A Study Of Japanese Ruling Policy Towards The Ainu People In Hokkaido In Modern Times

In modern times,Japan’s rule over Hokkaido can be divided into the first Matsuyama period,the first shogunate period,the second Matsuyama period,and the second shogunate period.The first Matsuzaki vassal rule period was the beginning of Japanese rule over the Ainu people in Hokkaido.The relationship between the Ainu people and the Japanese gradually changed from an independent peer trader to an economic employee and a political ruler.The accumulated disadvantages of the ruling policy during the reign of the Matsuzaka vassal regime forced the shogunate to take Hokkaido directly for the first time.During this period,the shogunate formulated a policy of political stability,economic improvement of trade,encouragement of production,and social and cultural promotion of gentleness and assimilation,which set the tone for Japan’s ruling policy towards the Ainu people until modern times.On this basis,a series of adjustments were made to the policy in response to different problems during the second Songqian vassal regime and the second shogunate period,but the main body continued to develop to modern times.On the other hand,the ruling policy of modern Japan over the Ainu people in Hokkaido,after several adjustments and reforms,has always been based on the ruling interests of the Japanese colonialists rather than the rights and interests of the Ainu people.Taking time as the axis,this paper systematically combs the establishment,development and evolution of Japan’s ruling policy towards the Ainu people in Hokkaido in modern times.Then it analyzes the changes in the internal and external environment faced by Japan’s rule over the Ainu people in Hokkaido during the four recent periods and the economic,social,diplomatic and other problems it has caused,and analyzes the Ainu rule policy reform carried out by the Matsushita and Tokugawa shogunate in response to these changes and problems,and summarizes the impact of this series of reforms.Finally,the paper evaluates the essential characteristics of the ruling policy of modern Japan towards the Ainu people in Hokkaido and its influence on the ruling policy and the Ainu society in modern Japan.