Uonuma
city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Uonuma (魚沼市, Uonuma-shi) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2019, the city had an estimated population of 35,027 in 13,289 households, and a population density of 37 persons per km2. Its total area is 946.76 square kilometres (365.55 sq mi). The city is famous for its koshihikari rice, which commands a premium in the Japanese market.
Geography
Uonuma is located in an inland region of south-central Niigata Prefecture, bordered by Fukushima Prefecture to the east and Gunma Prefecture to the south. Parts of the city are within the borders of Oze National Park or the Echigo Sanzan-Tadami Quasi-National Park
Surrounding municipalities
Gunma Prefecture
Katashina
Minakami
Fukushima Prefecture
Hinoemata
Tadami
Niigata Prefecture
Minamiuonuma
Nagaoka
Ojiya
Sanjō
Tōkamachi
Climate
Uonuma has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Uonuma is 12.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2049 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.4 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Uonuma has declined over the past 50 years.
History
The area of present-day Uonuma was part of ancient Echigo Province, with the name of Uonuma appearing in the Shoku Nihongi in an entry dated 702 AD. During the Edo period, the area was largely tenryō territory administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate or part of the holdings of Aizu Domain. The area was greatly affected by the Tenpō famine of 1835–1837.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Uonuma” as city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q850352. VIAF identifies the subject as 260024493. Authority coordinates are 37.236, 138.964. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2019, 2049, 1835 and 1837.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Uonuma”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Uonuma primary sources, Uonuma archive and Uonuma research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Uonuma”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Uonuma” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.