city, Fukuoka ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, at the confluence of the Onga River and the Hikosan River. Formed as a castle town in 1626, it declined about 100 years later, barely maintaining its importance as a trade and distribution centre of agricultural products. With the exploitation of the nearby Chikuhō Coalfield in the late 19th century, Nōgata revived. After World War II, however, the mines were gradually closed, and the city is now a commercial centre producing machinery and other industrial goods. Included in the northern Kyushu Industrial Region, which is centred on Kita-Kyūshū, Nōgata is gradually becoming a suburb of Kita-Kyūshū. Pop. (2005) 57,497.