=center|Naichi
|align=right|320,689
|-----
|align=center|Indigenous
|align=right|1,949
|-----
|align=center|Gaichi
|align=right|8,842
|-----
|align=center|Korea
|align=right|8,841
|-----
|align=center|Taiwan
|align=right|1
|-----
|align=center|Foreigner
|align=right|463
|-----
|align=center| Manchukuo
|align=right|11
|-----
|align=center| Republic of China
|align=right|194
|-----
|align=center| Former Russia
|align=right|201
|-----
|align=center| Germany
|align=right|7
|-----
|align=center| Poland
|align=right|50
|-----
|}
{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ The population by region of Naichi people
|-----
!align=center| Region
!align=center| Population
|-----
|align=center| Karafuto
|align=right|100,853
|-----
|align=center|Hokkaido
|align=right|86,376
|-----
|align=center|Tōhoku
|align=right|76,698
|-----
|align=center|Others
|align=right|53,762
|-----
|align=center|Total
|align=right|320,689
|-----
|}
{|class=wikitable align=center
|+Population of Naichi, Indigenous, Gaichi people, and foreigners by subprefecture
|-----
!rowspan=2 align=center|Subprefecture
!colspan=5 align=center|Population
|-----
!align=center|Naichi
!align=center|Indigenous
!align=center|Gaichi
!align=center|Foreigner
!align=center|Total
|-----
|align=center|Toyohara
|align=right|64,787
|align=right|276
|align=right|694
|align=right|101
|align=right|65,858
|-----
|align=center|Ōtomari
|align=right|61,366
|align=right|140
|align=right|300
|align=right|121
|align=right|61,927
|-----
|align=center|Honto
|align=right|22,932
|align=right|19
|align=right|251
|align=right|21
|align=right|23,223
|-----
|align=center|Maoka
|align=right|48,353
|align=right|447
|align=right|385
|align=right|16
|align=right|49,201
|-----
|align=center|Tomarioru
|align=right|56,928
|align=right|412
|align=right|3,601
|align=right|90
|align=right|61,031
|-----
|align=center|Motodomari
|align=right|25,327
|align=right|33
|align=right|1,147
|align=right|37
|align=right|26,544
|-----
|align=center|Shikuka
|align=right|40,996
|align=right|622
|align=right|2,464
|align=right|77
|align=right|44,159
|-----
!align=center|Total
!align=right|320,689
!align=right|1,949
!align=right|8,842
!align=right|463
!align=right|331,943
|-----
|}
{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ The population of indigenous ethnic groups by subprefecture
|-----
!rowspan=2 align=center|Subprefecture
!colspan=7 align=center|Population
|-----
!align=center|Ainu
!align=center|Orok
!align=center|Nivkh
!align=center|Evenki
!align=center|Ulch
!align=center|Yakut
!align=center|Total
|-----
|align=center|Toyohara
|align=right|276
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|276
|-----
|align=center|Ōtomari
|align=right|138
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|2
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|140
|-----
|align=center|Honto
|align=right|19
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|19
|-----
|align=center|Maoka
|align=right|447
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|447
|-----
|align=center|Tomarioru
|align=right|412
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|412
|-----
|align=center|Motodomari
|align=right|32
|align=right|1
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|33
|-----
|align=center|Shikuka
|align=right|180
|align=right|299
|align=right|110
|align=right|22
|align=right|9
|align=right|2
|align=right|622
|-----
!align=center|Total
!align=right|1,504
!align=right|300
!align=right|110
!align=right|24
!align=right|9
!align=right|2
!align=right|1,949
|-----
|}
Economy
thumb|This Japanese [[JNR Class D51|D51 steam locomotive stands outside the present day Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Railway Station, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. They were used by the Soviet Railways until 1979.]]
The pre-war economy of Karafuto was based on fishing, forestry and agriculture, together with extraction of coal and petroleum. In terms of industry, the paper industry and the charcoal production industry was well developed. Pulp for rayon production in Honshu was predominately sourced from Karafuto. The territory suffered from a labor shortage through most of its history, and migrant laborers from the Japanese mainland were frequently recruited for seasonal work on in Karafuto. In 1924, 57% of laborers in the construction and forestry industry came from Tohoku and 22% from the Hokuriku region. These laborers would reside in near their sites before returning to their home provinces upon completion of the project. Indigenous Nivkh and Oroks worked in Japanese-run fisheries and a synthetic textile plant near the Russian border. For the construction of the Toyohara-Maoka line, bonded labor was put to use, including Chinese contract laborers. By the end of the 1920s, these laborers would be replaced with Koreans. With the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, their population would increase substantially.
An extensive railway network was constructed in Karafuto to support the extraction of natural resources. The maintained 682.6 kilometers of track in four main lines and an additional 58.2 kilometers of track.
Government
Karafuto was administered from the central government in Tokyo as the under the of the Home Ministry. The Colonization Bureau became the
in 1923 at which time Karafuto was officially designated an overseas territory of the Empire of Japan.
When the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was absorbed into the new Ministry of Greater East Asia in 1942, the administration of Karafuto was separated, and Karafuto became an integral part of the Japanese archipelago.
Directors of the Karafuto Agency
{| class=wikitable
! No.
! Picture
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
|-
! 1
| 60px
| Kiichirō Kumagai
| 28 July 1905
| 31 March 1907
|-
! 2
| 60px
| Kusunose Yukihiko
| 1 April 1907
| 24 April 1908
|-
! 3
| 60px
| Tokonami Takejirō
| 24 April 1908
| 12 June 1908
|-
! 4
| 60px
| Sadatarō Hiraoka
| 12 June 1908
| 5 June 1914
|-
! 5
| 60px
| Bunji Okada
| 5 June 1914
| 9 October 1916
|-
! 6
| 60px
| Akira Sakaya <br />
| 13 October 1916
| 17 April 1919
|-
! 7
| 60px
| Kinjirō Nagai
| 17 April 1919
| 11 June 1924
|-
!
| 60px
| Akira Sakaya <br />
| 11 June 1924
| 5 August 1926
|-
! 8
| 60px
| Katsuzō Toyota
| 5 August 1926
| 27 July 1927
|-
! 9
| 60px
|
| 27 July 1927
| 9 July 1929
|-
! 10
| 60px
| Shinobu Agata
| 9 July 1929
| 17 December 1931
|-
! 11
| 60px
| Masao Kishimoto
| 17 December 1931
| 5 July 1932
|-
! 12
| 60px
| Takeshi Imamura
| 5 July 1932
| 7 May 1938
|-
! 13
| 60px
|
| 7 May 1938
| 9 April 1940
|-
! 14
| 60px
| Masayoshi Ogawa
| 9 April 1940
| 1 July 1943
|-
! 15
| 60px
| Toshio Ōtsu
| 1 July 1943
| 11 November 1947
|}
Political divisions
thumb|200px|Karafuto Prefecture with 4 subprefectures, namely <span style="color:red;">Toyohara</span>, <span style="color:green;">Maoka</span>, <span style="color:blue;">Esutoru</span> and <span style="color:goldenrod;">Shikuka</span>. <span style="color:darkred;">Toyohara City</span> was also a part of Toyohara Subprefecture.
As of 1945, Karafuto was divided into four subprefectures, which in turn were subdivided into 11 districts, in turn divided into 41 municipalities (one city, 13 towns, and 27 villages).
Karafuto's largest city was Toyohara, while other major cities included Esutoru in the north central and Maoka in the south central region.
The list below are the towns and the city of the prefecture. These in italics are the corresponding current Russian names.
Esutoru Subprefecture ()
- Towns
- Chinnai (, Krasnogorsk)
- Esutoru (, Uglegorsk)
- Nayoshi (, Lesogorskoye)
- Tōro (, Shakhtyorsk)
- Villages
- Nishisakutan (, Boshnyakovo)
- Ushiro (, Orlovo)
Maoka Subprefecture ()
- Towns
- Honto (, Nevelsk)
- Maoka (,