Editing Karafuto Prefecture

{{Short description|Prefecture of the Empire of Japan}}
{{Redirect|Karafuto||Karafuto (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| native_name            = {{nobold|{{lang|ja|樺太}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Karafuto
| common_name            = Karafuto Chō
| nation                 = the [[Empire of Japan]]
| year_start             = 1905
| year_end               = 1945
| date_start             = 5 September
| event_start            = [[Treaty of Portsmouth]]
| event2                 = Administered by [[:ja:樺太民政署|Karafuto Civil Administration]]
| date_event2            = 28 August 1905–31 March 1907
| event3                 = Karafuto Prefecture established
| date_event3            = 1 April 1907
| event4                 = Incorporated into [[Mainland Japan|inner land]]
| date_event4            = 1 April 1943
| event_end              = [[Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin|Soviet invasion and annexation]]
| date_end               = 11–25 August
| event_post             = Karafuto Prefecture abolished by Japan
| date_post              = 1 June 1949
| image_flag             = Flag of Karafuto.svg
| flag_type              = Flag of Karafuto during the Takushoku Expo
| image_coat             = Emblem of Karafuto Prefecture.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| image_map              = Karafuto.svg
| image_map_caption      = '''Green''': Karafuto within Japan in 1942<br>'''Light green''': Other constituents of the [[Empire of Japan]]
| capital                = [[Korsakov (town)|Ōtomari]] (1907–1908)<br>[[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk|Toyohara]] (1908–1945)
| anthem                 = [[:ja:樺太島歌|Karafuto tōka]]{{parabr}}{{center|}}
| title_leader           = [[Emperor of Japan]]
| leader1                = [[Emperor Meiji]]
| year_leader1           = 1905–1912
| leader2                = [[Emperor Taishō]]
| year_leader2           = 1912–1926
| leader3                = [[Emperor Shōwa]]
| year_leader3           = 1926–1945
| stat_area1             = 36,090.3
| stat_year1             = December 1941
| stat_pop1              = 406,557
| p1                     = Russian Empire
| flag_p1                = Flag of Russia.svg
| s1                     = Soviet Union
| flag_s1                = Flag of the Soviet Union (1923-1955).svg
| s2                     = Sakhalin Oblast
| flag_s2                = Flag of the Soviet Union (1936–1955).svg
| footnotes              = 
| today                  = 
}}

{{nihongo|'''Karafuto Prefecture'''|樺太庁|Karafuto-chō|{{IPA|ja|ka.ɾa.ɸɯ̥.to}}<ref>{{cite book|script-title=ja:新明解日本語アクセント辞典|edition=2nd|editor-last=Kindaichi|editor-first=Haruhiko|editor-link=Haruhiko Kindaichi|editor-last2=Akinaga|editor-first2=Kazue|publisher=[[Sanseidō]]|date=10 March 2025|lang=ja}}</ref>}}, was established  by the [[Empire of Japan]] in 1907 to govern the southern part of [[Sakhalin]]. This territory became part of the [[Empire of Japan]] in 1905 after the [[Russo-Japanese War]], when the portion of Sakhalin south of [[50th parallel north|50°N]] was ceded by the  [[Russian Empire]] under the [[Treaty of Portsmouth]].

Karafuto Prefecture was established in 1907 to govern Karafuto, which was part of Japan's [[Gaichi|External Land (''Gaichi'')]], until it was incorporated into an [[Mainland Japan|Inner Land (''Naichi'')]] of the Japanese [[metropole]] in 1943. [[Korsakov (town)|Ōtomari]] (Korsakov) was the capital of Karafuto from 1905 to 1908 and [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk|Toyohara]] (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) from 1908 to 1945. 

In August 1945, the Japanese administration ceased to function following the [[invasion of South Sakhalin]] by the [[Soviet Union]]. Karafuto Prefecture was annexed to the Soviet Union, although it continued to exist  under Japanese law until it was formally abolished by Japan in June 1949.

==Name==
The Japanese name ''Karafuto'' purportedly comes from [[Ainu language|Ainu]] {{lang|ain|kamuy kar put ya mosir}} ({{lang|ain|カムィ・カㇻ・プッ・ヤ・モシㇼ}}), which means {{gloss|the island a god has created on the estuary (of [[Amur River]])}}.{{Not verified in body|date=March 2024}} It was formerly known as ''Kita Ezo'', meaning Northern [[Ezo]] (Ezo was the former name for [[Hokkaido]]). When Japan governed the southern part of the island, they referred to it as ''Minami Karafuto'' ({{lang|ja|南樺太}}, South Karafuto) or simply ''Karafuto'' ({{lang|ja|樺太}}). The northern part of the island was called ''Kita Karafuto'' ({{lang|ja|北樺太}}, North Karafuto) or simply ''Sagaren'' ({{lang|ja|薩哈嗹}}).

In [[Russian language|Russian]], the entire island was named ''Sakhalin'' or ''Saghalien''. It is from [[Manchu language|Manchu]] ''sahaliyan ula angga hada'', meaning "peak of the mouth of Amur River". The southern part was simply called ''Yuzhny Sakhalin'' ("South Sakhalin"). In [[Korean language|Korean]], the name is ''Sahallin'' or ''Hwataedo'', with the latter name in use during [[Korea under Japanese rule]].

==History==
[[File:Karafuto map.png|200px|thumb|right|Map of [[Sakhalin]] with [[Circle of latitude|parallels]] showing the division at the [[50th parallel north]] with the Karafuto Prefecture highlighted in red]]
[[File:Karafuto Prefectural Office.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The Karafuto Prefectural Office in Toyohara]]
[[Japanese people|Japanese]] settlement on Sakhalin dates to at least the [[Edo period]]. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the [[Matsumae han|Matsumae domain]] mapped the island, and named it "Kita-[[Ezo]]". Japanese cartographer and explorer [[Mamiya Rinzō]] established that Sakhalin was an island through his discovery of what is now named [[Mamiya Strait]] ([[Strait of Tartary]]) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed [[sovereignty]] over the whole island in 1845.

The 1855 [[Treaty of Shimoda]] acknowledged that both the [[Russian Empire]] and Japan had joint rights of occupation to Sakhalin, without setting a definite territorial demarcation. As the island became settled in the 1860s and 1870s, this ambiguity led to increasing friction between settlers. Attempts by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] to purchase the entire island from the Russian Empire failed, and the new [[Meiji government]] was unable to negotiate a partition of the island into separate territories. In the [[Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875)]], Japan agreed to give up its claims on Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed ownership of the [[Kuril Islands]].

Japan [[Japanese invasion of Sakhalin|invaded Sakhalin]] in the final stages of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905, but per the 1905 [[Treaty of Portsmouth]] was allowed to retain only the southern portion of the island below the [[50th parallel north|50° N parallel]]. Russia retained the northern portion, although the Japanese were awarded favorable commercial rights, including fishing and mineral extraction rights in the north. In 1907, Karafuto Prefecture was officially established, with the capital at [[Korsakov (town)|Ōtomari]]. In 1908, the capital was relocated to [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk|Toyohara]].

In 1920, Karafuto was officially designated an external territory of Japan, and its administration and development came under the aegis of the [[Ministry of Colonial Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Colonial Affairs]]. Following the [[Nikolaevsk Incident]] in 1920, Japan briefly seized the northern half of Sakhalin, and occupied it until the establishment of formal [[diplomatic relations]] with the [[Soviet Union]] in 1925; however, Japan continued to maintain [[petroleum]] and [[coal]] concessions in northern Sakhalin until 1944. In 1943, the status of Karafuto was upgraded to that of an "[[Mainland Japan|inner land]]", making it an integral part of the [[Empire of Japan]].

As Japan was extending its influence over [[East Asia]] and the [[Pacific]] through the establishment of a [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere]], the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] as part of its offensive [[contingency plan]]s to invade the [[Soviet Union]] if it either became involved in the [[Pacific War]] or collapsed due to the [[Operation Barbarossa|ongoing German invasion]], proposed the annexation of the remaining northern half of Sakhalin to Japan.<ref name="krebs">{{cite book |last=Krebs| first=Gerhard|editor-first=Bernd|editor-last =Wegner|title=From peace to war: Germany, Soviet Russia, and the world, 1939–1941 |publisher= Berghahn Books |year=1997 |page=551 |chapter=31. Japan and the German-Soviet War |isbn=1-57181-882-0}}</ref>

===Soviet invasion===
{{main|Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin
}}

In August 1945, after repudiating the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] in April, and according to the signed agreements of Yalta, in which Stalin pledged that the Soviet Union would enter the Pacific War three months after the defeat of Germany, the [[Soviet Union]] invaded Karafuto. The Soviet attack started on 11 August 1945, three days before the [[surrender of Japan]]. The Soviet 56th Rifle Corps, part of the [[16th Army (Soviet Union)|16th Army]], consisting of the 79th Rifle Division, the 2nd Rifle Brigade, the 5th Rifle Brigade and the 214 Armored Brigade,<ref>[http://niehorster.org/012_ussr/45-08-08/army_16.html 16th Army, 2nd Far Eastern Front, Soviet Far East Command, 09.08,45<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> attacked the [[88th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|Japanese 88th Infantry Division]]. Although the Soviet [[Red Army]] outnumbered the Japanese by three to one, they advanced only slowly due to strong Japanese resistance. It was not until the 113th Rifle Brigade and the 365th Independent Naval Infantry Rifle Battalion from [[Sovetskaya Gavan]] landed in [[Toro (Sakhalin)|Tōro]], a seashore village in western Karafuto, on 16 August that the Soviets broke the Japanese defense line. Japanese resistance grew weaker after this landing. Actual fighting continued until 21 August. Between 22 and 23 August, most remaining Japanese units agreed to a ceasefire. The Soviets completed the conquest of Karafuto on 25 August 1945, by occupying the capital of Toyohara.

===Post-war===
{{main|Japanese evacuation of Karafuto and the Kuril Islands}}
[[File:Border Security of the 50th parallel of north.JPG|right|thumb|250px|A Japanese soldier at the border between the Karafuto Prefecture and Soviet Sakhalin]]
There were over 400,000 people living in Karafuto when the Soviet offensive began in early August 1945. Most were of Japanese or Korean extraction, though there was also a small [[White movement|White Russian]] community as well as some [[Ainu people|Ainu indigenous tribes]]. By the time of the ceasefire, approximately 100,000 civilians had managed to escape to [[Hokkaido]]. The military government established by the [[Soviet Army]] banned the local press, confiscated cars and radio sets and imposed a curfew. Local managers and bureaucrats were made to aid Russian authorities in the process of reconstruction, before being deported to labor camps, either on North Sakhalin or in [[Siberia]]. In schools, courses in [[Marxism–Leninism]] were introduced, and Japanese children were obliged to sing songs in praise of [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]].

Step by step Karafuto lost its Japanese identity. [[Sakhalin Oblast]] was created in February 1946, and by March all towns, villages and streets were given [[Russian language|Russian]] names. More and more colonists began to arrive from mainland Russia, with whom the Japanese were obliged to share the limited stock of housing. In October 1946 the Soviets began to repatriate all remaining Japanese. By 1950 most had been sent, willing or not, to Hokkaido. They had to leave all of their possessions behind, including any currency, Russian or Japanese. Today some keep alive the memory of their former home in the meetings of the ''Karafuto Renmei'', an association for former Karafuto residents.

In 1945, with the defeat of Japan in [[World War II]], the Japanese administration in Karafuto ceased to function. The Japanese government formally abolished Karafuto Prefecture as a legal entity on 1 June 1949. In 1951, at the [[Treaty of San Francisco]], Japan renounced its rights to Sakhalin, but did not formally acknowledge Soviet sovereignty over it.<ref>Sevela, Marie. "Sakhalin: The Japanese Under Soviet rule". ''History Today'', Vol. 48, 1998.</ref> Since that time, no final peace treaty has been signed between Japan and Russia, and the status of the neighboring [[Kuril Islands]] [[Kuril Islands dispute|remains disputed]].

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of Karafuto}}

==Demographics==
===Ethnic groups===
*[[Yamato people|Japanese]]
*[[Sakhalin Korean|Korean]]
*[[Ainu people|Ainu]]
*[[Oroks|Orok]]
*[[Nivkh people|Nivkh]]
===Census===

The Results Report of the [[Shōwa era|Shōwa]] 10 (1935) National Census<br>
''Karafuto Chapter''
<ref name ="1935 Census">{{cite book |author=樺太廳編 |title={{lang|ja|昭和10年國勢調査結果報告}}  |year=1937 |publisher=樺太廳 |location=樺太廳豐原町|isbn= }}</ref>

{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ Population by civil registration and nationality
|-----
!align=center| 
!align=center|Population
|-----
|align=center|Total
|align=right|331,943
|-----
|align=center|'''Naichi'''
|align=right|320,689
|-----
|align=center|'''Indigenous'''
|align=right|1,949
|-----
|align=center|'''Gaichi'''
|align=right|8,842
|-----
|align=center|Korea
|align=right|8,841
|-----
|align=center|Taiwan
|align=right|1
|-----
|align=center|'''Foreigner'''
|align=right|463
|-----
|align=center| Manchukuo
|align=right|11
|-----
|align=center| Republic of China
|align=right|194
|-----
|align=center| Former Russia {{efn|{{lang|ja|舊露西亞}} refers to the [[Russian Empire]] (1721–1917) and the Russian people who remained living in Southern Sakhalin after it became Japanese territory, as well as the [[White émigrés]] who came as a result of the [[Russian Civil War]].}}
|align=right|201
|-----
|align=center| Germany
|align=right|7
|-----
|align=center| Poland
|align=right|50
|-----
|}

{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ The population by [[List of regions of Japan|region]] of Naich people
|-----
!align=center| Region
!align=center| Population
|-----
|align=center| Karafuto
|align=right|100,853
|-----
|align=center|Hokkaido
|align=right|86,376
|-----
|align=center|Tōhoku
|align=right|76,698
|-----
|align=center|Others
|align=right|53,762
|-----
|align=center|Total
|align=right|320,689
|-----
|}

{|class=wikitable align=center
|+Population of Naichi,Indigenous,Gaichi people, and foreigners by subprefecture
|-----
!rowspan=2 align=center|Subprefecture
!colspan=5 align=center|Population
|-----
!align=center|Naichi
!align=center|Indigenous
!align=center|Gaichi
!align=center|Foreigner
!align=center|Total
|-----
|align=center|Toyohara
|align=right|64,787
|align=right|276
|align=right|694
|align=right|101
|align=right|65,858
|-----
|align=center|Ōtomari
|align=right|61,366
|align=right|140
|align=right|300
|align=right|121
|align=right|61,927
|-----
|align=center|Honto
|align=right|22,932
|align=right|19
|align=right|251
|align=right|21
|align=right|23,223
|-----
|align=center|Maoka
|align=right|48,353
|align=right|447
|align=right|385
|align=right|16
|align=right|49,201
|-----
|align=center|Tomarioru
|align=right|56,928
|align=right|412
|align=right|3,601
|align=right|90
|align=right|61,031
|-----
|align=center|Motodomari
|align=right|25,327
|align=right|33
|align=right|1,147
|align=right|37
|align=right|26,544
|-----
|align=center|Shikuka
|align=right|40,996
|align=right|622
|align=right|2,464
|align=right|77
|align=right|44,159
|-----
!align=center|Total
!align=right|320,689
!align=right|1,949
!align=right|8,842
!align=right|463
!align=right|331,943
|-----
|}

{|class=wikitable align=center
|+ The population of indigenous ethnic groups by subprefecture
|-----
!rowspan=2 align=center|Subprefecture
!colspan=7 align=center|Population
|-----
!align=center|[[Ainu people|Ainu]]
!align=center|[[Oroks|Orok]]
!align=center|[[Nivkh people|Nivkh]]
!align=center|[[Evenki people|Evenki]]
!align=center|[[Ulch people|Ulch]]
!align=center|[[Yakuts|Yakut]]
!align=center|Total
|-----
|align=center|Toyohara
|align=right|276
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|276
|-----
|align=center|Ōtomari
|align=right|138
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|2
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|140
|-----
|align=center|Honto
|align=right|19
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|19
|-----
|align=center|Maoka
|align=right|447
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|447
|-----
|align=center|Tomarioru
|align=right|412
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|412
|-----
|align=center|Motodomari
|align=right|32
|align=right|1
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|0
|align=right|33
|-----
|align=center|Shikuka
|align=right|180
|align=right|299
|align=right|110
|align=right|22
|align=right|9
|align=right|2
|align=right|622
|-----
!align=center|Total
!align=right|1,504
!align=right|300
!align=right|110
!align=right|24
!align=right|9
!align=right|2
!align=right|1,949

|-----
|}

==Economy==
[[File:Japanese SL D51-22.jpg|thumb|This Japanese [[JNR Class D51|D51 steam locomotive]] stands outside the present day [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk]] [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway station|Railway Station]], [[Sakhalin Oblast]], [[Russia]]. They were used by the [[Railway system of the Soviet Union|Soviet Railways]] until 1979.]]
The pre-war economy of Karafuto was based on [[fishing]], [[forestry]] and [[agriculture]], together with extraction of [[coal]] and [[petroleum]]. In terms of industry, the [[paper industry]] and the [[charcoal]] production industry was well developed. Pulp for [[rayon]] production in [[Honshu]] was predominately sourced from Karafuto.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Suzuki |first1=Shinichi |title=The Rayon Industry in Japan |journal=Economic Geography |date=January 1935 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=107|doi=10.2307/140653|jstor=140653 }}</ref> The territory suffered from a labor shortage through most of its history, and tax incentives were provided to encourage immigration.<ref>Steven Ivings: ''Recruitment and coercion in Japan’s far north: Evidence from colonial Karafuto’s forestry and construction industries, 1910–37'', in: Labor History, Vol. 57 (2016), No. 2, pp. 215–234.</ref> Indigenous [[Nivkh people | Nivkh]] and [[Oroks]] worked in Japanese-run fisheries and a [[synthetic fiber | synthetic textile]] plant near the Russian border. For the construction of the Toyohara-Maoka line, [[bonded labor]] was put to use, including Chinese contract laborers. By the end of the 1920s, these laborers would be replaced with Koreans. With the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in 1937, their population would increase substantially.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morris-Suzuki |first1=Tessa |title=Northern Lights: The Making and Unmaking of Karafuto Identity |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=August 2001 |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=645–671 |doi=10.2307/2700105|jstor=2700105 }}</ref> 

An extensive railway network was constructed in Karafuto to support the extraction of natural resources. The {{nihongo|Karafuto Railway Bureau|樺太鐵道局|Karafuto Tetsudōkyoku}} maintained 682.6 kilometers of track in four main lines and an additional 58.2 kilometers of track.

==Government==
Karafuto was administered from the central government in [[Tokyo]] as the {{nihongo|Karafuto Agency|樺太廳|Karafuto-chō}} under the {{nihongo|Colonization Bureau|拓務局|Takumukyoku}} of the [[Home Ministry (Japan)|Home Ministry]]. The Colonization Bureau became the 
{{nihongo|[[Ministry of Colonial Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Colonial Affairs]]|拓務省|Takumushō}} in 1923 at which time Karafuto was officially designated an overseas territory of the [[Empire of Japan]].

When the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was absorbed into the new [[Ministry of Greater East Asia]] in 1942, the administration of Karafuto was separated, and Karafuto became an integral part of the [[Japanese archipelago]].

===Directors of the Karafuto Agency===

{| class=wikitable
! No.
! Picture
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
|-
! 1
| [[File:Kumagai Kiichiro.jpg|60px]]
| [[Kiichirō Kumagai]] {{Nihongo|2=熊谷喜一郎}}
| 28 July 1905
| 31 March 1907
|-
! 2
| [[File:Kusunose Yukihiko ca.1913.jpg|60px]]
| [[Kusunose Yukihiko]] {{Nihongo|2=楠瀬 幸彦}}
| 1 April 1907
| 24 April 1908
|-
! 3
| [[File:TOKONAMI Takejiro.jpg|60px]]
| [[Tokonami Takejirō]] {{Nihongo|2=床次 竹二郎}}
| 24 April 1908
| 12 June 1908
|-
! 4
| [[File:Hiraoka Teitarou.jpg|60px]]
| [[Sadatarō Hiraoka]] {{Nihongo|2=平岡定太郎}}
| 12 June 1908
| 5 June 1914
|-
! 5
| [[File:Okada Bunji.jpg|60px]]
| [[Bunji Okada]] {{Nihongo|2=岡田文次}}
| 5 June 1914
| 9 October 1916
|-
! 6
| [[File:Sakaya Akira.jpg|60px]]
| [[Akira Sakaya]] {{Nihongo|2=昌谷 彰}}<br />{{small|(''First term'')}}
| 13 October 1916
| 17 April 1919
|-
! 7
| [[File:Nagai Kinjiro.jpg|60px]]
| [[Kinjirō Nagai]] {{Nihongo|2=永井金次郎}}
| 17 April 1919
| 11 June 1924
|-
!
| [[File:Sakaya Akira.jpg|60px]]
| [[Akira Sakaya]] {{Nihongo|2=昌谷 彰}}<br />{{small|(''Second term'')}}
| 11 June 1924
| 5 August 1926
|-
! 8
| [[File:Toyoda Katsuzo.jpg|60px]]
| [[Katsuzō Toyota]] {{Nihongo|2=豊田勝蔵}}
| 5 August 1926
| 27 July 1927
|-
! 9
| [[File:Koji kita.jpg|60px]]
| {{ill|Kōji Kita|ja|喜多孝治}} {{Nihongo|2=喜多孝治}}
| 27 July 1927
| 9 July 1929
|-
! 10
| [[File:Agata Shinobu.jpg|60px]]
| [[Shinobu Agata]] {{Nihongo|2=縣 忍}}
| 9 July 1929
| 17 December 1931
|-
! 11
| [[File:Kishimoto Masao.jpg|60px]]
| [[Masao Kishimoto]] {{Nihongo|2=岸本正雄}}
| 17 December 1931
| 5 July 1932
|-
! 12
| [[File:Imamura Takeshi1937.jpg|60px]]
| [[Takeshi Imamura]] {{Nihongo|2=今村武志}}
| 5 July 1932
| 7 May 1938
|-
! 13
| [[File:Munesue Shun-ichi.jpg|60px]]
| {{ill|Toshikazu Munei|ja|棟居俊一}} {{Nihongo|2=棟居俊一}}
| 7 May 1938
| 9 April 1940
|-
! 14
| [[File:Ogawa Masanori.jpg|60px]]
| [[Masayoshi Ogawa]] {{Nihongo|2=小河正儀}}
| 9 April 1940
| 1 July 1943
|-
! 15
| [[File:Otsu Toshio.jpg|60px]]
| [[Toshio Ōtsu]] {{Nihongo|2=大津敏男}}
| 1 July 1943
| 11 November 1947
|}

== Political divisions ==
{{main|Political divisions of Karafuto Prefecture}}
[[File:Subprefectures of Karafuto Prefecture.png|thumb|200px|Karafuto Prefecture with 4 subprefectures, namely <span style="color:red;">Toyohara</span>, <span style="color:green;">Maoka</span>, <span style="color:blue;">Esutoru</span> and <span style="color:goldenrod;">Shikuka</span>. <span style="color:darkred;">Toyohara City</span> was also a part of Toyohara Subprefecture.]]
As of 1945, Karafuto was divided into four subprefectures, which in turn were subdivided into 11 [[districts of Japan|districts]], in turn divided into 41 [[municipalities of Japan|municipalities]] (one [[cities of Japan|city]], 13 [[towns of Japan|towns]], and 27 [[villages of Japan|villages]]).

Karafuto's largest city was [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk|Toyohara]], while other major cities included [[Uglegorsk, Sakhalin Oblast|Esutoru]] in the north central and [[Kholmsk|Maoka]] in the south central region.

The list below are the towns and the city of the prefecture. These in ''italics'' are the corresponding current [[Russian language|Russian]] names.

'''[[Esutoru Subprefecture]]''' ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:恵須取支庁|惠須取支廳]]}})
* Towns
** Chinnai ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:珍内町|珍內町]]}}, ''[[Krasnogorsk, Sakhalin Oblast|Krasnogorsk]]'')
** Esutoru ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:恵須取町|惠須取町]]}}, ''[[Uglegorsk, Sakhalin Oblast|Uglegorsk]]'')
** Nayoshi ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:名好町|名好町]]}}, ''[[Lesogorskoye]]'')
** Tōro ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:塔路町|塔路町]]}}, ''[[Shakhtyorsk]]'')
* Villages
** Nishisakutan ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:西柵丹村|西柵丹村]]}}, [[Boshnyakovo]])
** Ushiro ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:鵜城村|鵜城村]]}}, [[Orlovo, Sakhalin Oblast|Orlovo]])

'''[[Maoka Subprefecture]]''' ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:真岡支庁|眞岡支廳]]}}<ref name="place name">{{lang|ja|[[s:ja:樺太地名改正|樺太地名改正 明治四十一年三月三十一日內務省告示第二十九號]]}}</ref>)
* Towns
** Honto ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:本斗町|本斗町]]}}, ''[[Nevelsk]]'')
** Maoka ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:真岡町|眞岡町]]}},<ref name="place name" /> ''[[Kholmsk]]'')
** Naihoro ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:内幌町|內幌町]]}}, ''[[Gornozavodsk, Sakhalin Oblast|Gornozavodsk]]'')
** Noda ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:野田町 (樺太)|野田町]]}}, ''[[Chekhov, Sakhalin Oblast|Chekhov]]'')
** Tomarioru ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:泊居町|泊居町]]}}, ''[[Tomari, Russia|Tomari]]'')
* Villages
** Kusyunnai ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:久春内村|久春内村]]}}, [[Ilyinskoye, Sakhalin Oblast|Ilyinskoe]])
** Nayori ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:名寄村|名寄村]]}}, [[Penzenskoe]])
** Konotoro ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:小能登呂村|小能登呂村]]}}, [[Kostromskoe, Sakhalin Oblast|Kostromskoe]])
** Randomari ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:蘭泊村|蘭泊村]]}}, [[Yablochnoye, Sakhalin Oblast|Yabrochnoye]])
** Hirochi ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:広地村|廣地村]]}}, [[Pravda, Sakhalin Oblast|Pravda]])
** Kounin ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:好仁村|好仁村]]}}, [[Shebunino]])
** Kaiba ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:海馬村|海馬村]]}}, [[Moneron Island]])

'''[[Shikuka Subprefecture]]''' ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:敷香支庁|敷香支廳]]}})
* Towns
** Shirutoru ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:知取町|知取町]]}}, ''[[Makarov, Russia|Makarov]]'')
** Shikuka, Shisuka ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:敷香町|敷香町]]}}, ''[[Poronaysk]]'')
* Villages
** Chirie ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:散江村|散江村]]}})
** Nairo ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:内路村|内路村]]}}, [[Gastello, Sakhalin Oblast|Gastello]])
** Tomarikishi ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:泊岸村|泊岸村]]}}, [[Vakhrushev (urban-type settlement)|Vakhrushev]])
** Motodomari ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:元泊村|元泊村]]}}, [[Vostochnoye, Sakhalin Oblast|Vostochnoye]])
** Hoyori ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:帆寄村|帆寄村]]}}, [[Pugachyovo, Sakhalin Oblast|Pugachovo]])

'''[[Toyohara Subprefecture]]''' ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:豊原支庁|豐原支廳]]}}<ref name="place name" />)
* City
** Toyohara ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:豊原市|豐原市]]}},<ref name="place name" /> ''[[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk]]'')
* Towns
** Ochiai ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:落合町 (樺太)|落合町]]}}, ''[[Dolinsk, Sakhalin Oblast|Dolinsk]]'')
** Ōtomari ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:大泊町|大泊町]]}}, ''[[Korsakov (town)|Korsakov]]'')
** Rūtaka ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:留多加町|留多加町]]}}, ''[[Aniva]]'')
* Villages 
** Shiranui ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:白縫村|白縫村]]}}, [[Arsentyevka, Sakhalin Oblast|Arsentyevka]])
** Sakaehama ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:栄浜村|榮濱村]]}}, [[Starodubskoe]])
** Kawakami ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:川上村|川上村]]}}, [[Sinegorsk]])
** Toyokita ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:豊北村|豐北村]]}}, [[Novo-Aleksandrovsk]])
** Chitose ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:千歳村_(樺太)|千歳村]]}}, [[Solovyovka, Sakhalin Oblast|Solovyovka]])
** Fukami ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:深海村|深海村]]}}, [[Prigorodnoye (seaport)|Prigorodnoe]])
** Tonnai ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:富内村|富内村]]}}, [[Okhotskoe, Sakhalin Oblast|Okhotskoe]])
** Nagahama ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:長浜村|長濱村]]}}, [[Utesnoye]])
** Tōbuchi ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:遠淵村|遠淵村]]}}, [[Muravyovo, Sakhalin Oblast|Muravyevo]])
** Shiretoko ({{lang|ja|[[:ja:知床村|知床村]]}}, [[Novikovo, Sakhalin Oblast|Novikovo]])

== See also ==
* [[Karafuto Fortress]]
* [[Apostolic Prefecture of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk]]
* [[Karafuto Shrine]]
* [[Nishikubo Shrine]]
* [[Sakhalin Ainu language]]
* [[Sakhalin Koreans]]
* [[Kuril Islands dispute]]
* [[Ainu in Russia]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Further reading===
* Sevela, Marie, "Sakhalin: The Japanese under Soviet rule". ''History and Memory'', January 1998, pp.&nbsp;41–46.
* Sevela, Marie, "Nihon wa Soren ni natta toki. Karafuto kara Saharin e no ikô 1945–1948". ''Rekishigakukenkû'', 1995, no. 676, pp.&nbsp;26–35, 63.

==External links==
{{commons category|Karafuto}}
* [http://www.karafuto.com/ Secret of Sakhalin Island (Karafuto)]
* Karafuto maps:
** [http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~t_tajima/nenpyo-5/tizu-1.htm Karafuto Southern Area under Japanese administration]
** [http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~t_tajima/nenpyo-5/tizu-2.htm Japanese Karafuto province]
** [http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~t_tajima/nenpyo-5/tizu-3.htm Japanese view of Russian Soviet invasion of the city of Maoka]
** [http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~t_tajima/nenpyo-5/msmap-2.htm Southern Sakhalin area under Russian administration in the present day]
* [http://kabaren.org/ All Japan Federation of Karafuto] {{in lang|ja}}
* [http://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/russia02.htm Internationalsteam.uk: Steam and the Railways of Sakhalin]

{{Gaichi}}{{Sakhalin Koreans}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Karafuto| ]]
[[Category:History of Sakhalin]]
[[Category:Former Japanese colonies]]
[[Category:Former prefectures of Japan]]
[[Category:Government of the Empire of Japan]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Japan]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1905]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in the Japanese colonial empire]]
[[Category:1949 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Japan–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Axis powers]]
[[Category:Sakhalin Korean history]]
[[Category:Geography of the Empire of Japan]]