is a Japanese name which historically referred to the lands to the north of
Japan. It was used in various senses, sometimes meaning the northern Japanese island of
Hokkaido, and sometimes meaning lands and waters farther north in the
Sea of Okhotsk, like
Sakhalin and the
Kuril Islands. The word "Ezo" can also refer to the peoples that the Japanese encountered in these lands, referred to in modern times as the
Ainu people.