Hokkaidō Development Commission

During the Edo period, the Matsumae Domain was responsible for overseeing Japanese territory and trade with the local Ainu in Ezo (the area covered by the term extending beyond what is now Hokkaidō into Karafuto and the Chishima Islands), other than for two periods (1799–1821, and again from 1855), when the bakufu assumed direct control in the face of increasing Russian interest in the region.

[6][7] In line with the 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, Japanese territory in Sakhalin was ceded to Russia, the Kuriles passing to Japan and falling under the jurisdiction of the Kaitakushi.

[7][8] Outlays in the ten years from 1872 totalled some twenty million yen, spending included that on the island's road and railway infrastructure, the opening of coal mines, new farming methods, and a range of other enterprises included those relating to beer (the precursor to the Sapporo Beer Company), fishing, canneries, hemp, sugar, and lumber.

[6] The Development Commission was first headed by Nabeshima Naomasa, former daimyō of Saga Domain, although he soon resigned on grounds of age, Higashikuze Michitomi taking his place.

[7][8] Some seventy-five foreign advisors were also hired between 1869 and 1879, including forty-five Americans, five Russians, four Englishmen, four Germans, three Frenchmen, and one Dutchman.