Editing Niigata Prefecture (section)

== Notable individuals ==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2013}}

===Politics and military===
* [[Masako, Empress of Japan]], former registered domicile (Honseki) was Murakami
* [[Uesugi Kenshin]] (1530–1578), daimyō in the Sengoku period
* [[Naoe Kanetsugu]] (1559–1620), samurai in the Sengoku period
* [[Horibe Yasubei]] (1670–1703), samurai in the Edo period
* [[Hachirō Arita]] (1884–1965), foreign minister, from Sado Island
* [[Maejima Hisoka]] (1835–1919), founder of the Japanese postal service, from Joetsu
* [[Masuda Takashi]] (1848–1938), creation of a general trading company, [[Mitsui Bussan]]. established a newspaper, [[Nihon Keizai Shimbun]]. from Sado Island
* [[Kita Ikki]] (1883–1937), nationalist author and intellectual, from Sado Island
* [[Sakae Ōsugi]] (1885-1923), anarchist, lived in Shibata
* [[Honma Masaharu]] (1887–1946) World War II lieutenant-general executed by the United States for war crimes committed in the Philippines
* [[Hitoshi Imamura]] (1886–1968) World War II General in the Imperial Japanese Army, from Shibata high school
* [[Isoroku Yamamoto]] (1884–1943), commander of the [[Japanese Imperial Navy]], from Nagaoka
* [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), Chinese political and military leader, served in the Imperial Japanese Army from 1909 to 1911 in Joetsu (Takada)
* [[Ba Maw]] (1893-1977), Burmese political leader, active during the interwar and World War II, lived in Minamiuonuma (Ichiuchi)
* [[Kakuei Tanaka]] (1918–1993), [[Japanese Prime Minister|prime minister]], from Kashiwazaki
* [[Hisashi Owada]] (born 1932), diplomat and father of [[Crown Princess Masako]], from Shibata
* [[Makiko Tanaka]] (born 1944), first female foreign minister, from Kashiwazaki

===Arts and culture===
* [[Zeami Motokiyo]] (1363– 1443), aesthetician, actor, and playwright, exile to Sado Island
* [[Ryōkan]] (1758–1831), [[Zen]] Buddhist monk and poet, from Izumozaki
* [[Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto]], (1874–1950), autobiographer and novelist, Professor of literature and taught Japanese language, culture and history at Columbia University, from Nagaoka
* [[Yaichi Aizu]] (1881–1956), poet, [[Calligraphy|calligrapher]] and historian, from Niigata City
* [[Kokei Kobayashi]] (1883–1957), Nihonga painter, from Joetsu
* [[Mimei Ogawa]] (1882–1961), author of short stories, children's stories, and fairy tales, from Joetsu
* [[Koganei Yoshikiyo]] (1859–1944), anatomist and anthropologist, from Nagaoka
* [[Kyusaku Ogino]] (1882-1975), doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, Niigata Takeyama Hospital
* [[Kinichiro Sakaguchi]] (1897 – 1994), agricultural chemist and microbiologist, from Joetsu
* [[Takashi Amano]] (1954-2015), photographer and aquarist, from Niigata
* [[Tetsuji Morohashi]] (1883– 1982) chief editor of the [[Dai Kan-Wa jiten]], a comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters, from Sanjo
* [[Tetsuo Harada]] (born 1949 Niitsu-shi), sculptor working in Paris France
* [[Tsuchida Bakusen]] (1887–1936), Japanese painter, from Sado
* [[Fubō Hayashi]] (1900–1935), novelist from Sado Island
* [[Inoue Enryō]] (1858–1919), Buddhist philosopher, from Nagaoka
* [[Junzaburō Nishiwaki]] (1894–1982), Japanese poet and literary critic, from Ojiya
* [[Daigaku Horiguchi]] (1892-1981),  poet and translator of French literature, from Nagaoka
* [[Makoto Aida]] (born 1965), Artist, from Niigata City
* [[Donald Keene]] (born 1922), Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature, Honorary Citizen of Kashiwazaki
* [[Kodo (taiko group)]], Based in Sado

'''Actors, Actresses, Singers'''
* [[Ken Watanabe]] (born 1959), stage, TV and film actor, from Uonuma<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ken Watanabe Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/facts/Ken-Watanabe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818051145/https://www.britannica.com/facts/Ken-Watanabe |archive-date=2022-08-18 |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Princess Tenko]] (born 1959), magician, from Joetsu
* [[Mina Fujii]] (born 1998), actress
* [[Mikie Hara]] (born 1987), gravure idol and actress, from Murakami
* [[Fumika Baba]] (born 1995), actress and model, from Niigata City
* [[Maya Kobayashi]] (born 1979), journalist and newscaster, from Ojiya
* [[Mao Kobayashi (actress)]] (born 1982), newscaster and former actress, from Ojiya
* [[Miyuki Koizumi]] (born 1982), Model
* [[Kazuyuki Sekiguchi]] (born 1955), bass player for the rock group [[Southern All Stars]], from Agano
* [[Makoto Ogawa]] (born 1987), former member of [[Morning Musume]], actor and model, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Koharu Kusumi]] (born 1992), former member of [[Morning Musume]], actor and model, from Washima
* [[Hitomi Saito]] (born 1981), former singer of leader of [[Melon Kinenbi]], from Niigata City
* [[Suneohair]] (born 1971), singer, from Nagaoka
* [[Yasuyuki Okamura]] (born 1965), from Niigata Higashi High School
* [[Double (singer)]], Japanese R&B singer
* [[Negicco]], based in Niigata City, Niigata
* [[NGT48]] based on Niigata City, Niigata
* [[Rina Sawayama]], singer and model, born in Niigata City, Niigata<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Alexandra |date=2018-08-02 |title=Rina Sawayama Is Not the Asian Britney Spears |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/style/rina-sawayama-pop-star.html |url-status=live |access-date=2022-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210021400/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/style/rina-sawayama-pop-star.html |archive-date=2022-02-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

'''Pop culture, manga, voice actors'''
* [[One (manga artist)]] (1986), mangaká, from Niigata City
* [[Yoshifumi Kondō]] (1950–1998), animator, from Gosen
* [[Hiroyuki Yamaga]] (born 1962), anime director and producer, and a founding member of the animation studio [[Gainax]], from Niigata City
* [[Daisuke Hirakawa]] (born 1973), voice actor
* [[Ryō Hirohashi]] (born 1977), voice actress, from Nagaoka
* [[Yoko Ishida]] (born 1973), singer, from Niigata City
* [[Rumi Kasahara]] (born 1970), voice actress, from Itoigawa
* [[Makoto Kobayashi (artist)|Makoto Kobayashi]] (born 1958), manga artist, from Niigata City
* [[Közi]] (born 1972), rock musician
* [[Haruo Minami]] (1923–2001), [[enka]] singer, from Nagaoka
* [[Hitomi Nabatame]] (born 1976), voice actress, from Sado Island
* [[Tatsuyuki Nagai]] (born 1976), anime director
* [[Kazuto Nakazawa]] (born 1968), animator
* [[Kenichi Suzumura]] (born 1974), voice actor
* [[Kiriko Nananan]] (born 1972), manga artist, from Tsubame
* [[Yukari Nozawa]] (born 1957), actor and voice actor
* [[Takeshi Obata]] (born 1969), manga artist, from Niigata City
* [[Etsushi Ogawa]] (born 1969), manga artist
* [[Ikue Otani]] (born 1965), voice actress, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Ango Sakaguchi]] (1906–1955), novelist and essayist, from Niigata City
* [[Daisuke Sakaguchi]] (born 1973), voice actor, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Shuichi Shigeno]] (born 1958), manga artist, from Tōkamachi
* [[Bin Shimada]] (born 1954), voice actor, from Niigata City
* [[Kunio Shimizu]] (1936–2021), playwright from Niigata
* [[Motoei Shinzawa]] (born 1958), manga artist, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Yōko Sōmi]] (born 1965), voice actress
* [[Rumiko Takahashi]] (born 1957), manga artist, from Niigata City
* [[Kazuya Tsurumaki]] (born 1966), animator, from Gosen
* [[Hajime Watanabe (animator)|Hajime Watanabe]] (born 1957), [[animator]]
* [[Nobuhiro Watsuki]] (born 1970), manga artist, from Nagaoka
* [[Hiroki Yagami]] (born 1967), manga artist, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Akiko Yajima]] (born 1967), voice actress, from Kashiwazaki
* [[Kimio Yanagisawa]] (born 1948), [[manga]] artist, from Gosen
* [[Keiko Yokozawa]] (born 1952), voice actress, from Niigata City

===Sports===
* [[Shiro Saigo]] (1866 – 1922), Judo, lived in Aga (Tsugawa), lived in 1869-1882
* [[Haguroyama Masaji]] (1914–1969), [[sumo|sumo wrestler]] from Nakanokuchi who was ''[[yokozuna (sumo)|yokozuna]]'' for 12 years and three months; an all-time record
* [[Shohei Baba]] (1938–1999), Japanese [[professional wrestling|professional wrestler]], from Sanjō
* [[Sawao Kato]] (born 1946), winner of 12 Olympic medals in gymnastics
* [[Killer Khan]] (born 1947), professional wrestler, from Tsubame
* [[Ayumu Hirano]] (born 1998), snowboarder, from Murakami
* [[Ayana Onozuka]] (born 1988), freestyle skier, from Minamiuonuma
* [[Kentaro Minagawa]] (born 1977), alpine skier, from Yuzawa
* [[Junko Hoshino]] (born 1989), freestyle skier, from Nagaoka
* [[Reruhi Shimizu]] (born 1993), ski jumper, from Myoko
* [[Mai Nakamura (backstroke swimmer)|Mai Nakamura]] (born 1979), swimmer, from Nagaoka
* [[Gōtoku Sakai]] (born 1991), footballer (2015– [[Hamburger SV]]), from Sanjo
* [[Yujiro Takahashi]] (born 1981), [[professional wrestler]] from Niigata City.