is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 135,580 in 54,999 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was .

Geography

Inazawa is located in the flatlands of far western Aichi Prefecture, bordering

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

on the west. Both the

Kiso River The is a river in the Chubu region of Japan roughly long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005) ...

and the Gojō River flow through the city.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Inazawa is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Inazawa has been relatively steady over the past 30 years.

Surrounding municipalities

;

Ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

Aisai is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,320 in 23,451 households, and a population density of 919 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Aisai is a member of the World Health Organizat ...

Kiyosu is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,687 in 29,477 households, and a population density of 4,017 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kiyosu is located in far western Aichi P ...

* Ama ;

* Hashima *

Kaizu Kiso Sansen Park Center is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,960, and a population density of 310 persons per km2, in 12,167 households. The total area of the city was . Most of the city is located at sea ...

History

Ancient history

Inazawa is the location of the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

and

provincial temple were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in each ...

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

. The Owari Onkunitama Jinja, an important

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

located within the borders of the present city, also dates from this period.

Early modern period

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, Inaba and Ozawa villages formed a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

on the

Minoji The was a highway in Japan during the Edo period. It was a secondary route, ranked below the Edo Five Routes in importance, and connected Miya-juku on the Tōkaidō with Tarui-juku on the Nakasendō.

, a ''

kaidō were roads in Japan dating from the Edo period. They played important roles in transportation like the Appian Way of ancient Roman roads. Major examples include the Edo Five Routes, all of which started at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Minor exam ...

'' connecting

Miya-juku was the forty-first of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in former Owari Province in what is now part of the Atsuta-ku section of the city of Nagoya, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was six km from Narumi-juku, the ...

(

Atsuta Atsuta can refer several different Japanese locations: * Atsuta-ku, Nagoya ** Atsuta Jingu (shrine) *Atsuta, Hokkaido was a List of villages in Japan, village located in Atsuta District, Hokkaido, Atsuta District, Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido ...

on the Tōkaidō to

Tarui-juku 260px, modern Tarui-juku was the fifty-seventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the town of Tarui, Fuwa District, Gifu Pref ...

(

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

) on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

Late modern period

In the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Inazawa was created.

Contemporary history

The area of the town was expanded in 1907 and 1955 through the annexation of neighboring villages, and on November 1, 1958, the Inazawa was elevated to city status. On April 1, 2005, the towns of Heiwa and Sobue (both from Nakashima District) were merged into Inazawa.

Government

Inazawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 26 members. The city contributes two members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 9 of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

External relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

International

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

（

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

Western Greece Western Greece Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Ελλάδας, translit=Periféria Dhitikís Elládhas, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the northw ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

） **since August 22, 1987. *

Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...

（

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

, China） **since May 16, 1989.

Education

University

Nagoya Bunri University is a private university in Inazawa, Aichi, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1941. Associated institutions is a junior college in Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Japan. The junior college opened in April 1966, but the school was founded ...

College

Aichi Bunkyo Women's College is a private junior college in Inazawa, Aichi, Japan. It consists of two departments. Department and graduate course Departments * Department of life sciences * Department of early childhood education Advanced course * Department of ...

Schools

Inazawa has 23 public elementary schools and nine public junior high schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Economy

Primary sector of the economy

Agriculture

Inazawa is a regional commercial center and has traditionally been known for its production of vegetables and

gingko ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...

nuts.

Secondary sector of the economy

Manufacturing

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and Toyoda Gosei have large production plants in the city.

Tertiary sector of the economy

Commerce

Due to its transportation connections with the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

metropolis, Inazawa is increasingly becoming a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

Companies headquartered in Inazawa

* Uny, supermarket chain *Aikoku Alpha Corporation, automotive components *Toshin Housing Company, construction *Fujikei Kyoi, sake brewing

Transportation

Railways

Conventional lines

;

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

* Tokaido Main Line：- – – ; Meitetsu logomark 2

Meitetsu , referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which off ...

Nagoya Main Line {{BS-map , title=Nagoya Main Line , title-bg=red , top= *Subway: Nagoya Municipal Subway *Lines are Meitetsu unless otherwise noted , collapse=yes , map= {{BS, STR, , , Tokaido Main Line} {{BS3, , STR, hSTR, , , Tokaido Shinkansen} {{BS5 ...

：- – – – – *

Bisai Line The is a 30.9 km Japanese railway line which connects Yatomi Station in Yatomi, Aichi with Tamanoi Station in Ichinomiya, Aichi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad , referred to as , is a private railwa ...

:- – (Fuchidaka) – – – – –

Roads

Expressways

* Meishin Expressway

Japan National Route

* File:Inazawa Station West Exit.JPG, Inazawa Station File:Konomiya Station from southeast 20150124.JPG, Kōnomiya Station File:MT-Morikami Station-Building.JPG,

Morikami Station Platforms track layout is a railway station in the city of Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by Meitetsu. Lines Morikami Station is served by the Meitetsu Bisai Line, and is located 16.2 kilometers from the starting point of the li ...

Local attractions

;Castles *Orizu Castle *Shobata Castle ;Shrines and Temples *Owari Kokubun-ji *Yawase Kannon Temple * Owari Ōkunitama Jinja ;Natural attractions *Sobue Dune ;Cultural events *

Hadaka Matsuri A is a type of Japanese festival, or ''matsuri'', in which participants wear a minimum amount of clothing; usually just a fundoshi loincloth, sometimes with a short happi coat, and rarely completely naked. Naked festivals are held in dozens of ...

on the 12th day of the new Chinese Year ;Buildings and structures *

Solae (tower) The Solae is an elevator test tower located in the city of Inazawa, Japan. It is owned by Mitsubishi Electric. The tower is . When completed in 2007, it was the world's tallest elevator test tower. Since that time, the record has been broken by t ...

– Inazawa is the location of the Solae elevator testing tower, previously the highest such tower in the world, but now surpassed by the Kunshan Test Tower in China. File:Shobata Castle Site.jpg, Shobata Castle File:下津城址.jpg, Orizu Castle File:Owari Kokubun temple.JPG, Owari Kokubun temple File:Yawase Kannon s2.JPG, Yawase Kannon Temple File:Konomiya Street in Inazawa, Aichi 20150124.JPG, Konomiya Street File:稲沢サンドフェスタ04.jpg, Sobue Dune

Notable people from Inazawa

Mineo Ōsumi Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and served twice as Minister of the Navy of Japan during the volatile 1930s. Biography Early life Ōsumi was born in what is now the city of Inazawa, Aichi. He was a graduate of the 24th class ...

, admiral,

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

* Takanori Ogisu, artist *

Seiko Niizuma is a Japanese actress and singer. She is represented with Production Ogi. Seiko is best known for her Musical theatre lead roles in Japan in Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and Marie Antoinette. On Television Seiko is well known for being the 5 ti ...

, actress and singer *

Nana Seino is a Japanese actress. She has played Sunmi in '' Tokyo Tribe'', Tetsuko Kuroyanagi in the TV Asahi adaptation of Kuroyanagi's autobiography '' Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window'', and Yuko Komiya in the 98th NHK asadora '' Half Blue Sky ...

, actress and model *

Masaichi Kaneda was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher of Zainichi Korean origin, one of the best-known pitchers in Japanese baseball history, and is the only Japanese pitcher to have won 400 games. He was inducted in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in ...

, professional baseball player *

Junki Ito Junki (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese baseba ...

, professional baseball player *

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Career A former Kyokushin karateka, Sakata trained in professional wrestling at Animal Hamaguchi's gym and joined Akira Maeda's Fighting Network RINGS immediately after. F ...

, professional wrestler

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture