A small town in the northern part of Hokkaido where Morihei UESHIBA lived from 1912-1919. Ueshiba played a leadership role in the clearing of the land and settling of this town as part of a group of colonizers from Tanabe. Ueshiba's family, parents, several relatives and in-laws, and his nephew Yoichiro INOUE also stayed for various periods of time in Shirataki. Ueshiba owned a house and property in Shirataki which he turned over to Sokaku TAKEDA when he returned to his native Tanabe in December 1919 on news of his father's grave illness. The town currently has fewer inhabitants than during the time of Ueshiba's residence there.