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Hokkaido Prefecture have branch offices called 支庁 (shicho) in Japanese, which can be translated in English as subprefectures. Normally area of a subprefecture consists of a few to a dozen of cities, towns, and/or villages.
For historical reason, some elder peoples in Hokkaido use the subprefecture name suffixed by -kannai in their address.
History of shicho in Hokkaido In 1897, Nineteen shicho were placed under the Hokkaido Agency (an agency of the national government): Sapporo, Hakodate, Kameda, Matsumae, Hiyama, Suttsu, Iwanai, Otaru, Sorachi, Kamikawa, Mashike, Souya, Abashiri, Muroran, Urakawa, Kushiro, Kasai, Nemuro, and Shana.
In 1899, Sapporo-ku, Hakodate-ku, and Otaru-ku were established as municipalities independent of shicho. Sapporo-shicho and Otaru-shicho were continued with remaining area, but Hakodate-shicho was vanished. Previous Kameda-shicho was renamed as Hokodate-shicho.
In 1903, Matsumae-shicho was merged with Hakodate-shicho. Shana-shicho was merged with Nemuro-shicho.
In 1910, Suttsu-shicho, Iwanai-shicho, and Otaru-shicho were merged to form Shiribeshi-shicho.
In 1914, Asahikawa-ku was established as municipalities independent of Kamikawa-shicho. Mashike-shicho was renamed as Rumoi-shicho.
In 1918, Muroran-ku was established as municipalities independent of Muroran-shicho.
In 1920, Kushiro-ku was established as municipalities independent of Kushiro-shicho.
In 1922, six ku were restated as shi (cities). Sapporo-shicho was renamed as Ishikari-shicho. Hakodate-shicho was renamed as Oshima-shicho. Muroran-shicho was renamed as Iburi-shicho.
In 1932, Urakawa-shicho was renamed as Hidaka-shicho. Kasai-shicho was renamed as Tokachi-shicho.
In 1947, Hokkaido Agency was abolished and Hokkaido Prefecture was established. Hokkaido Prefecture took over shicho.
Today, fourteen shicho effectively cover whole Hokkaido area. To be pedantic, the shicho cover only towns and villages, albeit they do some commissioned business for cities.
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