The dialect or dialects of Hokkaido (北海道方言, Hokkaidō-hōgen), commonly called Hokkaidō-ben (北海道弁), originate in relatively recent settlement from mainland Japan. The greater part of Hokkaidō was settled from a mix of areas from the Meiji period on, especially from the Tōhoku and Hokuriku regions, so various Japanese dialects mixed together on Hokkaidō.The relationship of Hokkaidō dialect to the rest of Japanese—and whether there even is a coherent Hokkaidō dialect—are debated.