Born in Sugawa village, Ise (Matsusaka, Mie).
He left home and began travelling all over Japan.
He crossed to Ezo (Hokkaido) for the first time, and would explore it six times in all.
Around this time, guided and helped by the Ainu, he walked the land, recording their lives, language and place names.
Hired by the shogunate, he conducted surveys of Ezo.
He produced a detailed map of Ezo's mountains, rivers and place names.
As a Meiji official he proposed the new name "Hokkaidō" for Ezo, written with characters evoking the Ainu; it became the basis of the name Hokkaido.
He resigned in protest at the treatment of the Ainu.
Even in old age he kept travelling, climbing Ōdaigahara in Nara and elsewhere.
He died in Tokyo.
Iwakura TomomiWilliam S. ClarkKanō HōgaiTakahashi YuichiSoejima TaneomiNishi AmaneYuri KimimasaŌkubo Toshimichi
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.