is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,204 in 14,417 households, and a population density of 214 persons per km². The total area of the city is .Agano city official profile

Geography

Suibara Sato Residence Storehouse 002 May2020

Agano is located in an inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture. As the city name implies, the

Agano River The is a river in the Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan. It is also called the Aga River or the Ōkawa River in Fukushima. The source of the river is Mount Arakai on the border of Fukushima and Tochigi. It flows to the north and meets the Ni ...

flows through the west side of the city. The highest elevation is the summit of Mount Gozu at 912 meters. Approximately one third of the city area is covered in mountains and forests, and slightly over one third is farmland.

Surrounding municipalities

Kita-ku, Niigata is one of the eight wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 74,559 in households and a population density of 690 persons per km². The total area of the ward was . ...

Kōnan-ku, Niigata is one of the eight wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 68,413 in 27,027 households and a population density of 913 persons per km². The total area of the ward ...

Akiha-ku, Niigata is one of the eight wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 76,086 in 29,843 households and a population density of 800 persons per km². The total area of the ward ...

** Shibata **

Gosen Gosen may refer to: *Gosen, Niigata, Japan * Gosen-Neu Zittau, Brandenburg, Germany * Gosen (Company), a Japanese manufacturer of sporting equipment *Gosen Wakashū, an ancient Japanese poetry anthology *Land of Goshen The land of Goshen ( he, ...

Aga Aga or AGA may refer to: Business * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970 * AGA (automobile), ''Autogen Gasaccumulator AG'', 1920s German car company *AGA AB, ''Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumulator'', a ...

** Tagami

Climate

Agano has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Agano is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1874 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Agano was relatively stable throughout the late 20th century but has declined in the 21st.

History

The area of present-day Agano was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

the area was divided between territories controlled by

Shibata Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Shibata Castle, located in what is now the city of Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It was ...

Murakami Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Echigo Province (modern-day Niigata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Murakami Castle in what is now the city of Murakami, Niigata.tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

'' territory held directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The area was organised as part of

Kitakanbara District, Niigata is a district located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of July 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 14,025 with a density of 373 persons per km2. The total area is 37.58 km2. Municipalities The district consists of only o ...

following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, and the town of Suibara and villages of Yasuda, Kyōgase and Sasakami were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Yasuda was raised to town status in 1960. The city of Agano was established on April 1, 2004, with the merger of these four municipalities.

Economy

The economy of Agano is dominated by agriculture, including livestock production and cut flowers, but paddy rice remains the dominant crop. In the manufacturing industry, the city has factories for the production of computer related parts manufacturing, food processing, furniture, ceramics and stone products.

Government

Agano has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 20 members.http://www.city.agano.niigata.jp/site/gikai/ Agano City Assembly official website]

Education

Agano has eleven public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government. There is one public high school operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

–

Uetsu Main Line The is a railway line in the Tohoku and Chubu regions of Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata and Akita Station in Akita. The name "Uetsu" refers to the ancient ...

* – –

Highway

* – Yasuda IC * * * *

Local attractions

* Lake Hyōko (

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Mount Gozu * * ** ** ** * Lake Hyouko.jpg, Lake Hyōko with overwintering swans Yasuda Kawara Road 007 April2020.jpg, Yasuda Tile Road Niigata r329 Gozu Deyu Onsen 001 May2020.jpg, Deyu Onsen SUNTOPIA WORLD.JPG, Suntopia World

Local foods

* : ''

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

dango is a Japanese dumpling made from rice flour mixed with uruchi rice flour and glutinous rice flour. It is different from the method of making mochi, which is made after steaming glutinous rice. ''Dango'' is usually finished round shaped, thre ...

'' balls filled with

red bean paste Red bean paste () or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or ''anko'' (a Japanese word), is a paste made of red beans (also called "adzuki beans"), used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or g ...

, seasoned with

mugwort Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus ''Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' i ...

and wrapped in

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

leaves. * : steamed bread flavored with

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

. * * * * *

Notable people from Agano, Niigata

Bunji Miura Bunji Miura (1906 – 1994) was a Japanese painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics. References External links * 1906 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Japanese painters ...

Japanese painter This is a list of Japanese artists. This list is intended to encompass Japanese who are primarily fine artists. For information on those who work primarily in film, television, advertising, manga, anime, video games, or performance arts, please se ...

Eishiro Saito (November 11, 1911 - April 22, 2002) was a Japanese businessman, the former President of Nippon Steel, the 6th Chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) from 1986 to 1991, President of the Japan Science Foundation from 1988, President o ...

, Japanese businessman * Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician and bassist (

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dr ...

) *

Tomoaki Seino is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Seino was born in Agano on 29 September 1981. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Júbilo Iwata in 2000. On 29 April 2001, he debuted as substitute forward from t ...

, Japanese former

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

References

External links

Official Website

Agano City Tourism Association's Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Niigata Prefecture