Eastern Hokkaidō: Shibetsu, Nemuro district
標津
しべつ ShibetsuShibetsu faces the Nemuro Strait in eastern Hokkaidō. The name is shared by the town and the Shibetsu River. The town’s historical account reports the spelling ちべ内 on a map from the Genroku era.
Ainu spellings: シ・ペッ, シペ・ヲッ
Analyses
シ・ペッ
The main river
- シ main, important; large
- ペッ river
Proponent: 標津町・標津町教育委員会
The town overview glosses si as “large”; the cultural heritage plan gives “true” or “important”.
シペ・ヲッ
A place with salmon
- シペ salmon
- ヲッ place where … occurs
Proponent: 標津町教育委員会
The plan lists this beside the river reading. Its table connects sipe with ipe “food”.
Attestations
- ちべ内 map 元禄年間 松前藩から幕府に提出された絵図（標津町の解説による）
The town reports this spelling in a map submitted by the Matsumae domain to the shogunate during the Genroku era.
標津町2026 1．標津町の語源
Sources
- 標津町の語源・沿革・地勢・人口データ
標津町·2026-02-20
- 標津町文化財保存活用地域計画
標津町教育委員会·2025-06