is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 95,706 in 36,201 households,Sanjō city official statistics and a population density of 222 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Geography Sanjō is located in an inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture. It is about 2 hours from Tokyo via the Jōetsu Shinkansen or 4 hours on the Kan-Etsu Expressway and Hokuriku Expressway. The Shinano River flows through the west of it from south to north and the Ikarashi-gawa River flows through the centre of the urbanised area.
Surrounding municipalities Fukushima Prefecture Tadami Niigata Prefecture Aga Gosen Kamo Mitsuke Nagaoka Niigata Tsubame Uonuma
Climate Sanjō has a Humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sanjō 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 .
Demographics Per Japanese census data,Sanjō population statistics the population of Sanjō peaked at around 1985 and has declined steadily since.
History
The area of present-day Sanjō was part of ancient Echigo Province. During the Edo period, the area was part of Sanjō Domain, a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate from 1598 to 1651. Afterwards, it was divided between Nagaoka Domain, Murakami Domain and tenryō territory administered directly by the shogunate. After the start of the Meiji period, the area was organised as part of Minamikanbara District, Niigata. The town of Sanjō was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to city status on January 1, 1934. Heavy rain caused extensive flooding in 1961 and in 2004. On May 1, 2005, the town of Sakae, and the village of Shitada (both from Minamikanbara District) were merged into Sanjō.
Government
Sanjō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 22 members.Sanjō City Assembly homepage On November 8, 2020, attorney Ryo Takizawa was elected to become the next mayor of Sanjō.
Economy
Sanjō is traditionally known for its iron crafts, notably knives and scissors. The following are headquartered in Sanjō. Asano (manufacturer of commercial fishing equipment) Marunao (manufacturer of chopsticks) Snow Peak (manufacturer of high-end camping equipment) Suwada (manufacturer of nail care instruments) It is also one of the municipalities where a local Factory Festival takes place once per year in October (Kouba no Saiten).
Education Sanjō has 25 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government. There are four public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture also operates one special education school.
Transportation Railway JR East - Jōetsu Shinkansen
JR East - Shin'etsu Main Line
JR East - Yahiko Line
Highway Hokuriku Expressway – Sanjō IC
Sister cities Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, since October 18, 1993 Ezhou, China, since April 28, 1994
Notable people from Sanjō Shohei Baba (baseball player, professional wrestler) Masayuki Kakefu (baseball player) Chihiro Kaneko (baseball player) Chihiro Kaneko Kumi Mizuno (motion picture actress) Tetsuji Morohashi (lexicographer)
References
External links
Official Website Slow and Steady Shitada, official website for the Shitada area of Sanjo, featuring many outdoor destinations and activities