Shakushain's Revolt

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Shakushain's Revolt (Shakushain no ran シャクシャインの乱) was an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 to 1672. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, who represented Japanese trading and governmental interests in the area of Hokkaidō then controlled by the Japanese (Wajin).

The war was a final attempt by the Ainu to preserve their political independence and regain control over the terms of their trade relations with the Wajin.

According to scholar Brett Walker:

Shakushain's War stands out as a watershed event in the history of the conquest of Ezo. Shakushain exploded onto the scene as a charismatic leader who proved able to bridge regional differences among Ainu communities, threatening to unite them against the Japanese intrusion from the south. The Tokugawa shogunate reacted by solidifying its own united from of military allies in the northeast, replacing local Matsumae generals with men of its own choosing, thus illustrating its self-appointed role as defender of the realm.

The only other comparable large-scale revolt by Ainu against Japanese rule was the Menashi-Kunashir Battle of 1789. An earlier rebellion along the same lines was Koshamain's Revolt in 1456.

[edit] References

Brett L. Walker, The Conquest of Ainu Lands: Ecology and Culture in Japanese Expansion 1590-1800. University of California Press, 2001, pages 49-56, 61-71.