Place:Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan

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is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture, after the capital city of Niigata. , the city had an estimated population of 264,611 in 109,283 households and a population density of . The total area of the city was .

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The area of present-day Nagaoka was part of ancient Echigo Province. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, a castle town was constructed by Hori Naoyori lord of Nagaoka Domain in 1616. However, as the initial castle was located in an area prone to flooding by the Shinano River, a new castle was built at the site of present-day Nagaoka Station in 1617. Nagaoka flourished as under the reign of the 13 generations of the Makino clan during the Edo period. In the Boshin War of 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, Nagaoka Domain was a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei against the imperial forces, and the city was reduced to rubble during the Battle of Hokuetsu. A gift of one hundred sacks of rice from a neighboring province was sold to finance a new school during the reconstruction of Nagaoka, from which the anecdote of Kome Hyappyo was born.

With the Meiji period creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the towns of Nagaoka and Nagaoka-honmachi were established. The two towns were merged on November 1, 1901 with the towns of Senju, Kusouzu, Ara, and village of Ouchi to form the modern town of Nagaoka, which was then raised to city status on April 1, 1906.

Municipal timeline

• April 1, 1906: The city of Nagaoka is established.
• August 1, 1945: Nagaoka is reduced to rubble by 125 B-29 bombers in the Bombing of Nagaoka in World War II. 1,470 lives are lost.
• January 1963: A record-breaking heavy snowfall hits Nagaoka.
• November 15, 1982: Joetsu Shinkansen service arrives at Nagaoka Station.
• July 12–13, 2004: A heavy downpour causes extensive flooding in Nagaoka.
• October 23, 2004: The Chūetsu earthquake strikes, causing extensive damage in Nagaoka and surrounding areas.
• February 2005: Nagaoka experiences the heaviest snowfall in 19 years.
• April 1, 2005: The town of Oguni (from Kariwa District), the village of Yamakoshi (from Koshi District), the town of Nakanoshima (from Minamikanbara District), and the towns of Koshiji and Mishima (both from Santō District), were absorbed into Nagaoka. Prior to the merger, the size of Nagaoka was 262.45 km² and the population was 192,292.
• January 1, 2006: The city of Tochio, the towns of Teradomari and Yoita, and the village of Washima (all from Santō District) were absorbed into Nagaoka.
• April 1, 2007: Nagaoka is designated a special city with increase local autonomy
• March 31, 2010: The town of Kawaguchi (from Kitauonuma District) was absorbed into Nagaoka.

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