1.Introduction
Hokkaido is located at the northern end of the Japanese islands and was once home to a flourishing, unique culture very different from that of the main island of Honshu and further south. Unique period and cultural classifications are used for Hokkaido from the Jomon Period onwards in particular.
An especially unique culture formed along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, which was influenced by both Honshu in the south as well as Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands in the north.
【Figure: Period classifications】
There are remaining remnants from each of the various periods in the Tokoro region, and one can trace the history of Hokkaido's Okhotsk region from the numerous artifacts unearthed here.