This article discusses Mamiya Rinzō (1775-1844), a Japanese cartographer during the Edo period (1603-1868); Mamiya was a Shogunate official who, for the first time in history, succeeded in scientifically mapping the Japanese north and also documenting the original inhabitants in Sakhalin. The article explains that the growing rivalry between Japan and Russia at the time was a main motivation for the Japanese in their exploration of Ezo and Sakhalin. At that time the Russians named the island “Sakhalin,” as it is known today. The name comes from the island's Manchu name “Sahaliyan” which signifies the “black (soil).” “Karafuto,” the Japanese name for Sakhalin, derives from its Ainu name “Kara Put.” It meant “(the island that the deity) made at the mouth of the river.”