Niigata Prefecture

History

Until after the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Niigata Prefecture was divided into Echigo Province (on the mainland) and Sado Province. During the Sengoku period, the Nagao clan, who were at times vassals to the Uesugi, ruled a fief in the western part of modern Niigata from Kasugayama Castle. The most notable member of the Nagao clan was Nagao Kagetora, later and better known as Uesugi Kenshin. He unified the leaders of Echigo Province and became its sole ruler. By taking the surname Uesugi, he also became the head of the Uesugi clan and effectively brought their realm under his control.

The city of Niigata is now the third largest Japanese city facing the Sea of Japan, after Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. It was the first Japanese port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade following the opening of Japan by Matthew Perry. It has since played an important role in trade with Russia and Korea. A freighter from North Korea visits Niigata once a month, in one of the few forms of direct contact between Japan and that country.

The Etsuzankai organization, led by the politician Kakuei Tanaka, was highly influential in bringing infrastructure improvements to Niigata Prefecture in the 1960s and 1970s. These included the Jōetsu Shinkansen high-speed rail line and the Kanetsu Expressway to Tokyo.

On October 23, 2004, the Chūetsu earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture and was measured at Shindo 6+ at Ojiya.

On January 9, 2006, a heavy winter storm struck the prefecture and its neighbors. At least 71 people died and more than 1,000 were injured. Also in 2006, a massive tsunami and earthquake damaged homes and caused casualties in the maritime areas of Niigata Prefecture, especially near Sado Island.

On July 16, 2007, another earthquake hit the area.

Niigata Prefecture hosts the Fuji Rock Festival, an annual event held at the Naeba ski resort. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians. It is one of the largest outdoor music events in Japan, with more than 100,000 people attending in 2005.

Geography

Niigata Prefecture stretches about 240 km (149 mi) along the Sea of Japan, from the southwest to the northeast, with a coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. It also includes Sado Island. Niigata Prefecture could be placed in either the Hokuriku or the Kōshinetsu, both of which are considered parts of the Chūbu region.

The prefecture is generally divided into four geographical areas: Jōetsu region (上越) in the south, Chūetsu (中越) in the center, Kaetsu (下越) in the north, and Sado Island. The mouth of the Shinano River, the longest river in Japan, is located in Niigata Prefecture.

As of 1 April 2014, 25% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Bandai-Asahi, Chūbu-Sangaku, Nikkō, and Oze National Parks; Echigo Sanzan-Tadami and Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Parks; and thirteen Prefectural Natural Parks.

Cities

Twenty cities are located in Niigata Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Economy

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

The major industry in Niigata Prefecture is agriculture. Rice is the principal product, and among the prefectures of Japan Niigata ranks first in rice output, followed by Hokkaido and Akita. The area around Uonuma is known for producing the Koshihikari variety, widely considered to be the highest-quality rice produced in Japan.

Rice-related industries are also very important to the prefectural economy. Niigata Prefecture is known throughout Japan for its high-quality sake, senbei, mochi, and arare. In sake production, the prefecture comes third after Gunma and Kyoto prefectures.

The prefecture was also the place of origin of the ornamental carp known as koi.

Niigata Prefecture produces the highest volume of azaleas and cut lilies in Japan, and is increasing the production of cut flowers and flower bulbs. Along with Toyama Prefecture, it produces the highest volume of tulips in the country.

Mining and manufacturing

Crude oil is produced in Niigata Prefecture, although Japan relies heavily on petroleum imported from other countries. Kerosene heaters are also produced for use in the cold Niigata winters.

Kinzan, on Sado Island, was an active gold mine until it was closed in 1989.

Sanjō and Tsubame produce 90 percent of all the silverware made in Japan. The two cities are second after Osaka in the production of scissors, kitchen knives, nail clippers and wrenches.

Niigata Prefecture may have been the first area in Japan to produce knitted textiles, although the earliest products may have been imported from China. A nuclear power plant, which formerly had the highest energy output in the world, is located in the tiny village of Kariwa. It has been closed since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Demographics

In the Census of 2020, Niigata ranked as the 15th most populous prefecture. Its population decreased by 103,000 between 2015 and 2020 and this was the second largest decline after Hokkaido (157,000).

Culture

Food

Niigata is known for the following regional specialities:

Uonuma Koshihikari rice

Shōyu (soy sauce) and Yofu (western-style) katsudon

Shōyu sekihan

Noppe stew

Wappa-meshi (seafood and rice steamed in a bamboo basket)

Sasa-dango (mochi balls filled with red bean paste, seasoned with mugwort and wrapped in bamboo leaves)

Poppo-yaki (steamed bread flavored with brown sugar)

Hegi-soba (soba from the Uonuma and Ojiya areas, flavored with a special kind of seaweed)

"Tsubame-Sanjō ramen" (ramen made using thick udon-style noodles)

Tochio aburage (aburaage is called "aburage" in Tochio)

Kirazu (dishes using okara)

Kakinomoto (edible chrysanthemums)

Kanzuri (a fermented paste from Myōkō made by leaving chili peppers exposed on snow, then adding salt, yuzu, and kōji mold)

Yasuda yogurt

Niigata in popular culture

Snow Country (1947): a novel by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata set in Yuzawa

"Niigata Snow": a track on the LP Aida, released by Derek Bailey in 1980

Kura: a film and TV series (1995) based on the 1993 book by Tomiko Miyao, an award-winning period piece about a Niigata family and its sake brewery

Blue (1996): a manga about high school girls, set in Niigata City, adapted as a film in 2001

Whiteout: an action film based on a novel published in 1995

United States of Tara (2011): a comedy-drama series on Showtime; Kate is about to embark on a trip to teach English in Niigata when a flight attendant tells her that the only thing she will hopefully find in Niigata is "a life lesson and a bullet train back to Tokyo."

Tourism and sports

Much of the tourism in Niigata centers around skiing, especially in the alpine areas of Myōkō and Yuzawa, and going to onsen. Sado Island off the west coast of Niigata is accessible via ferry (taking one to two and a half hours) from Naoetsu or Niigata City.

Professional sports clubs include Albirex Niigata, a J-League Division 1 Football Club, and Niigata Albirex BB, a BJ (Basketball Japan) League team.

Festivals

Tokamachi Snow Festival- February

Murakami Taisai – July 6–7

Iwafune Taisai – October 18–19, in Murakami

Niigata Festival – August

Niigata General Dancing Event -September 21–25

Shirone Kite Festival – June

Sanjo Kite Festival – June

Nagaoka Festival (with fireworks) – August

Niigata Tanrei Sake-no-Jin – March

Echigo-Tsumari Festival – August and September (every third year)

Education

Universities

International University of Japan

Keiwa Gakuen University

Nagaoka University

Nagaoka University of Technology

Nagaoka Institute of Design

Niigata Sangyo University (Niigata Industrial University)

Niigata University

Nippon Dental University

Niigata College of Nursing

Niigata University of Health and Welfare

Niigata University of International and Information Studies

Niigata University of Management

Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences

Niigata Institute of Technology

Transport

Rail

Echigo Tokimeki Railway

Myōkō Haneuma Line

Nihonkai Hisui Line

Hokuetsu Express

Hokuhoku Line

JR East

Ban'etsu West Line

Echigo Line

Iiyama Line

Hakushin Line

Hokuriku Shinkansen

Jōetsu Line

Jōetsu Shinkansen

Shin'etsu Line

Tadami Line

Uetsu Line

Yahiko Line

Yonesaka Line

JR West

Hokuriku Shinkansen

Ōito Line

Ainokaze Toyama Railway Line

Roads

E17 Kanetsu Expressway

E18 Jōshinetsu Expressway

E8 Hokuriku Expressway

E49 Ban-etsu Expressway

E7 Nihonkai Tōhoku Expressway

Route 7 (Niigata—Shibata—Murakami—Sakata—Akita—Noshiro—Hirosaki—Aomori)

Route 8 (Niigata—Nagaoka—Kashiwazaki—Jōetsu—Toyama—Kanazawa—Tsuruga—Kyoto)

Route 17 (Nagaoka—Ojiya—Minamiuonuma—Takasaki—Nihonbashi of Tokyo)

Route 18 (Jōetsu—Myōkō—Nagano—Karuizawa—Takasaki)

Route 49 (Niigata—Aizuwakamatsu—Kōriyama—Iwaki)

Route 113 (Niigata—Arakawa—Nan'yō—Shiroishi—Sōma)

Route 116 (Niigata—Tsubame—Izumozaki—Kashiwazaki)

Route 117 (Ojiya—Tōkamachi—Iiyama)

Route 148 (Itoigawa—Ōmachi)

Route 252

Route 253

Route 289

Route 290

Route 291

Route 292

Route 345

Route 350 (Sado Island)

Route 351

Ports

Iwafune Port in Murakami- Ferry route to Awashima

Naoetsu Port in Joetsu – Ferry route to Ogi

Niigata Port – Ferry route to Sado Island (Ryotsu), Tsuruga, Akita, Otaru and Tomakomai, with International Container hub port

Ogi Port – Ferry route to Naoetsu

Ryotsu Port – Ferry route to Niigata

Airports

Niigata Airport

Sado Airport

Notable individuals

Politics and military

Masako, Empress of Japan, former registered domicile (Honseki) was Murakami

Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578), daimyō in the Sengoku period

Naoe Kanetsugu (1559–1620), samurai in the Sengoku period

Horibe Yasubei (1670–1703), samurai in the Edo period

Hachirō Arita (1884–1965), foreign minister, from Sado Island

Maejima Hisoka (1835–1919), founder of the Japanese postal service, from Joetsu

Masuda Takashi (1848–1938), creation of a general trading company, Mitsui Bussan. established a newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun. from Sado Island

Kita Ikki (1883–1937), nationalist author and intellectual, from Sado Island

Sakae Ōsugi (1885–1923), anarchist, lived in Shibata

Homma Masaharu (1887–1946) World War II Lieutenant General executed by the United States for war crimes committed in the Philippines

Hitoshi Imamura (1886–1968) World War II General in the Imperial Japanese Army, from Shibata high school

Isoroku Yamamoto (1884–1943) World War II Admiral commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy, from Nagaoka

Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), Chinese political and military leader, served in the Imperial Japanese Army from 1909 to 1911 in Joetsu (Takada)

Arts and culture

Zeami Motokiyo (1363– 1443), aesthetician, actor, and playwright, exile to Sado Island

Ryōkan (1758–1831), Zen Buddhist monk and poet, from Izumozaki

Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, (1874–1950), autobiographer and novelist, Professor of literature and taught Japanese language, culture and history at Columbia University, from Nagaoka

Yaichi Aizu (1881–1956), poet, calligrapher and historian, from Niigata City

Kokei Kobayashi (1883–1957), Nihonga painter, from Joetsu

Mimei Ogawa (1882–1961), author of short stories, children's stories, and fairy tales, from Joetsu

Koganei Yoshikiyo (1859–1944), anatomist and anthropologist, from Nagaoka

Kyusaku Ogino (1882–1975), doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, Niigata Takeyama Hospital

Kinichiro Sakaguchi (1897–1994), agricultural chemist and microbiologist, from Joetsu

Takashi Amano (1954–2015), photographer and aquarist, from Niigata

Tetsuji Morohashi (1883– 1982) chief editor of the Dai Kan-Wa jiten, a comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters, from Sanjo

Tetsuo Harada (born 1949 Niitsu-shi), sculptor working in Paris France

Tsuchida Bakusen (1887–1936), Japanese painter, from Sado

Sports

Shiro Saigo (1866–1922), Judo, lived in Aga (Tsugawa), lived in 1869–1882

Haguroyama Masaji (1914–1969), sumo wrestler from Nakanokuchi who was yokozuna for 12 years and three months; an all-time record

Shohei Baba (1938–1999), Japanese professional wrestler, from Sanjō

Sawao Kato (born 1946), winner of 12 Olympic medals in gymnastics

Killer Khan (born 1947), professional wrestler, from Tsubame

Ayumu Hirano (born 1998), snowboarder, from Murakami

Ayana Onozuka (born 1988), freestyle skier, from Minamiuonuma

Kentaro Minagawa (born 1977), alpine skier, from Yuzawa

Junko Hoshino (born 1989), freestyle skier, from Nagaoka

Reruhi Shimizu (born 1993), ski jumper, from Myoko

Mai Nakamura (born 1979), swimmer, from Nagaoka

Gōtoku Sakai (born 1991), footballer (2015– Hamburger SV), from Sanjo

Yujiro Takahashi (born 1981), professional wrestler from Niigata City.