Uonuma (魚沼市, Uonuma-shi) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2019[update], the city had an estimated population of 35,027 in 13,289 households,[1] and a population density of 37 persons per km2. Its total area is 946.76 square kilometres (365.55 sq mi). The city is famous for its koshihikari rice, which commands a premium in the Japanese market.
Uonuma has a humid subtropical 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.[2]
Climate data for Koide, Uonuma (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1978−present)
Per Japanese census data,[7] the population of Uonuma has declined over the past 50 years.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1970
49,689
—
1980
48,482
−2.4%
1990
47,394
−2.2%
2000
45,386
−4.2%
2010
40,361
−11.1%
2020
34,483
−14.6%
History
The area of present-day Uonuma was part of ancient Echigo Province, with the name of Uonuma appearing in the Shoku Nihongi in an entry dated 702 AD. During the Edo period, the area was largely tenryō territory administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate or part of the holdings of Aizu Domain. The area was greatly affected by the Tenpō famine of 1835–1837. After the Meiji restoration, the area was organised as part of Kitauonuma District, Niigata 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 City Hall
Uonuma has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 20 members.
Economy
The economy of Uonuma is dominated by agriculture, predominantly rice production, along with sake 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.
Eirin temple. Eirin and Saifuku temple hold beautiful sculptures from the Japanese Michelangelo, Uncho Ishikawa [ja], dating from the end of the Edo Era. Both temples have been designated cultural assets by Niigata prefecture
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.
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.
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)
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