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Niigata Prefecture

is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,071,066 (as of 1 October 2025) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture to the southwest, Gunma Prefecture to the south, Fukushima Prefecture to the east, and Yamagata Prefecture to the northeast.

Niigata is the capital and largest city of Niigata Prefecture, with other major cities including Nagaoka, Jōetsu, and Sanjō. Niigata Prefecture contains the Niigata Major Metropolitan Area centered on Niigata with a population of 1,395,612, the largest metropolitan area on the Sea of Japan coast and the twelfth-largest in Japan. Niigata Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region and features Sado Island, the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Okinawa Island.

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 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: in the south, in the center, 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:

Mergers

List of governors of Niigata Prefecture (from 1947)

  • Shohei Okada (岡田正平) – from 15 April 1947 to 29 April 1955
  • Kazuo Kitamura (北村一男) – from 30 April 1955 to 30 November 1961
  • Toichiro Tsukada (塚田十一郎) – from 7 December 1961 to 28 March 1966
  • Shiro Watari (亘四郎) – from 8 May 1966 to 30 April 1974
  • Takeo Kimi (君健男) – from 1 May 1974 to 19 April 1989
  • Kiyoshi Kaneko (金子清) – from 4 June 1989 to 9 September 1992
  • Ikuo Hirayama (平山征夫) – from 25 October 1992 to 24 October 2004
  • Hirohiko Izumida (泉田裕彦) – from 25 October 2004 to 24 October 2016
  • Ryuichi Yoneyama (米山隆一) – from 25 October 2016 to 27 April 2018
  • Hideyo Hanazumi (花角英世) – from 12 June 2018 to present

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:

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

Transport

Rail

Roads

Expressways

National highways

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

Notable individuals

Politics and military

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
  • Fubō Hayashi (1900–1935), novelist from Sado Island
  • Inoue Enryō (1858–1919), Buddhist philosopher, from Nagaoka
  • Junzaburō Nishiwaki (1894–1982), Japanese poet and literary critic, from Ojiya
  • Daigaku Horiguchi (1892–1981), poet and translator of French literature, from Nagaoka
  • Makoto Aida (born 1965), Artist, from Niigata City
  • Donald Keene (born 1922), Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature, Honorary Citizen of Kashiwazaki
  • Kodo (taiko group), Based in Sado

Actors, Actresses, Singers

Pop culture, manga, voice actors

Sports

See also

Notes

References

External links