Akkeshi

Akkeshi stands on a sheltered bay on the Pacific coast of eastern Ezo. Long inhabited by Ainu communities, it became an important center of trade and a point of contact with visitors from distant seas. In 1643 the Dutch ship Castricum entered the bay and recorded its encounter with the inhabitants. In 1799 the shogunate took direct control of eastern Ezo and established an administrative post at Akkeshi. Concerned by Russian activity and Christian missions in the north, it decided in 1804 to establish Kokutai-ji here, one of three official temples in Ezo. The settlement also served as a stopping place between the Kurils and Nemuro in the east and Matsumae and Hakodate to the south.