is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 28,728 in 19,823 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 86.3 persons per km². The total area of the city was , although some borders of the city are not well defined. Tōkamachi derives its name from the fact that a market was held every tenth day of the month. Similarly, the nearby former town of Muikamachi had its own local market held on days ending in six each month.

Geography

Tōkamachi is located in an inland region of southwest Niigata Prefecture. Parts of the city are within the borders of the

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, and Niigata Prefecture, Niiga ...

Surrounding municipalities

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

** Sakae *

** Jōetsu ** Kashiwazaki **

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

** Nagaoka ** Ojiya ** Uonuma ** Tsunan ** Yuzawa

Climate

Tōkamachi has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tōkamachi is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Because Tōkamachi lies in a valley, wind patterns bring in clouds from both the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

as well as the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The mountains surrounding the city (though not terribly high in altitude) act as any other mountains that affect rain and snow patterns providing a barrier for cloud patterns. This causes a great deal of the built up precipitation to drop on the city. The Tōkamachi area receives the most snow of any area on the main island of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tōkamachi has declined steadily over the past 50 years.

History

The area of present-day Tōkamachi was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

, and was part of the ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territories held directly by then

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, was the capital of the newly-formed Nakauonuma District of Niigata Prefecture, and was proclaimed a village on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on September 24, 1897. Tōkamachi gained city status on March 31, 1954, by merging with the neighbouring villages of Nakajō, Kawaji and Rokka. The village of Yoshida (from Nakauonuma District) was annexed on December 1, 1954 followed by the village of Shimojō (from Nakauonuma District) on February 1, 1955. On April 1, 1962 - Tōkamachi absorbed the village of Mizusawa (from Nakauonuma District). The Chūetsu earthquake of October 23, 2004 caused only minor damage to the city. On April 1, 2005 Tōkamachi absorbed the towns of Matsudai and Matsunoyama (both from Higashikubiki District); the town of Kawanishi, and the village of Nakasato (both from Nakauonuma District) to create the new and expanded city of Tōkamachi.

Government

Tōkamachi 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 24 members.Tōkamachi city council official home page
The city contributes two members to the Niigata Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Niigata District No.6 of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

of Japan.

Economy

Sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

and the production of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

is a traditional mainstay of the local economy. Tōkamachi's status as a silk production hub subsequently made it a prominent producer of

kimonos The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

, although that has faded in recent year

Agriculture, notably the cultivation of ''

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 Prefectura ...

'' rice, is also an important local product.

Education

Tōkamachi has 18 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government and one private elementary and one private middle school. There are four public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education. The prefectural also operates three special education schools.

Transportation

Railway

Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line The is a Japanese railway line in Niigata Prefecture that runs from Muikamachi Station, Muikamachi in Minamiuonuma, Niigata, Minamiuonuma City to Saigata Station, Saigata in Jōetsu, Niigata, Jōetsu City. It is the sole railway line operated b ...

* - - -

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 in ...

- –

Iiyama Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Toyono Station in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture and Echigo-Kawaguchi Station in Nagaoka, Niigata, Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Stations ...

* - - - - -

Highway

* * * * * *

Sister cities

International

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

, Italy, since 1975

Domestic

Sapporo, Hokkaido is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Shibushi, Kagoshima file:Shibushi Port Wakahama Area 01.JPG, 270px, Shibushi Port is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,889 in 15135 households, and a population density of 100 persons per km ...

* Wako, Saitama *

Yokohama, Kanagawa is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

**All signed on August 27, 2004

Notable people from Tōkamachi

* Maki Miyamae,

Japanese pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

singer, professional chef and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

* Toshiei Mizuochi, Japanese politician *

Shuichi Shigeno is a Japanese manga artist famous for creating '' Initial D''. Shigeno has also created '' Bari Bari Densetsu'', ''Dopkan'', and ''Tunnel Nuketara Sky Blue'' ("First Love in Summer"). In 1985, he received the Kodansha Manga Award in shōnen ...

, Japanese

mangaka A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the industry as a pr ...

Genichi Taguchi was an engineer and statistician. From the 1950s on, Taguchi developed a methodology for applying statistics to improve the quality of manufactured goods. Taguchi methods have been controversial among some conventional Western statisticians, but ...

, Japanese

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

* Kōji Takahashi, Japanese actor

Local attractions

* Tōkamachi is home to the , which takes place every February. * Tōkamachi also hosts the

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (ETAT) is an international contemporary art festival held once every three years in Niigata prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The festival was created by the Tokyo commercial gallery Art Front Gallery (AFG) ...

* * Kiyotsu Gorge * * File:Tokamachi snow festival collage.jpg, Tokamachi snow festival File:Matsunoyamamatsuguchi, Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture 942-1411, Japan - panoramio.jpg, Bijinbayashi File:Kiyotsukyo 001.jpg, Kiyotsu Gorge File:Hoshitoge.jpg, Hoshitoge Rice Terrace File:TokamachiKinare.jpg, Kinare, an Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial site, late March File:Matunoyama spa Hinanoyado Titose roten.jpg, Matsunoyama Onsen

References

External links

Tokamachi City Government
*

*
Official Tourism Site

Tokamachi Tourist Association Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokamachi, Niigata Cities in Niigata Prefecture Tōkamachi, Niigata