Place · region

Ezo

Also known as Yezo

Ezo was the Japanese name for the lands north of Honshu inhabited by the Ainu, especially the island now called Hokkaido. From the 16th century the Matsumae clan controlled its southern tip and the Ainu trade, while the shogunate took direct control at times of Russian pressure. In 1869, after the short-lived Republic of Ezo, it was renamed Hokkaido and opened to settlement.

Ezo
Image: Alain Manneson Mallet (1603-1706) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ezo. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ezo
MLA
“Ezo.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ezo. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ezo.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ezo.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ezo’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ezo (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻