 Takada and Naoetsu merged to form the city of Jōetsu in 1971.On January 1, 2005, Jōetsu annexed 13 neighbouring municipalities, expanding its area by four times.The municipalities annexed were the towns of Yasuzuka, Kakizaki, Ogata, Yoshikawa, and Itakura, and the villages of Nakagō, Kubiki, Uragawara, Oshima, Maki, Kiyosato, and Sanwa.