Kushiro

Kushiro lies among the rivers, wetlands and coast of eastern Hokkaido. Ainu communities based their lives along the Kushiro River, fishing, hunting, gathering plants and exchanging goods with neighbouring peoples. An Ainu settlement stood near the river mouth, in an area known as Kusuri during the Edo period.

The Matsumae domain used coastal Ainu settlements as places of exchange. Kusuri became one of these trading areas, linking local people and their products with Japanese merchants. As commercial influence expanded, the river also provided a route inland. The Ainu settlements and their fishing grounds remained fundamental to the district's history, even as outside control over trade grew.