Monbetsu

Monbetsu lies on the Sea of Okhotsk coast of Ezo. Its name comes from the Ainu Mōpet, or “quiet river”, originally applied to the river at Motomonbetsu. In 1790 the merchant Murayama Denbei moved the center of the Monbetsu trading district from that river to a site farther along the coast, where he established a fishery station. The name traveled with the trading center to its new location.