User:ぐしー/sandbox/Jōetsu region

The Jōetsu region (上越地方, Jōetsu-chihō) is the southwestern part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The main city is Jōetsu. The other parts of Niigata Prefecture are Chūetsu region (ja), Kaetsu region (ja), and Sado region (ja).

The Jōetsu region faces the Sea of Japan to the north and is surrounded by mountains on the other three sides (East: Yoneyama, South: Mt. Myōkō, West: Oyashirazu (Hida Mountains)). As trunk lines, Hokuriku Expressway and National Route 8 run in an east-west direction, while Jōshin-etsu Expressway and National Route 18 run to south in the direction of Kantō region. The Jōetsu region is sometimes called the Kubiki region (頸城地方, Kubiki-chihō) locally because the region roughly corresponds to the former Kubiki District (ja. see also Higashikubiki District, Nakakubiki District, and Nishikubiki District).

Geographically, much of the Joetsu region is closer to the cities of Nagano and Toyama, the capital of the neighboring prefectures, than to Niigata, the capital of Niigata prefecture. In the Sengoku period, the region was the home of the Jōdo Shinshū and the Uesugi clan, and in the Edo period, the region was along the Hokurikudō and the Zenkō-ji Kaidō. Because of such location and histories, There are many exchanges with the Hokushin region (northern part of Nagano Prefecture), facing each other at Mt. Myōkō, and with Toyama Prefecture, facing each other at Oyashirazu (ja). The connection with the Hokushin region (ja) is especially strong.

Many ski resorts are located in the region such as the Myōkō plateau, like the Hokushin and the Chūetsu regions.

Etymology
Echigo Province (Today's Niigata Prefecture minus Sado Island) was called separately Kami-Echigo (上越後, "Upper Echigo"), Naka-Echigo (中越後, "Central Echigo"), and Shimo-Echigo (下越後, "Lower Echigo") in order of proximity to Kamigata (上方, "Upward". Today's Kansai). Later, 上越後 were abbreviated to 上越 (Jōetsu) as the name of southwestern Niigata Prefecture.

Municipalities
The Jōetsu region consists of 3 cities below :
 * Jōetsu
 * Myōkō
 * Itoigawa

Landforms
Parts of the region are within the borders of the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, the Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama Quasi-National Park, or the Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park. Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line runs western part of the region.


 * Mountains : Kasugayama (ja), Mt. Myōkō, Yoneyama (ja), Niigata-Yakeyama, Mt. Hiucni, Mt. Amakazari, Mt. Korenge (ja), Mt. Yukikura (ja), Mt. Asahi (ja), Mt. Kurohime (ja), Hishigatake
 * Rivers : Hime River, Seki River, Hokura River (ja)
 * Plain : Takada Plain (ja)
 * Plateaus : Myōkō plateau, Madarao plateau (ja)
 * Onsens : Seki onsen (ja), Tsubame onsen (ja), Akakura onsen (ja), Myōkō onsen, Renge onsen (ja), Matsunoyama onsen (ja), Unohama onsen (ja)

Climate
The Jōetsu region has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). In japan, the region is well known as typical area of Sea of ​​Japan side climate (ja) with dry summer and wet winter. In mountainous area, the snow is often accumulated over 1 meter. For that reason, the whole region is designated Heavy Snow Area. Especially, the entire region except for the former Ōgata Town and the former Kubiki Village is designated Special Heavy Snow Area. Because of this climate, arcades called gangi (ja) are in the traditional city center. The Takada area of Joetsu City is famous for its 13 km long gangi street.

Until the Heian period
Before appearance of a unified nation in Japan, the Jōetsu region had belonged to Koshi. After the establishment of Centralized government by Yamato state, as allied forces of Yamato state and Koshi advanced over Yoneyama into Emishi, territory of Koshi also stretched east. Koshi became a province at the Taika Reform. Then, Koshi was devided into 3 provinces by the Taihō Code and the Jōetsu region belonged to Kubiki District, Echigo Province. The place name Kasugayama implies immigration from Kinai in those days.

From the Kamakura period to the Edo period
In the Kamakura period, Shinran came to Naoetsu (northern Jōetsu City) as penal transportation and then the Jōetsu region became the home of Jōdo Shinshū. Even today, there are many temples of Jōdo Shinshū along the Sea of Japan from the Jōetsu region to Echizen (northern Fukui Prefecture).

In the Sengoku period, the Jōetsu region was the home of Uesugi clan, whose stronghold was Kasugayama (central area of Jōetsu City). But the clan moved to Yonezawa at the end of the period.

In the Edo period, the Jōetsu region was the territory of Takada Domain or Itoigawa Domain. The Hokurikudō and the Zenkō-ji Kaidō were improved. Even today, many areas developed from the Shukuba of the routes.

After Meiji Restoration
In the Meiji Restoration, the Jōetsu region became Takada Prefecture by abolition of the han system at first. Then, the Prefecture was merged with Kashiwazaki Prefecture (ja), and finally, was merged with Niigata Prefecture at June 10, 1873.

In 1911, An Austrian officer, Major Lerch (de, ja), introduced skiing for the first time in Japan.

After the Second World War, the Jōetsu region is subject to secondary spillovers of economic change. In the Japanese economic miracle, one of the largest coastal industrial districts on the Sea of Japan side of Japan developed in the region. Today, as motorization progresses, the region has become a dense area of stores that are designed to be visited by car.

Transportation
The Jōetsu region occupies an important position as a hub region on the Sea of Japan side, linking not only the coasts of the Sea of Japan, but also the Kinki, Tōhoku, Kōshin, Tōkai, and Kantō regions.

Railway
The Jōetsu Line and the Jōetsu Shinkansen don't run in the Jōetsu region. (Their Jōetsu are different in the origin.)

Shinkansen (operated by JR East / JR West) JR East (conventional line) JR West (conventional line) Echigo Tokimeki Railway Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line
 * Hokuriku Shinkansen
 * Shin'etsu Main Line
 * Ōito Line
 * Myōkō Haneuma Line
 * Nihonkai Hisui Line

Expressway

 * JP Expressway E8.svg Hokuriku Expressway
 * JP Expressway E18.svg Jōshin-etsu Expressway

Michi no eki (Roadside station)

 * Yuki no Furusato Yasuzuka (ja)
 * Yoshikawa Tōji no Sato (ja)
 * Umiterasu Nadachi (ja)
 * Arai (ja)
 * Oyashirazu Pier Park(ja)
 * Echigo-Ichiburi no Seki (ja)
 * Nō (ja)