Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Sanjō (三条市, Sanjō-shi) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2019, the city had an estimated population density of 222 persons per km². The total area of the city was 431.97 square km (166.78 sq mi).

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 Niigata Prefecture ◦ Niigata; ◦ Tsubame; ◦ Nagaoka; ◦ Mitsuke; ◦ Uonuma; ◦ Aga; ◦ Gosen; ◦ Kamo; Fukushima Prefecture ◦ Tadami.

Demographics Per Japanese census data, 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 causes 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. 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. • Snow Peak (camping equipment manufacturer) • Marunao (chopsticks manufacturer) • Suwada (nail care manufacturer)

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.

Transport: Rail JR East - Jōetsu Shinkansen • Tsubame-Sanjō; JR East - Shin'etsu Main Line • Obiori - Tōkōji - Sanjō - Higashi-Sanjō - Honai; JR East - Yahiko Line • Tsubame-Sanjō - Kita-Sanjō - Higashi-Sanjō.

Transport: Road • Hokuriku Expressway – Sanjō IC • National Route 8 • National Route 289 • National Route 290 • National Route 403.