Names of places in Hokkaido mostly come from Ainu language. It certifies that Hokkaido had been Ainu “Mosiri” (country or land). However, they have been changed by applying Japanese Kanji characters or by using Japanese pronunciation to Japanese kana since the Meiji period. As a result the original meanings with Ainu language in many case have been lost.
You will find easily that place names attaching with “Nai” (内Uchi) and “Betsu” (別Betsu), meaning river or stream, are seen in many places of Hokkaido. According to Mr. Yamada Shuzo, a researcher of place name, the difference between "Nai" and "Betsu" is generally that “Nai” should be referring to creek, and “Betsu” to big river in Hokkaido, apart from a few exceptions. (from Mr.Yamada’s “Study of Ainu language race”)
Even in Hokkaido people in some region have tendency to used many “Nai”, while in other regions people take “Betsu”. Through these distribution in Ainu languages, we may say that there had been a distinguish between the northern and southern race of Ainu. The abundance of the name of “Nai” and “Betsu” also teaches us how the Ainu people depended heavily on rivers for their livelihood. The rivers did not only provide salmon and trout to them, but also indispensable transportation routes for hunting deep in the mountains and trading with people in the distant regions.
… quoted from the book of Tamura Zenjiro, Miyamoto Chiharu “Miyamoto Tsuneichi to aruita Showa no Nippon No.18 Hokkaido” in 2012
Map was made by Kayano Shigeru and Himeda Tadayoshi Scale 1/400,000
Map was made by Kayano Shigeru and Himeda Tadayoshi Scale 1/400,000
