Ezo

, also known as Yezo or Yeso,The spelling Yezo is related to 17th century pronunciation when Japan's contacts with the West were beginning.  The romaji spelling Ezo is Modern Standard Japanese. is an ancient Japanese name for the lands to the north of Japan.Batchelor, John. (1902). Sea-Girt Yezo: Glimpses at Missionary Work in North Japan, pp. 2-8. It was the name of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ezo" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 184.  It was also used as a name for islands in the Sea of Okhotsk, including the Kurile Islands and Sakhalin. 

The terms Ezo, Yezo, Ebisu or Emishi were also used as a name for the people and culture of northern Honshu, including  Akita Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture.

History
The first published description of Ezo in the West was brought to Europe by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included  by Hayashi Shihei.WorldCat,  Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu; alternate romaji  Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu This book, which was published in Japan in 1785, described the Ezo region and people.Cullen, Louis M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds, p. 137.

Titsingh's translation of Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu was published in 1832.Klaproth, Julius. (1832). San kokf tsou ran to sets, ou Aperçu général des trois royaumes, pp. 181-255.

References

Other websites

 Waseda University, 三国通覧図説 (Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu)
 An old map of Ezo and two other islands from 1854

Category:Islands of Japan
Category:Hokkaido Prefecture
Category:Akita Prefecture
Category:Aomori Prefecture
Category:Fukushima Prefecture
Category:Iwate Prefecture
Category:Miyagi Prefecture
Category:Yamagata Prefecture