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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 35,027 in 13,289 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 37 persons per km². Its total area is . The city is famous for its ''

koshihikari is a popular cultivar of Japonica rice cultivated in Japan as well as Australia and the United States. ''Koshihikari'' was first created in 1956 by combining 2 different strains of ''Nourin No.1'' and ''Nourin No.22'' at the Fukui Prefectural ...

'' rice, which commands a premium in the Japanese market.

Geography

Uonuma is located in an inland region of south-central Niigata Prefecture, bordered by

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

to the east and

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

to the south. Parts of the city are within the borders of

Oze National Park , is an area consisting of open greenland in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata Prefectures in Japan. The park is 372 km² in area and is the 29th national park in Japan. Opened on 30 August 2007, the park's area includes the marshes ( ...

or the

Echigo Sanzan-Tadami Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Designated on 15 May 1973, it has an area of . See also * List of national parks of Japan and in Japan are places of scenic beauty designated for protection ...

Surrounding municipalities

** Sanjō ** Nagaoka ** Ojiya **

Tōkamachi is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,728 in 19,823 households, and a population density of 86.3 persons per km². The total area of the city was , although some borders of the city are ...

Minamiuonuma is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,354 in 20,047 households, and a population density of 96.1 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Minamiuonuma is situated in a ...

** Minakami ** Katashina *

** Tadami ** Hinoemata

Climate

Uonuma has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Uonuma is 12.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2049 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Uonuma population statistics
/ref> the population of Uonuma has declined over the past 50 years.

History

The area of present-day Uonuma 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 ...

, with the name of Uonuma appearing in the ''

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi ...

'' in an entry dated 702 AD. 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 largely ''

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 administered 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 ...

or part of the holdings of

Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...

. The area was greatly affected by the

Tenpō famine The Tenpō famine (天保の飢饉, ''Tenpō no kikin''), also known as the Great Tenpō famine (天保の大飢饉, ''Tenpō no daikikin'') was a famine that affected Japan during the Edo period. Considered to have lasted from 1833 to 1837, it wa ...

of 1835–1837. After 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 ...

, the area was organised as part of

Kitauonuma District, Niigata was a district located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. History * On 1954 - areas now covering Ojiya were merged and elevated to city status. * On November 1, 2004 - towns of Horinouchi and Koide, and the villages of Hirokami, Irihirose, Su ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The modern city of Uonuma was established on November 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Horinouchi and Koide, and the villages of Hirokami, Irihirose, Sumon and Yunotani (all from Kitauonuma District).

Government

Uonuma 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.

Economy

The economy of Uonuma is dominated by agriculture, predominantly rice production, along with ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

'' brewing.

Education

Uonuma has nine public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has two public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education, and also two special education schools.

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 ...

Jōetsu Line The is a major railway line in Japan, owned by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture with Miyauchi Station in Niigata Prefecture, linking the northwestern Kanto region and the Sea of Japan ...

** - - * JR logo (east)

Tadami Line The is a scenic railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aizu-Wakamatsu Station at Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture with Koide Station at Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture. The line opened in discont ...

** - - - - - - - -

Highway

Kan-Etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is the ''kanji'' acronym of and the old comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture. Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Both ...

* * * * * *

Local attractions

Places of interest / sights

Okutadami Dam The Okutadami Dam (奥只見ダム) is a concrete gravity dam on the Tadami River, east of Uonuma on the border of Niigata and Fukushima Prefectures, Japan. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 560 M ...

/ Okutadami lake (Official name: Kanayama lake) * (/ Shiramine Ginzan) * Eirin temple. Eirin and Saifuku temple hold beautiful sculptures from the Japanese

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, , dating from the end of the

Edo Era 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 characteri ...

. Both temples have been designated cultural assets by Niigata prefecture * * · Sato family (Important cultural assets of the country) * Ikeno Tōge - Ikeno Tōge and Kagamigaike are so close that there is a road station on the shores of Kagamigaike Pond. * Kagamigaike - Neighboring Irihirose road station. *

Oze Oze may refer to: People * Akira Oze (born 1947), Japanese manga artist * Hiroyuki Oze (1985–2010), Japanese baseball player * Lajos Őze (1935–1984), Hungarian actor Places * Oze, Hautes-Alpes, France * Oze National Park, Japan * Oze River, ...

- It is one of the entrances of Niigata prefecture. * Miya Hīragi Memorial Hall - Uonuma City Hall Adjacent to Horinouchi Government Office * - adjoining Koide Township Cultural Center * Echigo Golf Club - Opened in September 1992 according to the third sector system by local governments (Niigata prefecture and former Hiroshima village) and 11 private companies based on the Okutadami Recreation Area Development Project in Niigata Prefecture. It applied for the civil rehabilitation law on January 13, 2006, and has effectively broken down, but it started again. * Stars' house - Astronomical observation facility located at the summit of Suhara ski resort. There is a celestial observation dome equipped with a 400 mm reflective telescope. * * Shimizu Kawabe Shrine * Hayatsu Gallery * Echigo Herbal Garden Irihirose * General Park Koide Park * General Park Tsukioka Park * Hirokami Nature Park * Horinouchi Yana field * Hirokami yana place * Asakusa Sanroku Ecology Museum * Noyama no Kō House of documents * Yunotani cultural exchange center Yubio * The village of Kamiyu and the surroundings * National Residence Asakusa Sanso * Small Shirosawa Hut · Oku Ginzan Campground Etc. File:魚野川 - panoramio.jpg, Uonogawa, the river flowing through Uonuma File:Lake Okutadami 001.jpg, Okutadami Lake, an artificial lake where many fishermen come to catch the delicious species living here File:Irihirose, Roadside Station, Niigata, Japan.jpg, Irihirose, roadside station. File:Forest in Oze 04.jpg, A view from the forest in Oze natural park, Uonuma

Onsen

* * Ginzantaira Onsen, Hot Springs from the snowfalls * Toshikazu Onsen, New Asakusadake Onsen * Kusushi Onsen * Nakanosawa Onsen - Hanekawa manor * Sumon Onsen Seiun house * Komami viewing Onsen

Ski resorts

* * * * * * In addition to this, the Echigo Axiom ski resort (Formerly named Gongendō ski resort) in the old SUmon village, Nakame Ski resort in the former Ichirose village was open but both have been closed.

Festivals / events

* Dai no Ban Bon Odori Osaka (Horinouchi area designated as an important intangible folk cultural property on December 16, 1998) * Shineri Benten Tataki Jizo Festival (Kojima district June 30 every year), where as a guy you can pinch the women in a special place. If they reply by a tap on your shoulder, you will have good fortune this year! * Ushi no kakutsuki no Shuuzoku: (However designated important intangible folk cultural property by Dai Imogawa area On 22 May 1978, it is nowadays suspended because it involved bull fights) * Uonuma "Fureai Summer Snow Festival" (Ginzandaira District, every Last Friday and Sunday of July) * Koide festival (Koide area every August from 25th to 27th) * Horinouchi Juugoya Matsuri, where the full moon is celebrated (Horinouchi area, every second weekend of September: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It was formerly held from September 14 to 16) * * Snow Flower Water Festival (Horinouchi Area February 11 of every year) ** At the same time, 'Hatto Festival' will be held. * Sumeragi Ōichi (Horinouchi area, on every first Sunday of May to October) * Oze Saburo Chuunagon Kuyō Matsuri * Yunosato snow festival "108 Lights" - first Sunday of March every year * Torioi: Procession held at New Year's (January 14 every year) * God of the age (January 15 every year) * Shioritōge Hill Climb in Yunotani Etc.

Traditional crafts

Osawa Washi : Traditional

Japanese paper is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Ed ...

(former Yunotani village)

Notable people from Uonuma

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

, actor in many Japanese and American productions. *

Ryuichi Yoneyama is a Japanese politician and a former Governor of Niigata Prefecture. Prior to entering politics, Yoneyama worked as a radiology researcher at the University of Tokyo Hospital and was also trained as a lawyer. Early life and education Ryuichi ...

, Governor of Niigata Prefecture
Sato Anju
Former Member of

NGT48 NGT48 (read "N.G.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NGT48 is named after Niigata City of Niigata Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at the NGT48 Theater which is located in the fourth fl ...

References

External links

*
Official Website

Uonuma Tourist Association
{{Authority control Cities in Niigata Prefecture Uonuma, Niigata