Kitaezo is an administrative region of [Japan](https://inkblot.art/post/bu26nyAoMoPEL3RK6wqC) in *Iron and Blood 4*, encompassing Hokkaidō, Karafuto (Sakhalin) Island, and Outer Manchuria, coastal territory roughly corresponding to present-day Primorsky Krai and the southern half of Khabarovsk Krai. Seeking to relieve pressure from overpopulation, in 1742 the government began a concerted colonization effort of Karafuto, sparking armed resistance by the local Ainu who had already been driven out of Hokkaidō. The conflict escalated into war as Manchu clans armed and organized Ainu guerillas into a proper army, deploying an expeditionary army of their own; the climactic Battle of Toyohara in 1746 decisively defeated the Manchu–Ainu resistance and catalyzed the Japanese army's development of line battle and artillery tactics. Japan subsequently invaded the Manchu mainland; with their consolidated army destroyed at Toyohara, the clans quickly surrendered and the region was annexed by Tokyo. The "fishing capital", by game's start in 1931 Kitaezo had the lowest population density of the empire's territories, although Hawaiʻi was smaller overall. Uploaded to the now-defunct IOT Wiki in 2020, replacing JohannaK's original raster. Download available via [DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/el-thorvaldo/art/Flag-of-Kitaezo-InB4-931643286) and [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/posts/72791880).