is a city

Cities of Japan

||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in rustic southern Niigata Prefecture

Niigata Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

As of 2008, the city has an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 48,653 and the density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 65.2 persons per km². The total area is 746.24 km².

The city was founded on June 1, 1954. On April 1, 2005 Itoigawa absorbed the towns of Nō and Ōmi, both from Nishikubiki District

Nishikubiki District, Niigata

Nishikubiki was a district located in Niigata, Japan. The district was founded in 1878, when the former Kubiki District split into Higashikubiki District, Nakakubiki District, and Nishikubiki District. At the time of founding, the district covered the city of Itoigawa and the Nadachi District in...

.

Historically Itoigawa lies at the end of the famous shio no michi (salt road) that supplied salt to ancient Edo (Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

) via Nagano. In 2011 the city will be a main stop on the new Hokuriku Shinkansen

Hokuriku Shinkansen

The is a high-speed Shinkansen rail line under construction in Japan. The first section, between and , currently called the Nagano Shinkansen, opened on 1 October 1997.-Future:...

 bullet train

Shinkansen

The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

 line. Itoigawa is also famous for its jade which can be found on local beaches.

Itoigawa is also well known for its unique bugaku, a variety of traditional Japanese performance art

Gagaku

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...

. Itoigawa Bugaku can be seen at festivals taking place at Hakusan Shrine and Amatsu Shrine, and has been nationally designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset.

The poet Ryokan (1758-1831) writes that Itoigawa is his former village.

External links

• Itoigawa official website
• My Mother is a Tractor - a book written by a former English teacher in the area