Rebun, Hokkaido
Rebun is a town located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The district and town both cover the island of the same name: Rebun Island. Rebun Island is famous for its alpine flowers.
History
Pre-Dynastical and Prehistorical Period
Various prehistoric ruins from the Okhotsk culture have been discovered in the areas of Kafukai and Funadomari. Later down the line it seems that there was also the presence of various Ainu, leading to the various remains of castles from the Ainu period, scattered across the area.Kosho Period
In 1456 : A battle between the Kafukai Ainu and the Isogai Ainu took place near present-day Momoiwa, right next to today's town.Jokyo Period
In 1685 : The area became a soya place directly controlled by the Matsumae Domain, and both the settlements in Rishiri and Rebun became their subsidiary places.Meiwa Period
In 1765, Rebun, Rishiri, and Soya were declared independent provinces.Bunsei Period
In the later part of the Edo Period, in 1819, Ihei Fujino becomes the contractor for the Soya place of the Matsumae domain, developing it.Koka Period
1846 : Mannosuke Yanagida, who moved from the Aomori Prefecture, becomes the first immigrant to Shakunin and begins developing fishing grounds, opening the Oshima fishing grounds in Shakunin. Up until now the population was mostly Ainu.Meiji Period
During the Meiji era, the city strengthened its administrative core, as in 1878 The village head offices of Rebun County were established in Kafuka. However, in 1892, the village of Funadomari was separated, shrinking its size.This was part of a larger campaign in the Meiji Era to modernize local administrations, thus part of the famous Meiji Restoration.
Showa Period
Whilst politically, through the establishment of a modern local administration in the area, the Meiji restoration had already reached the town, only by the Showa Period would the construction of a power distribution line be completed in Uchiji village, and only then would the electricity is now distributed to all villages in the Kafuka district, including Rebun.On September 20, 1956, due to the deterioration of the financial situation of Kafuka Village, the villages of Funadomari and Kafuka merged known as Rebun Village, once again enlarging Rebun's administrative area. This was officialized in 1959, as the town was incorporated as Rebun Town.
Geography
The town covers the entire area of Rebun Island in the Sea of Japan. Rebun is located approximately from Wakkanai on mainland Hokkaido and northwest of Rishiri Island. The entire island is part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. Lake Kushu and Mount Rebun are located in the town.Rebun is well known for its 300 species of alpine flowers, some of which are endemic to the island. For this it has earned the moniker the island of flowers. Such flowers include: Cypripedium macranthum var. rebunense.