PASTEXPERIENCE HISTORY

Honnō-ji. Edo. Pompeii. Where will you go?

Explore by place

1869–1875 · Building modern Sapporo

How Sapporo’s street grid took shape

The Sōsei River and Ōdōri reveal the layout of a Meiji-era city.

Sapporo, Hokkaidō

A new administrative centre on inhabited land

The Kaitakushi’s establishment in 1869 made Sapporo a development centre for the Meiji government. It did not begin the land’s history. Ainu communities already used its rivers and land; modern planning reorganised an inhabited region.

Offices needed residents, buildings, food and routes. Recruiting settlers and planning surrounding villages supported the centre. Administrative records and the experiences of migrants or earlier inhabitants describe different aspects of the same changes.

[1] 札幌市[3] 札幌市公文書館

Ōdōri and Sōsei River organise the city

The 1871 plan used Sōsei River as an east–west reference and separated official northern areas from southern commerce and housing. The grid organised different functions and routes rather than simply repeating identical buildings.

Different road widths, bridges and outside connections required construction. Imported expertise contributed without replacing surveying, material transport and local work. Planning and making usable routes were separate parts of development.

[2] 札幌市[1] 札幌市

The city depends on its surroundings

Routes including Honganji Kaidō in 1871 and Sapporo Hondō in 1873 connected the grid with surrounding settlements and distant places. Tondenhei arrival in 1875 added another settlement process. Transport, housing and production supported one another.

Infrastructure brought unequal experiences for officials, migrants and Indigenous residents. Considering these positions connects development with changes in land use and livelihoods. Sapporo’s history concerns who built the city and whose surroundings changed.

[1] 札幌市[2] 札幌市[3] 札幌市公文書館

Before and after

  1. 1869

    The Kaitakushi agency is established.

  2. 1871

    The urban grid is laid out.

  3. 1875

    Tondenhei settlers arrive.

Key terms

Kaitakushi
A Meiji agency responsible for administration and development in Hokkaidō and associated areas.
Town layout
Planning streets and parcels.
Tondenhei
Settlers combining agricultural and military roles.

What supports the account?

People lived here before modern city-building.

The city history begins with Ainu presence.

Limits of the evidence

Do not begin all local history in 1869.

[1] 札幌市

Planning separated urban functions.

The road history identifies the river, avenue and functional districts.

Limits of the evidence

Orderly streets do not prove equal benefit for everyone.

[2] 札幌市

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to reveal the explanation. Return to the article and sources when you are unsure.

1. Why did the planned grid also need roads beyond the city?

Sources

  1. Overview of Sapporo札幌市

    Earlier Ainu history, the 1869 commission and settler-soldiers in 1875.

  2. Sapporo’s roads in the early development period札幌市

    The 1871 layout, river and boulevard, functional districts and road widths.

  3. The development of Sapporo札幌市公文書館

    Surrounding settlements, recruitment of migrants and road development in 1871 and 1873.

Keep exploring