Japanese books and articles about "Karafuto" (Sakhalin) in Japan in the 20th century

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify changes in Japanese books and articles about "Karafuto" (South Sakhalin) in the 20th century. The author generally calls them "Karafuto opinions." The changes are considered from the three viewpoints based on Japanese geographic knowledge of Sakhalin Island: 1) the relationship between Karafuto and the Asian Continent or North Sakhalin, and Karafuto and Hokkaido; 2) the relationship between the rise and fall of the geographic knowledge of Sakhalin as a whole island and governmental territories divided between the north and south areas of the island by N. L. 50°; and 3) the relationship between the historical viewpoints of possession and restoration in which the southern half of Sakhalin Island surrendered to the Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War. The results of this paper are summarized as follows. The author divides Karafuto opinions in the 20th century into four eras: immediately after possession by Japan; the dispatch of the Japanese Army to Siberia; the 1930s; and the 1990s. Because many Japanese often considered Karafuto to be an extension of Hokkaido Island after possession by Japan, geographic knowledge of South Sakhalin (Karafuto) increased. However, Japanese geographic knowledge of Sakhalin was limited to the southern area. Karafuto opinions related to the Asian continent considered Sakhalin Island as a whole island with the dispatch of the Japanese Army to Siberia. After that, numbers of Karafuto opinions decreased, and geographic knowledge of Sakhalin became limited to the southern area again. However, because an agricultural research institute and some university forests expanded, many papers were published on the physical sciences based on research there in the 1930s. Since government territories affected physical sciences, the authors partly considered Sakhalin as a whole island. Although Japan was interested in the mineral deposits in North Sakhalin, its geographic knowledge was separated by N. L. 50° during World War II. Little information on Sakhalin was introduced to Japan during the Cold War in the 1950s. The Far East area in Russia opened after the Soviet Union collapsed. Because Russia has permitted Japanese voyages to Sakhalin, many Japanese have visited. As a result, Japanese geographic knowledge of Sakhalin Island changed from Karafuto to Russian Sakhalin in the 1990s. Such changes in Karafuto opinions have always been determined by the governmental relationships between Japan and Sakhalin Island.