| Niigata Prefecture is located on Honshu island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name Niigata literally means "New Lagoon".
Niigata prefecture was originally divided into Echigo Province and Sado Province until the Meiji Restoration. During the Sengoku period it was ruled by Uesugi Kenshin.
Niigata-shi (the city) is the largest and most important among the cities which face the Sea of Japan. It has been an important seaport since the opening of Japan by Matthew Perry in the mid-1800s, especially for trade with Russia and northern Korea, and was the first port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade.
The Etsuzankai organization, led by prime minister Tanaka Kakuei, was highly influential in bringing infrastructure improvements to Niigata in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Joetsu Shinkansen high speed rail line and Kanetsu Expressway to Tokyo.
Today, Niigata is well-known for being visited by a freighter from North Korea once a month: one of the few direct contacts with the communist country.
On October 23, 2004, the Chuetsu earthquake struck Niigata Prefecture, causing shaking measured at Shindo 6+ at Ojiya.
On January 9, 2006, a heavy winter storm caused much trouble in the prefecture and its surroundings. At least 71 people died and over a thousand were injured.
On July 16, 2007, the area saw the 2007 Niigata earthquake.
Niigata prefecture stretches about 240 km along the Sea of Japan from southwest to north east, with a coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. It also includes Sado Island.
Because of the shape, Niigata prefecture is often called small Honshu-Main Island. It could be placed in either the Hokuriku or Koshin'etsu regions, each considered part of the greater Chubu region.
The prefecture is generally divided into four geographical areas: Joetsu (in the south), Chuetsu (in the center), Kaetsu (in the north), and Sado Island. It is home to the mouth of the Shinano River, the longest river in Japan.
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