Toyotomi, Hokkaido

For other uses, see Toyotomi (disambiguation).

Toyotomi (豊富町, Toyotomi-chō) is a town located in Teshio District, Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It contains the Sarobetsu Plain, which is part of Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park, and is famous for its hot springs.

As of 2015, the town has an estimated population of 4,140 and a density of 7.95 persons per km². The total area is 520.69 km².

History

Origin of the town's name

It is derived from the name "Ebekorobetsu" of the region now referred to as the Kami-Ebekorobetsu River Valley. In Ainu, the name Ebekorobetsu (ipe-kor-pet) means "a river containing fish (food)". Because the area is rich in natural resources such as coal, petroleum, peat, and hot springs, it was named Toyotomi, which is an alternate reading of the Chinese characters for the word houfu (豊富), meaning "rich" or "abundant".

Timeline

• 1869 - Japanese settlement offices open.
• 1878 - The village of Saru is founded in the location of present-day Toyotomi.
• 1909 - A government registration office is opened in the village of Horonobe, which included present-day Toyotomi.
• 1919 - The villages of Horonobe and Saru are incorporated into one village.
• 1926 - Natural gas and hot springs are discovered during mining at the present-day location of Toyotomi Onsen.
• 1936 November - The Nissō Coal Mine of Teshio is opened by Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.
• 1940 September - The village of Horonobe is separated into the villages of Horonobe and Toyotomi
• 1947 - Mitsubishi Materials begins coal-mining operations in the Toyotomi-Horonobe area.
• 1948 October - The town is moved from the administration of Rumoi Subprefecture to that of Sōya Subprefecture.
• 1950 November - The areas of Tenkō and Akebono become part of Wakkanai.
• 1959 January - Toyotomi is officially designated a township under Japanese municipal laws.
• 1972 July - Nissō Coal Mine closes.
• 1974 September - The Sarobetsu Plain is designated a national park.
• 1991 July - The town becomes the first in the country to proclaim itself a "Bicycle for Health Town".
• 2002 December - Garbage disposal fees are instituted.
• 2005 November - The Sarobetsu Plain is designated a Ramsar site.

References

1. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%8A%E5%AF%8C%E7%94%BA (Japanese Wikipedia page)

External links

Media related to Toyotomi, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website Template:Ja icon