city, Akita ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It is located at the mouth of the Yoneshiro River, where it meets the Japan Sea. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867), the city was a trading centre and shipping port for products (mostly rice) from the Yoneshiro Plain. Toward the end of the Meiji period (1868–1912), the cedar lumber industry developed there, and the city became a major producer. South of Noshiro, on the coast of the Japan Sea, pears are grown and shipped to other parts of northeastern Japan. Pop. (2005) 62,858.