Niigata Prefecture

Template:Infobox Prefecture Japan Niigata Prefecture (新潟県, Niigata-ken) is located on Honshū island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name Niigata literally means "New Lagoon".

History

Niigata prefecture was originally divided into Echigo Province and Sado Province until the Meiji Restoration. During the Sengoku period it was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin.

Niigata-shi (the city) is the largest and most important among the cities which face the Sea of Japan. It has been an important seaport since the opening of Japan by Matthew Perry in the mid-1800s, especially for trade with Russia and northern Korea, and was the first port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade.

The Etsuzankai organization, led by prime minister Tanaka Kakuei, was highly influential in bringing infrastructure improvements to Niigata in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Joetsu Shinkansen high speed rail line and Kanetsu Expressway to Tokyo.

Today, Niigata is well-known for being visited by a freighter from North Korea once a month: one of the few direct contacts with the communist country.

On October 23, 2004, the Chuetsu Earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture, causing shaking measured at Shindo 6+ at Ojiya.

On January 9, 2006, a heavy winter storm caused much trouble in the prefecture and its surroundings. At least 71 people died and over a thousand were injured.

Geography

Niigata prefecture stretches about 240 km along the Sea of Japan from southwest to north east, with a coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. It also includes Sado Island.

Because of the shape, Niigata prefecture is often called small Honshū-Main Island. It could be placed in either the Hokuriku or Koshinetsu regions, each considered part of the greater Chubu region.

The prefecture is generally divided into four geographical areas: Joetsu (in the south), Chuetsu (in the center), Kaetsu (in the north), and Sado Island. It is home to the mouth of the Shinano River, the longest river in Japan.

Cities

20 cities are located in Niigata Prefecture:

Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Higashikanbara District

Aga

Iwafune District

Asahiǂ

Sanpokuǂ

Kariwa District

Kariwa

Kitakanbara District

Seiro

Kitauonuma District

Kawaguchi

Minamikanbara District

Tagami

Minamiuonuma District

Yuzawa

Nakauonuma District

Tsunan

Nishikanbara District

Yahiko

Santo District

Izumozaki

ǂ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

Mergers

January 1, 2001

the town of Kurosaki from Nishikanbara District was amagalated into the city of Niigata.

July 7, 2003

the town of Toyoura from Kitakanbara District was amagalated into the city of Shibata.

March 1, 2004

the city of Ryotsu merged with all towns and villages within Sado District (dissolved with this merger) to form the city of Sado.

April 1, 2004

the towns of Suibara and Yasuda and the villages of Kyogase and Sasakami (all from Kitakanbara District) merged to form the city of Agano.

November 1, 2004

The towns of Muika and Yamato from Minamiuonuma District merged to form the city of Minamiuonuma.

The towns of Horinouchi and Koide and the villages of Hirokami, Irihirose, Sumon and Yunotani (all from Kitauonuma District) merged to form the city of Uonuma.

January 1, 2005

The town of Yasuzuka and the villages of Maki, Oshima and Uragawara (all from Higashikubiki District) the towns of Itakura, Kakizaki, Ogata and Yoshikawa and the villages of Kiyosato, Kubiki, Nakagou and Sanwa (all from Nakakubiki District)+the town of Nadachi from Nishikubiki District=>the city of Joetsu.

March 19, 2005

The city of Itoigawa merged with the remaining parts of Nishikubiki District (dissolved by this action) - the towns of Nou and Oumi to form the city of Itoigawa.

March 21, 2005

The city of Niitsu, Shirone and Toyosaka, the towns of Kameda, Kosudo and Yokogoshi from Nakakanbara District and the town of Nishikawa and the villages of Ajikata, Iwamuro, Katahigashi, Nakanokuchi and Tsukigata from Nishikanbara District were all merged into the city of Niigata.

April 1, 2005

The remaining parts of Nakakubiki District (dissolved by this action) - the town of Myokokogen and the village of Myoko were merged into the city of Arai. Arai changed its name to Myoko at the same time.

The town of Oguni from Kariwa District, the village of Yamakoshi from Koshi District, the town of Nakanoshima from Minamikanbara District and the towns of Koshiji and Mishima from Santo District merged into the city of Nagaoka. (Koshi District was thereby dissolved.)

The city of Tokamachi merged with the towns of Matsudai and Matsunoyama from Higashikubiki District (dissolved by this merger) and the town of Kawanishi and the village of Nakasato from Nakauonuma District to create the city of Tokamachi.

All municipalities within Higashikanbara District merged to form the town of Aga.

May 1, 2005

The towns of Nishiyama and Takayanagi from Kariwa District were merged into the city of Kashiwazaki.

The town of Shiunji and the village of Kajikawa from Kitakanbara District were merged into the city of Shibata.

The city of Sanjo merged with the town of Sakae and the village of Shitada (both from Minamikanbara District) to create the city of Sanjo.

September 1, 2005

The town of Nakajo+Kurokawa (both from Kitakanbara District) merged to form the city of Tainai.

October 1, 2005

The town of Shiozawa from Minamiuonuma District merged into the city of Minamiuonuma.

October 10, 2005

The town of Maki from Nishikanbara District merged into the city of Niigata.

January 1, 2006

the city of Gosen merged with the town of Muramatsu from Nakakanbara District (dissolved by this merger) to form the city of Gosen.

The city of Tochio, the towns of Teradomari and Yoita and the village of Washima from Santo District were all absorbed into the city of Nagaoka.

March 20, 2006

The city of Tsubame merged with the towns of Bunsui and Yoshida from Nishikanbara District to create the city of Tsubame.

Future mergers

The city of Murakami is scheduled to merge with the municipalities of Kamihayashi, Asahi, Sanpoku, and Awashima from Iwafune District somewhere around April 2008.

Economy

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

The major industry in Niigata is agriculture. Rice is the principal product, with Niigata ranking 2nd (after Hokkaidō) among the prefectures for total rice output. The area around Uonuma is especially known for its Koshihikari variety of rice, which is widely thought of as the highest quality rice in Japan.

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

The prefecture is famous as the original home of the ornamental carp known as koi, and the best-quality koi are still considered to come from the farms of Niigata.

The production volume of azaleas and cut lilies grown in Niigata is one of the highest in Japan. Niigata also enjoys increasing volumes of cut flowers and flower bulb production: along with Toyama prefecture, Niigata produces the most tulips in the country.

Mining and manufacturing

Niigata is a source for crude oil, not often found on the Japanese islands. Relating to this, there is also much production of kerosene heaters (useful in the cold Niigata winters).

Ginsan on Sado Island was an active gold mine until its closing in 1989.

Metal manufacturing is also prevalent. Sanjo and Tsubame produce 9% of all metal silverware in Japan, by far the most for one area in the country. After Osaka, the two cities also produce the most scissors, kitchen knives, and wrenches.

Niigata supposedly produces the most knitted textile products in the country. However, it has been suggested that some of these are actually from China.

The nuclear power plant with the highest energy output in the world is located in the tiny village of Kariwa.

Demographics

In 1885, Niigata was the most populous prefecture, beating out even Tokyo and Osaka prefecture. However, according to the 2003 census Niigata ranks as the 14th most populous.

Like much of Japan, Niigata shows signs of an aging population, specifically in the more rural areas.

Culture

Food

Niigata is known for the following regional specialities:

Uonuma koshihikari rice: considered the best quality rice in Japan.
Shoyu (soy-sauce) and Yofu (western-style) katsudon.
Shoyu sekihan.
Noppe stew.
Wappa-han (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).
Po-po-yaki (steamed bread flavored with brown sugar).
Hegi-soba (soba from the Uonuma and Ojiya areas that uses a special kind of seaweed).
"Tsubame-Sanjo 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 special seasoning from Myoko made by leaving chili pepper exposed on snow, then adding flour, salt and yuzu).

Niigata's firsts

Joetsu is the home to Japan's first vineyard.
Nagaoka was home to the first drive-through restaurant in Japan.
Shirone in Niigata City was the first place to grow Western pears in Japan.
Joetsu is the original birthplace of the Japanese postal service.
Snow skiing was first introduced into Japan in the Joetsu region.

Niigata in film and literature

Snow Country: a 1947 novel by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata set in Yuzawa.
Blue: a 1996 manga and 2001 film about high-school girls, set in Niigata City.
Whiteout: a 1995 novel and 2000 action film.
Kura: a film / TV series (1995) plus book (1993) by Tomiko Miyao. An award winning period drama set in a Niigata family sake brewery.
My Mother is a Tractor: A Life in Rural Japan: a 2006 memoir by Nicholas Klar, a former resident of Oumi (now Itoigawa).

Tourism

Much of the tourism in Niigata centers around the popular winter activities of skiing and going to onsen, especially in the alpine areas of Myoko and Yuzawa.

Sado Island off the west coast of Niigata is also another popular tourist spot. It is easily accessible via ferry from Naoetsu or Niigata City.

Prefectural symbols

http://www.pref.niigata.jp/seisaku/kokusai/english/symbol/symbol.html

Notables

Politics and the military

Hachiro Arita (1884-1965), former Foreign Minister of Japan, from Sado Island.
Kita Ikki (1883-1937), nationalist author and intellectual, from Sado Island.
Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943), former commander of the Japanese Imperial Navy, from Nagaoka.
Kakuei Tanaka (1918-1993), former Prime Minister, from Kashiwazaki.
Hisashi Owada (born 1932), diplomat and father of Crown Princess Masako, from Shibata.
Makiko Tanaka (born 1944), first female Foreign Minister of Japan, from Kashiwazaki. Currently an independent politician.