Nagano (city)

is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of . The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Takatsuma (2,353m), and is near the confluence of the Chikuma River - the longest and widest river in Japan - and the Sai River. , the city had an estimated population of 370,632 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 444 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Overview

Nagano City, located in the former Shinano Province, developed from the Nara period (AD 710 to 794) as a temple town (''monzen machi''). The city of Nagano is home to Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple that is listed as a Japanese national treasure. Zenkō-ji was established in its current location in 642 AD. The location of Zenkō-ji is approximately 2 kilometers from the present-day central Nagano Station. During the Sengoku Period, the Age of Warring States, Nagano was the site of a series of battles, the Battles of Kawanakajima, between 1553 and 1564. During the Edo period (1603 and 1868), as the city developed, Nagano became an important post station (shukuba) on the Hokkoku Kaidō highway which connected Edo (present day Tokyo) with the Sea of Japan coast. Following the Meiji restoration, Nagano became the first established modern town in Nagano prefecture on April 1, 1897.

The city of Nagano and several surrounding communities hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Paralympics. Nagano City is an important historical location, an industrial center, as well as a travel destination and a center for accessing surrounding sightseeing spots, including Japan's '' onsen''-bathing snow monkeys in Yamanouchi and world-class ski resorts of Hakuba, Shiga Kogen and Nozawaonsen - throughout the year.

1998 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

Nagano, along with the neighboring communities of Hakuba village, Nozawaonsen, Yamanouchi, Iizuna, and Karuizawa hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics from February 7 to February 22 and the Paralympics from March 5 to March 14. This was the third Olympic Games and second Winter Olympic Games to be held in Japan, after the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo (the first Winter Games ever held in Asia). As of 2019, Nagano was the southernmost host of the Winter Olympic Games. The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon is held annually to commemorate the occasion.

One important legacy of the Games was an improved transportation network. In order to improve access to Nagano in advance of the Games, Nagano was linked to the high-speed ''shinkansen'' train network. The Nagano Shinkansen (now the Hokuriku Shinkansen) was inaugurated five months before the start of the Games, and during the Winter Olympics carried 655,000 passengers. In addition, both Nagano Station and Shinonoi Station were expanded, and Imai Station in the Kawanakajima area was built to access the Athletes village. Finally, the Nagano Expressway and the Jōshin-etsu Expressway were built in the Nagano region, and another 114.9 kilometers of roads within Nagano Prefecture were improved.

In addition to a transportation legacy, several world-class venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics were built, including M-Wave, Japan's first International Skating Union (ISU) standard indoor 400m double-track, and which happens to be one of the largest hanging wooden roof structures in the world. Finally, the Athletes Village beside the newly constructed Imai Station was built in advance of the Games by the city of Nagano as future public residential housing, and loaned to the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee during the Games. A Media Village, composed of a four-block 10-12 storey apartment complex named Asahi Danchi, was built in the Asahi district of Nagano, across the street from the M-Wave. Asahi Danchi now includes private sector housing as well as housing for government employees.

File:Stylized Nagao Olympics manhole cover with tactile paving.jpg, Stylized manhole cover displaying the Nagano Olympics emblem, with tactile paving
File:浅川ループライン.JPG, Asagawa Loop Line to Iizuna Kogen Ski Area built in preparations for the 1998 Winter Olympics

Cityscapes

File:Matsushiro Castle 20100919-02.jpg, Matsushiro Castle（2010）
File:Zenko-ji Shrine, Nagano; October 2018 (12).jpg, Zenkō-ji（2018）
File:Skyline of NaganoCity from Unjoden0.jpg, Skyline of Nagano City（2019）
File:Skyline of Nagano City03.jpg, CBD of Nagano（2022）
File:West Entrance of Gondo Arcade Nagano City.jpg, Downtown Gondō（2011）

Geography

Nagano is located in north-central Nagano Prefecture, in the Nagano Basin (''Zenkoji Daira''), surrounding by mountains, near the confluence of the Chikuma River and the Sai River. The Sai River in Nagano should not be confused with the Sai River (Gifu) even though both rivers have the same ''kanji'' and reading, 犀川 (Saigawa). Other important rivers include the Susobana River, which originates in the Togakushi highland area; and the Torii River, which also originates in the Togakushi highland area. The Chikuma River is 367.0 km, with 29.5 km within the Nagano city limits; the Sai River is 157.7 km, with 44.2 km in Nagano; all 40.1 km of Susobana River are in Nagano City, and 10.4 km of the 34.8 km-long Torii River are in Nagano Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park, Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park and Chūbu-Sangaku National Park are each partially located within Nagano City.

The present-day core city of Nagano includes the districts and former towns of Nagano, Shinonoi, Matsushiro, Wakaho, Kawanakajima, Kohoku, Naniai, Shinkomachi, Toyono, Togakushi, Kinasa, Ooka, Shinshushincho, Nakajo.

Surrounding mountains

* Mount Takatsuma, 2,353 m, straddles Myōkō, Niigata and Nagano City. It is the highest peak of the Togakushi mountain range, is one of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and due to its pyramidal shape it is also known as Togakushi Fuji. Takatsuma is the highest point in Nagano City. The lowest point is located in the Asano area of Toyono, 327.4 meters above sea level.
* Mount Iizuna, 1,917 meters, is a popular area for skiing and is where the Spiral, bobsleigh and luge track for the 1998 Winter Olympics, is located.
* Mount Togakushi, 1,904 m, is located in Nagano City.
* Mount Hijiri, 1,447 m. is located along the border between Nagano City, and Omi in Higashichikuma District, Nagano.
* Daibou Pass, 1,055 m, is located in Nagano City, on the border of Togakushi and Kinasa, Nagano.
* Iizuna Kogen, 1,000 m, is a highland area that extends to the south base of Mount Iizuna in Nagano City.
* Mount Mododori, 744 m, spans northern Nagano City, and Iizuna town. It is a monogenetic volcano that was active approximately 200,000 years ago.
* Mount Dizuki, 733 m, is located on the northwest side of Nagano City.
* Mount Minakami, 659 m, is a lava dome in Matsushiro in Nagano City. Its relative height to the surrounding landscape is 280 m.

Climate

Nagano has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dfa'') that borders on a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa''). Its location in a sheltered inland valley means it receives less precipitation than any part of Japan except Hokkaidō. The city receives heavy winter snow totaling from December to March, but it is less gloomy during these cold months than the coast from Hagi to Wakkanai.

Demographics

The population of Nagano City has declined by 10,000 since the mid-1990s. As of April 1, 2019, the city had a total population of 376,080 people, made up of 193,982 women and 182,098 men in 160,625 households.

Historical populations

Population of districts of the current Core City of Nagano

The growth and decline of the population within the various districts of Nagano City has been uneven over the past 70 years

Foreign and non-Japanese residents

The following table shows the population of foreigners and non-Japanese residents since 2014

Surrounding municipalities

;Nagano Prefecture
* Shinano, located approximately 20 kilometers north of Nagano. Lake Nojiri is found in Shinano. Lake Nojiri was home to ''Kokusaimura'' (International Village), a landownership association, made up principally of Christian missionaries who had cottages there from the early 20th Century.

* Nakano, located in the Zennoji Plain, on the Chikuma River and surrounded by mountains, experienced significant growth after the 1998 Winter Olympics.
*Suzaka, a former castle town (jōkamachi) during the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate on the opposite side of the Chikuma River from Nagano. The city was noted in the Meiji period for its silk industry. After World War II, an electronics industry was established. The city is also noted for apples and grapes, and the Prefectural Agricultural Research Station is located there.
*Obuse, an important historical tourist town, approximately 30 minutes by Nagano Electric Railway train from Nagano Station. Obuse is home to a Hokusai museum, and ''Gansho-in'', a Buddhist temple, has a ceiling painted by him. The largest hospital in the town, a former tuberculosis sanatorium, was built in the 1930s by J. G. Waller and the Anglican Church of Canada.
* Ueda, approximately 35 kilometers south of Nagano, was a former castle town of the Ueda Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. The ruins of Ueda Castle are an important historical site in the city.
* Chikuma, located approximately 20 kilometers south of Nagano, includes numerous burial tombs (tumuli) from the Kofun period. During the Nara period, several important Man'yōshū poems were set here. The area around Chikuma prospered during the Edo period as several post stations along the pilgrimage route to the famed Zenkō-ji were located here. Obasute Station, a switchback station is located here.
* Ōmachi is approximately 40 kilometers west of Nagano. The Hida Mountains, also called the Japanese Northern Alps, with 3000m peaks surround Ōmachi. The area was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period.
* Omi is approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Nagano Station. The town is in the Hijiiri Highlands, and Hijiri-Kōgen Station is located here, as is Kitayama Dam.
* Chikuhoku is located in the Matsumoto Basin, and the Higashijo Dam and Onikuma Dam are located here. Most of the area was under the control of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period.
* Ikusaka is approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Nagano, in the center of Nagano Prefecture. Two dams, Ikusaka Dam and Taira Dam are found here. The area of present-day Ikusaka was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period.
*Ogawa is approximately 20 kilometers west of Nagano. It is listed as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan. It is an important agriculture center, primarily rice cultivation.
*Hakuba, located 45 km west of Nagano Station, is an internationally renowned ski resort town in the northern Japan Alps. The surrounding valley has an annual snow fall of over 11 meters, and the 10 ski resorts have more than 200 runs. The village was an important site for 1998 Winter Olympics (Alpine skiing, ski jumping, and cross-country). Most of Hakuba is located in Chūbu-Sangaku National Park.
* Otari is located approximately 55 kilometers northwest of Nagano Station. It is in the mountainous far northwest of Nagano Prefecture, bordered by Niigata Prefecture to the north and west. Much of the village is within the borders of the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park or the Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park.
;Niigata Prefecture
* Myōkō, on the border of Nagano Prefecture, lies in mountains surrounding the historical entrance to the Echigo Plains. The city is surrounded by five mountains. Madarao, Myōkō, Kurohime, Togakushi and Iizuna are collectively known as the Five Peaks of Northern Shinano ( Hokushingogaku). Mount Myōkō (2,454 m) is in the city, much of which is within the borders of the Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park.

History

Ancient Ages

Nagano is located in former Shinano Province and developed from the Nara period as a temple town at the gate of the famous Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple which was relocated to this location in 642 AD.

In the southern section of Nagano City are a series of over 500 burial mounds at Ōmuro Kofun - a National historic site - dating from the 5th-8th centuries.

Middle Ages

During the Sengoku period (c. 1467 – c. 1600), the area was hotly contested between the forces of the Uesugi clan based in Echigo Province and the Takeda clan based in Kai Province. The several Battles of Kawanakajima between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen were fought near here.

Early Modern Ages

During the Edo period (1603 and 1868), much of the area came under the control of the Sanada clan_based_at_ DF_56_of_80">("S_...