Japan’s ski resort town Niseko to publish booklet of its history focusing on exploitation by great-great-grandfather of Princess Hisako

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:27 JST, June 15, 2025

SAPPORO — The Niseko town government in Hokkaido plans this year to publish a booklet focusing on the history of the area’s development led by Sukenori Soga (1844-1935), great-great-grandfather of Princess Hisako of Takamado and one of the founders of what is now an internationally renowned ski resort.

This year marks 125 years since serious efforts began to develop the town, and as the number of immigrants from overseas with different values increases, the town government is placing importance on the spirit of mutual help that was evident during area’s early days of development as a pillar of community development.

Capitalists mainly from Honshu began opening farms in Niseko in 1896. They were given uncultivated land plots from the central government, which they began cultivating by inviting tenant farmers from all over the nation.

Full-scale development began in 1900. The largest of the five established farms at that time was Soga Farm, which was opened by Sukenori Soga on May 31 that year.

Soga was from the Yanagawa feudal domain, part of Fukuoka Prefecture today. After the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown, Soga participated in battles for the new government against the remaining samurai and was awarded the title of viscount. He was a politician and businessman and the grandfather of Princess Hisako’s grandmother.

Soga established a school, a shrine and a temple on the farm in Niseko in an area surrounding the current center of Niseko. He also built canals and other infrastructure.

In 1937, the developed farmlands at Soga Farm were sold to tenant farmers. Their descendants have run agricultural businesses as landowner farmers today.

When ski resort development began in the town in the 1960s, mountains and forests treated as shared properties belonging to an association made up of the descendants were utilized for the development.

Since 2000, the town has become world-famous for its high-quality powder snow and seen foreign capital enter for the development of ski resorts and accommodation facilities. The number of people moving to the town from within Japan and overseas has also sharply increased, with the proportion of foreigners among the population as of the end of January, during the ski season, reaching 19.5%, one of the highest in the nation.

In 2022 and 2024, Princess Hisako visited the town and interacted with the descendants at the farm established by her ancestor. Her visit prompted the residents to rediscover the history of their hometown, which was built based through the many hardships of their ancestors, and feel pride and affection for the area.

“To continue development of the town, it is important to record and inherit the history of the local community,” Princess Hisako said.

To share the spirit of the development period, the town government has begun to publish books on the histories of each farm. As the first step of the project, a booklet about Soga Farm will be published as early as autumn, and copies will be distributed to residents free of charge.

“Soga Farm and other farms built the foundation of the development that followed and led to Niseko becoming an agricultural base and internationally famous resort,” Mayor Kenya Katayama said. “We want to properly compile the history now and pass it on to future generations.”