is the largest city in the

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshu, Honshū, Japan, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Fukui Prefecture, Fukui, Gifu Prefecture ...

, 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 The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast in central

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

, it is the capital and the most populous city of

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 ...

, and is one of Japan's major

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s along with those of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, and

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

. It is the principal city of the

Chūkyō metropolitan area , or the , is a major metropolitan area in Japan that is centered on the city of Nagoya (the "Chūkyō", i.e., the "capital in the middle") in Aichi Prefecture. The area makes up the most urbanized part of the Tōkai region. The population of 9,5 ...

, which is the third-most populous metropolitan area in Japan with a population of 10.11million in 2020. In 1610, the warlord

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

, a retainer of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, moved the capital of

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 ...

from

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 ...

to Nagoya. This period saw the renovation of

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

. The arrival of the 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Nagoya, during the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, and became a major industrial hub for Japan. The traditional manufactures of timepieces, bicycles, and sewing machines were followed by the production of special steels, ceramic, chemicals, oil, and petrochemicals, as the area's automobile, aviation, and shipbuilding industries flourished. These factors made the city a target for US air raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following the war, Nagoya's economy diversified, but the city remains a significant centre for industry and transport in Japan. It is linked with Tokyo, Kyōto, and Osaka by the

Tokaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...

, and is home to the

Nagoya Stock Exchange Nagoya Stock Exchange (名古屋証券取引所 ''Nagoya Shōken Torihikijo'', NSE) is a stock trading market in Nagoya, Japan. It is Japan's second largest exchange, behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange. History The Nagoya Stock Exchange (NSE) is t ...

as well as the headquarters of

Brother Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment company headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Its products include Printer (computing), printers, multifunction printers, desktop computers, sewing machin ...

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...

, and

Toyota Tsusho is a sōgō shōsha (trading company), a member of the Toyota Group. Toyota Tsusho has a worldwide presence through its many subsidiaries and operating divisions, including over 150 offices, and 900 subsidiaries and affiliates around the world. ...

, among others. Nagoya is home of educational institutes such as

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was the seventh Imperial University in Japan, one of the first five Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of T ...

, the

Nagoya Institute of Technology The , abbreviated to Nitech (or in Japanese to 名工大, ''Meikōdai''), is a public highest-level educational institution of science and technology located in Nagoya, Japan. Nitech was founded in 1905 as ''Nagoya Higher Technical School'', then ...

, and Nagoya City University. Famous landmarks in the city include

Atsuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō (71-130) located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as ''Atsuta-Sama'' (Venerable Atsuta) or simpl ...

Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens The is a joint zoo and botanical garden located at Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan. It is open every day except Monday, and charges a modest admission fee. Established in 1937, the Higashiyama Zoo is one of Asia's largest attractions, featuring a bo ...

Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium The is a public aquarium in Minato-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the public aquarium with the largest tank capacity and total area in Japan. It also owns Japan's largest dolphin show tank. History Opened in 1992, the Port of Nagoya ...

, and

Hisaya Ōdori Park The Hisaya-ōdōri Park (久屋大通公園) is located in Sakae, Nagoya, in central Japan. History The park was laid out after the devastation of World War II by the mayor of Nagoya, in order to create green space in the middle of the city. ...

, and

Nagoya TV Tower The (formerly but still referred to as the ) is a TV tower in Nagoya, central Japan. History It is the oldest TV tower in Japan, and was completed in 1954. It is located in the centre of Hisaya Ōdori Park. The tower is 180 metres high, and h ...

, one of the oldest TV towers in Japan.

Overview

Etymology

The city's name was historically written as or (both read as ''Nagoya''). One possible origin is the adjective , meaning 'calm' . The name , consisting of ''chū'' (middle) + ''kyō'' (capital) is also used to refer to Nagoya. Notable examples of the use of the name Chūkyō include the

Chūkyō Industrial Area The is another name for the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area and the surrounding prefectures, which have strong economic links to it. This industrial region includes the Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures. One of the dominant companies of the region ...

Chūkyō Metropolitan Area , or the , is a major metropolitan area in Japan that is centered on the city of Nagoya (the "Chūkyō", i.e., the "capital in the middle") in Aichi Prefecture. The area makes up the most urbanized part of the Tōkai region. The population of 9,5 ...

Chūkyō Television Broadcasting JOCH-DTV, branded as , is the Chūkyō metropolitan area flagship station of the Nippon News Network and Nippon Television Network System (NNS), owned by Nippon Television Holdings through . Its studios are located in Showa-ku, Nagoya, Japa ...

Chukyo University is a private university in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with campuses in Nagoya and Toyota. The main building is located in Yagoto, Shōwa-ku, Nagoya. Notable faculty members * Naomi Miyake, cognitive scientist * Koji Murofushi, Olympic hammer t ...

and the

Chukyo Racecourse is located in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It is used for horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for com ...

Cityscape

File:Skyscrapers of Meieki (2016-07-07).jpg,

Nagoya Station is a major railway station in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Japan. It is one of the world's largest train stations by floor area (410,000 m2), and houses the headquarters of the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). Much of this space is located in ...

(2016) File:Nagoya Night View.jpg, Nagoya night view seen from

Higashiyama Sky Tower The Higashiyama Sky Tower is located in the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in the city of Nagoya, central Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northw ...

(2020) File:Nagoya_(2015-11-03).JPG,

Central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Nagoya viewed from

Midland Square , officially called , is a skyscraper located in the Meieki district of Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. It opened in early 2007. It is the tallest building in Nagoya and the fifth tallest building in Japan as of 2015. At 247m (810 feet), it ...

(2015) File:Nagoya TV Tower1.jpg,

(2020) File:Seto Digital Tower and Nagoya.jpg, Nagoya and

Seto Digital Tower Seto Digital Tower is a 244.7 m 803 ft tall digital broadcasting tower in Seto, Aichi, Japan. In 2011, the tower replaced the Nagoya TV Tower; the Nagoya TV Tower previously had the role of broadcasting in the Nagoya area.Sakae area (2016)

Geography and administrative divisions

Geography

Nagoya lies north of

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: th ...

on the

Nōbi Plain The is a large plain in Japan that stretches from the Mino area of southwest Gifu Prefecture to the Owari area of northwest Aichi Prefecture, covering an area of approximately .

. The city was built on low-level

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

s to ward off floodwaters. The plain is one of the nation's most fertile areas. 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) ...

flows to the west along the city border, and the

Shōnai River The is a Class 1 river flowing through Gifu and Aichi prefectures in Japan. In Gifu Prefecture, it is also referred to as the Toki River (土岐川 ''Toki-gawa''); around the city of Kasugai in Aichi Prefecture, it is referred to as the Tamano ...

comes from the northeast and turns south towards the bay at Nishi Ward. The man-made Hori River was constructed as a canal in 1610. It flows from north to south, as part of the Shōnai River system. The rivers allowed for trade with the hinterland. The Tempaku River feeds from a number of smaller river in the east, flows briefly south at Nonami and then west at Ōdaka into the bay. The city's location and its position in the centre of Japan allowed it to develop economically and politically. File:Nobi_Plain_from_Mount_Miroku.JPG, Nagoya and Nobi Plain seen from Mirokuzan ( Kasugai city) File:Nobi Plain and Nagoya from Mount Sanpo 2008-9-24.jpg, View of the Nōbi Plain,

Kiso Three Rivers The refers to the three major rivers that make up the alluvial plain area of the Nōbi Plain of Japan. The three rivers are the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River. Given their location, they are sometimes referred to as the Nōbi ...

and Nagoya from Mount Sanpo and Mount Yōrō File:Aerial photographs of Nagoya Night view.jpg, Aerial photographs of Nagoya File:Nagoya_Port_Aichi_pref_Japan01s8.jpg, Nagoya Port in 2013

Climate

Nagoya has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

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'') with hot, humid summers and cool winters. The summer is noticeably wetter than the winter, although rain falls throughout the year.

Area

Wards

Nagoya has 16

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

Demographics

Nagoya Metropolitan Employment Area 2015

One of the earliest

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

es, carried out in 1889, counted 157,496 residents. The population reached the 1million mark in 1934 and as of December 2010 had an estimated population of 2,259,993 with a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of . Also an estimated 1,019,859 households resided there—a significant increase from 153,370 at the end of

in 1945. The area is . Its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

extends into the Mie and

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

prefectures, with a total population of about 10million people, surpassed only by Osaka and Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

** Tobishima ** Kanie ** Ama ** Ōharu **

Kitanagoya is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 86,068 in 36,904 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Kitanagoya is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for ...

** Toyoyama ** Kasugai ** Owariasahi **

Seto Seto may refer to: Places * Seto, Aichi, production place of Japanese pottery and venue of Expo 2005 * Seto, Ehime, facing the Seto Inland Sea *Seto, Okayama, adjacent to Okayama, in Okayama Prefecture *Seto Inland Sea of Japan * Setomaa (''Seto ...

Nagakute is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,503 in 24,352 households, and a population density of 2,854 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nagakute is a member of the World Health Organ ...

** Nisshin ** Tōgō ** Toyoake **

Ōbu is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 92,179 in 39,382 households, and a population density of 2,739 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Ōbu has been a member of the World Health Or ...

Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

History

Origins

;Jōmon period In the Jomon and

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

, the

Ōguruwa Shell Midden 260px, Oguruwa shell mounds-Flexed burial The is an archaeological site with a shell midden and Jōmon period settlement site located in the Yamashitatori neighborhood of Mizuho ward of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in the Tōkai region of Japan. ...

was discovered before the settlement of Nagoya. ;Kofun period In the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

, Nagoya was settled and the

Danpusan Kofun file:断夫山古墳周濠復原図.png, 250px, Sketch of Danpusan Kofun The is a large keyhole-shaped ''kofun'' burial mound located within the grounds of the Atsuta Shrine complex in the Hayata neighborhood of Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Japan. The tu ...

and Shiratori Kofun was built in this area. The

is of ancient origin, it is home to the

Imperial Regalia of Japan The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).

, the legendary sword ''Kusanagi no Tsurugi''. According to traditional sources,

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

died in 113 AD. The possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi; and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. File:Oguruwa Kaizuka 20160815.jpg, The

was discovered before the settlement. File:Atsuta Shrine.jpg, The

, which dates back to c. 100 AD and houses the holy sword

Kusanagi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legend ...

, one of the

File:Danpusan Kofun zenkei.JPG, The

was built in the 6th century.

Middle Ages

;Heian period The Seigan-ji was built by the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. A member served as the head priest of the nearby Atsuta Shrine, one of the legendary shrines of Japan. It is believed that Yura-Gozen, also known as Urahime, a daughter of

Fujiwara no Suenori Fujiwara no Suenori (藤原季範, 1090 – December 27, 1155) was a Japanese nobleman and high priest, High Priest of Atsuta Shrine during the late Heian period, belonging to the Nanke (Fujiwara), Nanke House of the powerful Fujiwara clan. He w ...

, was married to

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became ''shōgun'' and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of ...

(1123–60) and their son

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

's birthplace is Nagoya, he is also the founder of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

. File:Seigan-ji (Nagoya) sanmon.JPG, The Seigan-ji former family villa was the birthplace of

, founder of the

Kamakura Shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

Early Modern Ages

;Azuchi–Momoyama period

and his protégés

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

and

were powerful warlords based in the Nagoya area who gradually succeeded in unifying Japan. In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of

from Kiyosu, about seven kilometers () away, to a more strategic location in present-day Nagoya. In May–June 1560, the

Battle of Okehazama The took place in June 1560 in Owari Province, located in today's Aichi Prefecture. In this battle, the heavily outnumbered Oda clan troops commanded by Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the front-running ...

took place in Dengakuhazama,

which was just outside of what would become Nagoya city. In this battle,

defeated

Imagawa Yoshimoto was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the Sengoku period Japan. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as . he was one of the three ''daimyōs'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become ...

and established himself as one of the leading warlords in the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. File:Oda Nobunaga statue in Kiyosu park.jpg,

File:Jousenji２.JPG,

File:Statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu - 徳川家康公像 - panoramio.jpg,

File:Bishū Okehazama-gassen.jpg,

(May–June 1560) ;Edo period During this period

was constructed, built partly from materials taken from

Kiyosu Castle is a Japanese castle located in Kiyosu, eastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is noted for its association with the rise to power of the Sengoku period warlord, Oda Nobunaga. The kanji in the name of the castle was written as 清須城. The curren ...

. During the construction, the entire town around Kiyosu Castle, consisting of around 60,000 people, moved from Kiyosu to the newly planned town around Nagoya Castle. Around the same time, the nearby ancient

was designated as a waystation, called Miya (the Shrine), on the important Tōkaidō road, which linked the two capitals of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and Edo (now Tokyo). A town developed around the temple to support travelers. The castle and shrine towns formed the city. File:Aichi Osu Kannon hondo 2021-07 ac (1).jpg, Ōsu Kannon is a Buddhist temple, originally built in 1333, later relocated in 1612. File:180405 Tenshu and Honmaru Goten of Nagoya castle 2.jpg,

was constructed as the seat of the

Owari branch The is a branch of the Tokugawa clan, and it is the seniormost house of the '' Gosanke'' ("three honourable houses of the Tokugawa").Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. File:Shikemichi Nagoya (1).JPG, Edo era buildings in Shikemichi (四間道) File:Tokaido41 Miya.jpg,

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 ...

(

) in the 1830s, as depicted by

Hiroshige Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...

File:Arimatsushibori.JPG, Arimatsu Town File:Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin - Owari Meisho Zue.png, Woodcut print of

Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin The Hongan-ji Nagoya Betsuin (本願寺派名古屋別院) is a Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist temple located in Naka ward, Nagoya in central Japan. The temple is a short distance south of Ōsu Kannon Station. It is also known a ''Nishi Betsuin'' (西� ...

(Nishi-Honganji)

Late Modern Ages

;Meiji period During the

Japan's provinces were restructured into prefectures and the government changed from family to bureaucratic rule. Nagoya was proclaimed a city on October 1, 1889, and designated a city on 1 September 1956, by government ordinance. Nagoya became an industrial hub for the region. Its economic sphere included the famous

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

towns of

Tokoname is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,872 in 24,872 households, and a population density of 1,035 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokoname is located on the western coast ...

Tajimi is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 110,070 in 46,580 households, and a population density of 1200 people per km2. The total area of the city was . The city is famous for its production of Mino ware cera ...

and

, as well as Okazaki, one of the only places where

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

was produced under the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

. Other industries included

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and complex mechanical dolls called ''

karakuri ningyō are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used t ...

''. ;Taisho period

Mitsubishi Aircraft Company Mitsubishi Aircraft CompanyGunston p. 318 (''Mitsubishi Kokuki'') was the new name given by the Mitsubishi Company (''Mitsubishi Shokai''), in 1928, to its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Internal Combustion (''Mitsubishi Nainenki''), to reflect its chang ...

was established in 1920 in Nagoya and became one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in Japan. The availability of space and the central location of the region and the well-established connectivity were some of the major factors that lead to the establishment of the aviation industry there. File:Photo of Nagoya Town, 1880-1890.jpg, Photo of Nagoya, 1880-1890 File:Nagoya Station 1886.jpg,

in 1886 File:Nagoya-Hirokoji_in_the_Meiji_era.JPG, Hirokoji in Nagoya during the

Meiji era 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 b ...

File:御大典奉祝名古屋博覧会正門.jpg, Main Gate of the Nagoya Expo in

Tsuruma Park Tsuruma Park (鶴舞公園) is a park located in Shōwa-ku, Nagoya city, 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 p ...

, 1928 File:Nagoya map circa 1930.PNG, Nagoya map circa 1930 File:Toyota Motor Corporation Koromo plant in 1938.jpg,

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Koromo plant (now the

Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology The , also known as Toyota Tecno Museum, is a technology museum located in Nishi-ku in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. History Toyota started as a textile firm and evolved over decades into an international automobile producer. The museum ...

) in 1938 File:TBCN Kakunai Line.JPG,

Nagoya City Hall is the city hall of the city of Nagoya, Japan. It is designed in the Imperial Crown style, a fusion Japanese and modern style. It survived the bombings of World War II and is registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. It is located ...

in the Showa period ;World War II and postwar Nagoya was the target of US air raids during

. The population of Nagoya at this time was estimated to be 1.5million, fourth among Japanese cities and one of the three largest centers of the Japanese aircraft industry. It was estimated that 25% of its workers were engaged in aircraft production. Important Japanese aircraft targets (numbers 193, 194, 198, 2010, and 1729) were within the city itself, while others (notably 240 and 1833) were to the north of Kagamigahara. It was estimated that they produced between 40% and 50% of Japanese combat aircraft and engines, such as the vital

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...

fighter. The Nagoya area also produced machine tools, bearings, railway equipment, metal alloys, tanks, motor vehicles and processed foods during

. Air raids began on April 18, 1942, with an attack on a

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...

aircraft works, the Matsuhigecho oil warehouse, the Nagoya Castle military barracks and the Nagoya war industries plant. The

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

continued through the spring of 1945, and included large-scale

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary ...

. Nagoya was the target of two of

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

’s attacks. These incendiary attacks, one by day and one by night, devastated . The

XXI Bomber Command The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands for strategic bombing during World War II. The command was established at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization an ...

established a new

U.S. Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

record with the greatest tonnage ever released on a single target in one mission—3,162 tons of incendiaries. It also destroyed or damaged twenty-eight of the numbered targets and raised the area burned to almost one-fourth of the entire city. Nagoya Castle, which was being used as a military command post, was hit and mostly destroyed on May 14, 1945, followed by the Yokkaichi Bombing in June 1945. Reconstruction of the main building was completed in 1959. Later in the same year on July 26, 1945 the ''

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...

'' also dropped a conventional

pumpkin bomb Pumpkin bombs were conventional aerial bombs developed by the Manhattan Project and used by the United States Army Air Forces against Japan during World War II. It was a close replication of the Fat Man plutonium bomb with the same ballistic an ...

in the

Yagoto is a neighbourhood that straddles Mizuho ward, Shōwa ward, and Tempaku ward in eastern Nagoya, central Japan. History The area is also known as Yagotoyama. During the Edo period, the area thrived as a pilgrimage area with various temple ...

area of Nagoya as part of a bombing raid in order to train for their mission to

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

. In 1959, the city was flooded and severely damaged by the Ise-wan Typhoon.

Contemporary Ages

After the war the city was able to rebuild and take up its role again as one of the country's leading industrial and manufacturing centers, it became known as the "

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

of the Orient". It also plays an increasing role in the

meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism is a type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together. Recently there has been an industry trend toward using the term 'meetings industry ...

(MICE) industry, hosting the

Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a World Expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...

and the

Nagoya Protocol The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, also known as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is a ...

conference in 2010. File:Burning Nagoya Castle-2.JPG, Nagoya Castle on fire 1945 File:Nagoya after the 1945 air raid.JPG, View of Nagoya after the

in 1945 File:Typhoon Vera 1959 CBC Location.jpg, Damage from the Ise-wan Typhoon (Typhoon Vera) in 1959 File:Expo2005 Overview.jpg, The

was the second

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in Japan.

Public

Police

;

Aichi Prefectural Police The is the prefectural police force responsible, under the control of the Aichi Prefectural Public Safety Commission, for policing Aichi Prefecture. History Its origins date back to 1871 ( Meiji 4), when its predecessor organisation, the A ...

*Atsuta Police Station *Chikusa Police Station *Higashi Police Station *Kita Police Station *Meito Police Station *Midori Police Station *Minami Police Station *Minato Police Station *Mizuho Police Station *Moriyama Police Station *Naka Police Station *Nakagawa Police Station *Nakamura Police Station *Nishi Police Station *Showa Police Station *Tenpaku Police Station File:Atsuta Police Station.JPG, Atsuta Police Station File:Chikusa 20210510-42.jpg, Chikusa Police Station File:Nagoya Higashi Police Office 20131027.JPG, Higashi Police Station File:Aichi Prefectural Police Kita Police Office 20160423.JPG, Kita Police Station File:Aichi Prefectural Police Meito Police Office 20150902.JPG, Meito Police Station File:View of Midori Police Station, Suwayama Narumi-cho Midori Ward Nagoya 2020.jpg, Midori Police Station File:NGO Minami 20220717-77.jpg, Minami Police Station File:Minato Police Station of Nagoya City.JPG, Minato Police Station File:Aichi Police Mizuho Police Station 20140517.JPG, Mizuho Police Station File:Aichi Moriyama Police Office 20140617.JPG, Moriyama Police Station File:Nagoya Naka Police Station.jpg, Naka Police Station File:Aichi Nakagawa Police Station 20141007.JPG, Nakagawa Police Station File:Nakamura Police Station.jpg, Nakamura Police Station File:Nishi Police Office (Nagoya) 130623.JPG, Nishi Police Station File:Aichi Police Showa Police Station 20140517-02.JPG, Showa Police Station File:Tenpaku Police Station 20150606.JPG, Tenpaku Police Station

Firefighting

;Nagoya City Fire Bureau *Atsuta Fire Department *Chikusa Fire Department *Higashi Fire Department *Kita Fire Department *Meito Fire Department *Midori Fire Department *Minami Fire Department *Minato Fire Department *Mizuho Fire Department *Moriyama Fire Department *Naka Fire Department *Nakagawa Fire Department *Nakamura Fire Department *Nishi Fire Department *Showa Fire Department *Tenpaku Fire Department File:Nagoya City Atsuta Fire Station 20200823-04.jpg, Atsuta Fire Department File:Chikusa Fire Station 20130813.JPG, Chikusa Fire Department File:Nagoya City Higashi Fire Station 20170215.jpg, Higashi Fire Department File:Nagoya 20191107-10.jpg, Kita Fire Department File:Nagoya City Meito Fire Station 20190817-03.jpg, Meito Fire Department File:Midori Ward Fire Department (2), Takinomizu Midori Ward Nagoya 2020.jpg, Midori Fire Department File:Nagoya City Minami Fire Station 20160423-02.jpg, Minami Fire Department File:Minato Firestation.jpg, Minato Fire Department File:Mizuho Fire Station Horita Branch 20140417.JPG, Mizuho Fire Department File:Nagoya City Moriyama Fire Station 20160524.jpg, Moriyama Fire Department File:Nagoya Naka Fire Station 20190511.jpg, Naka Fire Department File:Nagoya City Nakagawa Fire Station 20190511.jpg, Nakagawa Fire Department File:Nakamura Fire Station 20200729.jpg, Nakamura Fire Department File:Nagoya Nishi Fire Station 20170924.jpg, Nishi Fire Department File:Nagoya City Showa Fire Station 20150501.JPG, Showa Fire Department File:Nagoya City Tenpaku Fire Station 20200905-03.jpg, Tenpaku Fire Department

Health care

;Hospital *Chubu Rosai Hospital *Social Insurance Chukyo Hospital *Nagoya City East Medical Center * Nagoya City West Medical Center *Nagoya City University Hospital *Nagoya Daiichi Red Cross Hospital *Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital *Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital *Nagoya Memorial Hospital *Nagoya University Hospital *National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center

Post office

*Atsuta Post Office *Chikusa Post Office *Meito Post Office *Mizuho Post Office *Moriyama Post Office *Nagoya Central Post Office *Nagoya Higashi Post Office *Nagoya Jingu Post Office *Nagoya Kita Post Office *Nagoya Midori Post Office *Nagoya Minami Post Office *Nagoya Minato Post Office *Nagoya Naka Post Office *Nagoya Nishi Post Office *Nakagawa Post Office *Nakamura Post Office *Showa Post Office *Tenpaku Post Office

Library

*Aichi Prefectural Library *Nagoya City Library *Nagoya City Atsuta Library *Nagoya City Chikusa Library *Nagoya City Higashi Library *Nagoya City Kita Library *Nagoya City Kusunoki Library *Nagoya City Meito Library *Nagoya City Midori Library *Nagoya City Minami Library *Nagoya City Minato Library *Nagoya City Mizuho Library *Nagoya City Moriyama Library *Nagoya City Nakagawa Library *Nagoya City Nanyo Library *Nagoya City Nishi Library *Nagoya City Nakamura Library *Nagoya City Shidami Library *Nagoya City Tenpaku Library *Nagoya City Tokushige Library *Nagoya City Tomida Library *Nagoya City Tsuruma Library *Nagoya City Yamada Library

Playhouses and cultural facilities

Aichi Arts Center is the main venue for the performing arts in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The center consists of: *Aichi Prefectural Museum *Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater **Main Hall **Concert Hall *Aichi Prefectural Arts Promotion Service *Aichi Prefect ...

*Atsuta Playhouse *Chikusa Playhouse *

Chunichi Theatre was a venue for the performing arts in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It closed on March 25, 2018. The theatre was located inside the Chunichi Building. Performances such as kabuki and musicals were shown there. See also * Aichi Arts Cent ...

*Higashi Playhouse *Kita Playhouse *Meito Playhouse *Midori Playhouse *Minami Playhouse *Minato Playhouse *

Misono-za The is a theatre in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. It was originally constructed in 1800s and presents ''kabuki'' and Western stage plays. History The tradition of ''kabuki'' in Nagoya goes back to the Edo period. With the opening of ...

*Mizuho Playhouse *Moriyama Playhouse *Munetsugu Hall *Nagoya Citizens' Auditorium *

Nagoya Noh Theater The Nagoya Noh Theater (名古屋能楽堂) is a Noh drama theatre building located in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. History The history of Noh in Owari Province dates back to the heyday of feudal rule, when performances were shown at t ...

*Nakagawa Playhouse *Nakamura Playhouse *Nishi Playhouse *Osu Engeijo *Showa Playhouse *Shirakawa Hall *Tenpaku Playhouse File:Aichi Police Headquarters.jpg, Aichi Police Headquarters File:Nagoya Naka Fire Station 20190511.jpg, Naka Fire Department File:国立名古屋医療センター - panoramio.jpg, National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center File:JR Gate Tower and JP Tower Nagoya.jpg, JP Tower Nagoya（Nagoya central Post office） File:Aichi Prefectural Library 1F hall ac.jpg, Aichi Prefectural Library File:Misonoza-1.jpg,

External relations

The

Nagoya International Center The Nagoya International Center (''Japanese: ''名古屋国際センター　''Nagoya Kokusai Sentaa'') is a non-profit organization based in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Japan. The center was established in 1984 and is known locally as the "NIC." Desc ...

promotes international exchange in the local community. It houses th
U.S. Consulate
on the 6th floor and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development
UNCRD
on the 7th floor.

Twin towns – Sister cities

International

Nagoya is twinned with: ;Sister cities The sister city relationship with

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, China was suspended on February 21, 2012, following public comments by Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura denying the

Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

. ;Partner cities

National

;Partner City

Sister ports

Port of Nagoya The , located in Ise Bay, is the largest and busiest trading port in Japan, accounting for about 10% of the total trade value of Japan. Notably, this port is the largest exporter of cars in Japan and where the Toyota Motor Corporation exports most ...

's sister ports are: *

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...

, CA United States (1959) *

Port of Fremantle Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval vis ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, Australia (1983) *

Port of Baltimore Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities f ...

, MD, United States (1985) *

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

Antwerp Province ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

, Belgium (1988) *

Port of Shanghai The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

, China (2003) *

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia (2010) *

Port of Zeebrugge The Port of Zeebrugge (also referred to as the Port of Bruges or Bruges Seaport) is a large container, bulk cargo, new vehicles and passenger ferry terminal port on the North Sea. The port is located in the municipality of Bruges, West Flanders ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

, Belgium (2013)

Sister airport

Nagoya Airfield , also known as Komaki Airport or Nagoya Airport, is an airport which lies within the local government areas of Toyoyama, Komaki, Kasugai and Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was once an international airport, but is now a domestic sec ...

's sister airport is: *

Grant County International Airport Grant County International Airport is a public use airport in the northwest United States, located northwest of the central business district of Moses Lake in Grant County, Washington. Formerly a military facility, the airport is owned by the ...

, WA, United States (2016)

Economy

180324 Nagoya Castle & Skyscrapers in Meieki

Brother Industries Nagoya HQ 20110709-001

Nagoya is the center of

Greater Nagoya Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

, which earned nearly 70 percent of Japan's 2003 trade surplus.

Automotive industry

Nagoya's main industry is automotive.

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

's luxury brand

, Denso,

Aisin Seiki Co. is a Japanese corporation that develops and produces components and systems for the automotive industry. Aisin is a Fortune Global 500 company, ranked 359 rankings. Aisin is a member of the Toyota Group of companies. Aisin was founded in 1965 ...

Toyota Industries is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively (as of 2021), a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured b ...

JTEKT JTEKT Corporation is a Japanese corporation created in January 2006 upon the merger of two companies: Koyo Seiko Co. and ''Toyoda Machine Works''. Toyoda Machine Works, Machine tool sales for North, Central and South America, aftermarket suppor ...

and

Toyota Boshoku is a Japanese automotive component manufacturer. It is a member of the Toyota Group of companies. Toyota Boshoku Corporation entered the North American market via Toyota Boshoku America (located, inter alia, in Erlanger, Kentucky). History Toy ...

have their headquarters in or near Nagoya.

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.R&D division in the suburb of Okazaki. Major component suppliers such as

Magna International Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Ameri ...

and PPG also have a strong presence here.

Spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

maker NGK and

Nippon Sharyo , formed in 1896, is a major rolling stock manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車". It was a listed company on Nikkei 225 until 2 ...

, known for manufacturing

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

including the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

are headquartered there.

Aviation industry

The aviation history has historically been of importance since the industrialization. During the war the

fighter was constructed in Nagoya. The aviation tradition continues with

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation , abbreviated MITAC, is a Japanese company that develops, produces, sells and supports the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) passenger airliners. The manufacturing of the aircraft is carried out by parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MH ...

headquartered in the

's terminal building in

Komaki is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,872 in 68,174 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Komaki is commonly associated with the former Komaki Airport, whic ...

. The

Mitsubishi Regional Jet The Mitsubishi SpaceJet (, originally named ''Mitsubishi Regional Jet'') is a regional jet developed by Japanese company Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MAC), a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) subsidiary. The airframe is made mainly in alumi ...

(MRJ) aircraft is produced at a factory adjacent to the airport. The MRJ is a partnership between majority owner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota with design assistance from Toyota affiliate

Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

, already a manufacturer of aircraft. It is the first airliner designed and produced in Japan since the

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...

of the 1960s.Anselmo, Joe.
Milestone for the MRJ
''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...

'', 24 October 2014. Accessed: 25 October 2014.Mecham, Michael & Anselmo, Joe.
Big ambitions
" ''

'', 17 March 2008. Accessed: 25 October 2014. The MRJ's first flight was on November 11, 2015.

Ceramics

Japanese pottery and porcelain , is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally ...

has a long tradition due to suitable clay being available in

. Before and 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 ...

there were two main kilns in the region:

and

. In Nagoya Castle a type of ''oniwa-yaki'' (literally "garden ware") called

Ofukei ware , also spelled ''Ofuke'', refers to a type of Japanese pottery that was originally produced in Nagoya, central Japan. History During the Kan'ei era (1624–44), the first lord of Owari Tokugawa Yoshinao (1601–1650) had a kiln constructed ...

was produced by the feudal lord's court. Almost every feudal lord had his own ''oniwa-yaki'', also to have gifts made. In the town itself Toyoraku ware and

Sasashima ware Sasashima ware (笹島焼 ''Sasashima-yaki'') is a type of Japanese pottery from Nagoya, Owari province, later Aichi prefecture, central Japan. History It was based in the Sasashima-chō neighbourhood, not far from Nagoya Station, today a p ...

Japanese tea utensils are the tools and utensils used in , the art of Japanese tea. Tea utensils can be divided into five major categories: * * * * * A wide range of utensils, known collectively as , is necessary for even the most basic tea ceremony. Genera ...

were made with refined tastes. Ofukei ware started under the first Owari lord

Tokugawa Yoshinao was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Biography Born the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu with his concubine, Okame no Kata. His childhood name was Gorōtamaru (五郎太丸). While still a young child, he was appointed leader of ...

and was interrupted once, but continued on until the end of the

. It became widely known in Japan. The lord's taste in ceramics was also imitated by other Owari samurai, such as

Hirasawa Kurō Hirasawa Kurō (平澤九朗 1772-1840) was a Japanese ''samurai'' and potter during the late Edo period from Owari Province. He produced Shino ware tea utensils using the potter's wheel In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in th ...

and Masaki Sōzaburō, who made their own pieces. Toyoraku ware continued on until the

Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of ...

under the 8th generation. Colourful pieces and gorgeous tea utensils were highly valued. Sasashima ware also experienced its heyday during this time. Colourful and soft ceramic items such as sake and tea utensils and objects were produced and intently collected. An early type of manufactured production was the blue-and-white

Kawana ware refers to a type of Japanese porcelain produced in and around the area of Kawana (川名), today Kawanayama-chō (川名山町) in Shōwa-ku, Nagoya, central Japan. It is of the ''sometsuke'' (染付) blue and white pottery type, but notable ...

. With the advent of industrialization during the

of the late 19th century, some export wares were produced. Industrial-scale export porcelain was made by old

Noritake , commonly known as "Noritake," is a tableware and technology company headquartered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. History In 1876, Ichizaemon Morimura VI and his brother Toyo founded Morimura Gumi with the intent of establishing overs ...

, also ''Nagoya E-tsuke'' () became popular. Production of industrial ceramics continues to be an important economic factor with companies such as

INAX is a Japanese company that manufactures plumbing fixtures, tiles, and other housing equipment. INAX is part of the Lixil Group, which was formed in 2011, when Lixil and INAX merged with Tostem and other companies. INAX operates a number of cer ...

, NGK, and NGK Insulators.

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions (MICE)

The city has an increasing role in the

(MICE) industry. It hosted in 1989 the World Design Expo (世界デザイン博覧会) for which the

Nagoya Congress Center The is a multi-purpose convention center, in the city of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The centre was constructed for the World Design Exhibition 1989 (世界デザイン博覧会). Other venues included Nagoya Castle and Nagoya Port. It has ...

was constructed. It hosted the

and the

conference in 2010, as well as the

G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, ...

Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in November 2019, which was held at the

Nagoya Kanko Hotel The Nagoya Kanko Hotel (名古屋観光ホテル) is one of the oldest city hotels in Nagoya, central Japan. It is owned by the Kowa Company. The hotel is located in the prestigious area near the Hirokoji- Fushimi intersection, Nagoya's old comme ...

and

Kawabun The is Nagoya's oldest (traditional restaurant), located in Marunouchi 2-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya. History Founded during the Edo period (1603–1867), the became a successful business that was patronised by the Owari Tokugawa rulers. In ...

Technology

Mechanized puppets, called "

", are a traditional craft from the area.

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

technology is another rapidly developing industry. A materials engineering industry is developing.

, which is known for office electronics such as

multifunction printer An MFP (multi-function product/printer/peripheral), multi-functional, all-in-one (AIO), or multi-function device (MFD), is an office machine which incorporates the functionality of multiple devices in one, so as to have a smaller footprint in a ...

s is based in Nagoya, as is Hoshizaki Electric, which is known for commercial ice machines and refrigeration equipment. Many small

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All m ...

and electronics companies are also based in the area. The World Expo 2005, also known as Aichi Expo was held near Nagoya in the neighboring cities of

and

from March 25 to September 25, 2005.

Retail

Retail is of importance in the city. Traditional department stores with roots in Nagoya are

Matsuzakaya ( TYO: 8235, delisted) is a major Japanese department store chain operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing. When the chain was an independent company, , it had its headquarters in Naka-ku, Nagoya. ...

Maruei Maruei (丸栄) () is a department store in Nagoya Japan. Toyohashi Maruei (豊橋丸栄) in Toyohashi, Aichi is a subsidiary company. Along with Matsuzakaya, Meitetsu, and formerly Oriental Nakamura was a Japanese department store in Sakae ...

and the

Meitetsu Department Store is a department store chain in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan and owned by the Meitetsu rail company. The main store is located above Meitetsu Nagoya Station in Nakamura Ward and first opened in December 1954 ...

Oriental Nakamura was a Japanese department store in Sakae, Nagoya, central Japan. History The history goes back to the year 1869 ( Meiji 2）when the Nakamura a dry goods store was founded on the corner of Honmachi street in Nagoya. Today the Bank of Tokyo ...

was bought by Mitsukoshi from Tokyo in 1977.

Arts and crafts

The Owari province was historically well known for the ''

cloisonné Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...

'' art form. The

Ando Cloisonné Company is a Japanese ''cloisonné'' making company located in Sakae, Nagoya, central Japan. History Owari province was one of the foremost production centres of enamel in the country. During the Edo period the Andō family operated a pipe shop cal ...

continues the long tradition.

Others

The

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

company

Marukawa is a Japanese manufacturer of confectioneries. Its head office is in Nishi-ku, Nagoya.Company Profile
" Marukawa. Retrieved ...

is well known. The city offers venues for conferences and congresses such as the

and the Nagoya International Exhibition Hall.

Education

Nagoya has mostly state-run primary and secondary schools. The area in the city limits includes international schools such as the

Nagoya International School Nagoya International School (NIS) is a private non-sectarian day school in Nagoya, Japan. Instruction is in English. The co-educational school serves students in preschool through high school. Graduates earn a standard NIS diploma or an Internation ...

and Colégio Brasil Japão Prof. Shinoda Brazilian school.

Universities

State and private colleges and universities primarily located in the eastern area. Some Western-style institutions were founded early in the

, with more opening during the Taishō and Shōwa eras.

was set up in 1871 as a medical school and has produced six

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

laureates in science.

Nanzan University is a private, Catholic and coeducational higher education institution run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the Shōwa Ward of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious private universiti ...

was established by the Roman Catholic

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

in 1932 as a high school and expanded to include Nanzan Junior College and the

Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture The is one of the largest centers in the world devoted to scholarly research on the interface of philosophy and religions within the East and West. Founded in 1976 on the campus of Nanzan University, it has established itself in Japan and around t ...

. The main campus was designed in the 1960s by the renowned architect

Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or cs, Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part ...

. Some universities specialise in engineering and technology, such as Nagoya University Engineering school,

and

Toyota Technological Institute The (commonly referred to as TTI) is a university located in Nagoya, Japan. Founded in 1981 by a large endowment from Toyota Motor Corporation, it originally only accepted students with some industrial work experience. TTI has a School of Engi ...

; these universities receive support and grants from companies such as

. Other colleges and universities include:

Aichi Prefectural College of Nursing & Health is a public university in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. The school was established in 1995. See also * Aichi Prefectural University is a public university located in the city of Nagakute, Aichi, Japan. There is a campus in Moriyama-ku, Nagoya which ...

, Aichi Shukutoku Junior College,

Aichi Toho University is a private university in Meitō-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west ...

Daido University is a coeducational private university in Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. History The university began as the Daido Technical-Educational Foundation in 1939. In 1969, the school became the Daido Institute of Technology. The univers ...

Doho University is a private university in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1826, and it was chartered in 1950. It includes the Nagoya College of Music (名古屋音楽大学, ''Nagoya Ongaku Daigaku''), ...

Kinjo Gakuin University is a private women's university in Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, 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 dens ...

Kinjo Gakuin University Junior College was a junior college in Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1950, and closed in 2004. See also * Kinjo Gakuin University is a private women's university in Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture is a prefe ...

Meijo University is a private university in Japan. Its main campus is in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and it has two other campuses in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. It had two faculty members who were Nobel laureates as of 2021. History The name Meijō ...

, Nagoya City University,

Nagoya College of Music is a private university at Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The school was founded as a junior college in 1965 and became a four-year college in 1976. The school is also known locally as Meion (名音). It is sister school of Doho Uni ...

Nagoya Future Culture College is a private junior college in Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the we ...

Nagoya Gakuin University is a private university located in Nagoya, Japan (名古屋市). Founded in 1887 by Dr. Frederick C. Klein, an American Methodist minister, as Aichi English School; the present-day university was established in 1964 with the Faculty of Economi ...

Nagoya Management Junior College is a private junior college located in the city of Owariasahi, very close to the city of Nagoya 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 ...

Nagoya Women's University is a private university, private Women's colleges, women's university in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan with campus at Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Mizuho-ku.The campus at Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Tempaku-ku was closed in 2015 and integrated into the campus at Mizuho-ku, ...

, St. Mary's College, Nagoya, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Sugiyama Jogakuen University Junior College, Tokai Gakuen Women's College. Various universities from outside Nagoya have set up satellite campuses, such as

Tokyo University of Social Welfare is a private university in with its main campus in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo; Kita, Tokyo; Naka-ku, Nagoya; and Isesaki, Gunma.Hōsa Library The Hōsa Library (蓬左文庫) is a library located on the compound of the '' Ōzone Shimoyashiki'' in Nagoya, central Japan. History Tokugawa Yoshinao, the first lord of the Owari Domain, established it as an official archive. It was transfe ...

dates to the 17th century and houses 110,000 items, including books of classic literature such as historic editions of '' The Tale of Genji'' that are an heirloom of the

Owari Tokugawa The is a branch of the Tokugawa clan, and it is the seniormost house of the ''Gosanke'' ("three honourable houses of the Tokugawa").Nagoya City Archives Nagoya City Archives (名古屋市市政資料館) is a historic building located in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. It was constructed in 1922 during the Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 ...

store a large collection of documents and books.

Tsuruma Central Library is a Public Library serving Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. It is a central library of the consisting of 20 buildings. It was established in 1923 but burned down in 1945 in the Second World War and reopened in 1952. It is closed every Monday, unless ...

is a public library and

has a collection of foreign-language books. ;National Universities * * ;Prefectural University * * ;Private Universities * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Transportation

Meitetsu 2000 system and 2200 system trains

Airways

Airport

Nagoya is served by

Chubu Centrair International Airport is an international airport on an artificial island in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan. Centrair is classified as a first class airport and is the main international gateway for the Chubu (" ...

(NGO), built on an artificial island in

. The airport has international flights and a high volume of domestic flights. A second airport is

(Komaki Airport, NKM) near the city's boundary with

and Kasugai. On February 17, 2005, Nagoya Airport's commercial international flights moved to Centrair Airport. Nagoya Airfield is now used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and as an

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and is the main

Fuji Dream Airlines is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. It operates a fleet of Embraer E-Jets with three main hubs at Shizuoka Airport, Nagoya Airfield and Kobe Airport. The airline commenced operations on Jul ...

hub.

Railways

, the world's largest train station by floor area, is on the

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...

line, the

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

, and the

Chūō Main Line The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...

, among others.

JR Central 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 ...

, which operates the

, has its headquarters there.

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 ...

is also based in Nagoya, and along with

Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation. It may also refer to: Companies * Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway ** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...

provides regional rail service to the

and

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

High-speed rail

;

line

Conventional lines

;

Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both comp ...

Subways

Nagoya Subway provides urban transit service.

Buses

Several private and public bus companies operate with of routes throughout the region. Most local bus routes complement existing rail service to form an effective intermodal transit network. *

Nagoya Municipal Bus The is a bus service operated by the Bus Service Division of the . It is also called . The bureau mainly operates bus routes in the wards of Nagoya. See also *List of bus operating companies in Japan List of bus operating companies in Japan ...

Meitetsu Bus is a bus company in the Meitetsu Group. Bus Lines Highway Buses *Chuo Highway Bus **Meitetsu BC - Shinjuku **Meitetsu BC - Iida **Meitetsu BC - Ina, Komagane, Minowa **Meitetsu BC - Matsumoto **Meitetsu BC - Nagano **Meitetsu BC - Niig ...

Mie Kotsu , also known as , is a public transportation company which operates local and long-distance buses in Mie prefecture, Japan. The company has other ventures, including a taxicab business and real estate. Mie Kotsu used to also own railway lines, b ...

Roads

Expressways

Nagoya Expressway The is a network of urban expressways in Japan serving the greater Nagoya area. It is owned and managed by Nagoya Expressway Public Corporation. Overview The first section of the Nagoya Expressway network opened to traffic in 1979. As of 2008, ...

Mei-Nikan Expressway The , or , is a partially completed tolled expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company. Upon completion, the expressway will form a second ring road around Nagoya in conjunction with the Isewangan Expre ...

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels Nati ...

Isewangan Expressway The is a national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The route primarily follows the north shore of Ise Bay (wangan means bayshore in Japanese). Officially, the route ...

Higashi-Meihan Expressway The is a four lane national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming Meihan is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Nagoya (名古屋) and the se ...

Chitahantō Road The (lit. Chita Peninsula Road) is a 4-laned toll road in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by Aichi Prefectural Road Public Corporation. Overview A portion of the road was opened to traffic in 1970 and the entire road was completed in 19 ...

Japan National Route

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Seaways

Seaport

Nagoya Port The , located in Ise Bay, is the largest and busiest trading port in Japan, accounting for about 10% of the total trade value of Japan. Notably, this port is the largest exporter of cars in Japan and where the Toyota Motor Corporation exports most ...

is the largest port by international trade value in Japan.

exports via this port. Nagoya is known for its orderly grid street plan for which the shōgun

is ultimately responsible. File:Nagoya Station at night01.jpg,

File:Oasis 21 - Spaceship Aqua - 01.JPG,

Oasis 21 Oasis 21 is a modern facility located adjacent to Nagoya TV Tower in Sakae, Nagoya which was opened to the public in 2002. It contains restaurants, stores, and a bus terminal, as well as an area for tourist information. The building is mostly un ...

bus terminal File:Shiyakusho Station 1060.JPG, Entrance to Shiyakusho Subway Station File:KAMIYASHIRO STATION.JPG,

Nagoya Municipal Subway The is a rapid transit system serving Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of six lines that cover of route and serve 87 stations. Approximately 90% of the subway's total track length is underground. The subway system ...

File:Airport Walk NAGOYA 01.JPG,

File:Nagoya Port 02.jpg,

File:Meikou.jpg,

File:Nagoya Expwy. Ring Route 20160401B.JPG,

Sightseeing

Nagoya's two most famous sightseeing spots are

and

. * Atsuta Shrine is the second-most venerable shrine in Japan, after

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inn ...

. It is said to hold the

sword, one of the three

imperial regalia of Japan The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).

, but it is not on public display. It holds around 70 festivals per year. The shrine hosts over 4,400

national treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

s that span its 2,000 year history. * Nagoya Castle was built in 1612. Although a large part of it burned down during World War II, the castle was restored in 1959, adding amenities such as elevators. The castle is famous for two magnificent on the roof, often used as the symbol of Nagoya. Other attractions include: *

and Hisaya-Ōdori Park, located in the central Sakae district * JR Central Towers is part of the

: The new international sales headquarters for

features Japan's highest open-air observation deck. * The

area, which includes the former Italian-themed shopping mall called

Italia Mura was a themed commercial complex operated within the Nagoya Port Garden area within Nagoya Port in Minato-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It consisted of theme park attractions such gondola and horse-drawn carriage rides as well as Italian-t ...

as well as the popular

. *

and the

* The

near Nagoya station *

: The maximum old burial mound (

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

) in Aichi. * The

factory: The home of Noritake fine chinaware is open to visitors and allows people to learn about the history of the establishment. It includes a cafe, information/technology displays, and shopping facilities, so visitors can spend a whole day wandering through the displays and grounds. It also holds a few unrestored areas that serve as reminders of devastation caused by the final stages of World War II. * The

SCMaglev and Railway Park The is a railway museum owned by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Nagoya, Japan. The museum opened on 14 March 2011. The museum features 39 full-size railway vehicles and one bus exhibit, train cab simulators, and railway model d ...

* The

Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts The was an art museum in Nagoya, Japan, that operated from 1999 to 2018. History A sister institution of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (the MFA), the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts was established in partnership with the Foundation for t ...

(N/BMFA) * The Ōsu shopping district and nearby temples, Ōsu Kannon and Banshō-ji * The

Tokugawa Art Museum The is a private art museum, located on the former '' Ōzone Shimoyashiki'' compound in Nagoya, central Japan. Its collection contains more than 12,000 items, including swords, armor, Noh costumes and masks, lacquer furniture, Chinese and Japane ...

and the

Tokugawa Garden The Tokugawa Garden (徳川園 Tokugawa-en) is a Japanese garden in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. It is located next to the Tokugawa Art Museum. History In the early Edo period (1603-1867), Tokugawa Mitsutomo (1625-1700), the second lo ...

, a surrounding Japanese garden * The Nagoya City Science and Art Museums, located in Shirakawa Park, not far from Fushimi Subway Station * The

MUFG is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. MUFG holds assets of around US$3.1 trillion as of 2016 and is one of the "Three Great Houses" of the Mitsubishi Group alongside Mitsubishi Corpor ...

Money Museum, now located near the Akatsuka-shirakabe 赤塚白壁 bus stop on Dekimachi-dōri. *

Legoland Japan is a theme park in Nagoya, Japan. It opened on April 1, 2017. It is the first Legoland theme park in Japan; the second in Asia, after Legoland Malaysia Resort; and the eighth worldwide. The park was projected to attract over two million visito ...

, Japan's first

Legoland Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park com ...

resort.

Gallery

File:Ferris Wheel at Sakae.jpg, Sakae Town File:愛知県名古屋市中村区名駅１丁目１ - panoramio.jpg, Meieki Town File:Kanayama Station south entrance 2020-10 ac (2).jpg, Kanayama Town File:名古屋ドームから - panoramio.jpg, Ozone Town File:Nagoya Imaike night view 2016.JPG, Imaike Town File:HoshigaokaTerrace West Upstairs.jpg, Hoshigaoka Town File:Yabacho.JPG, Yabacho Town File:Atsuta Shrine.jpg,

File:Tenshuhonmaru.jpg,

File:Jorakuden1.jpg, Honmaru Palace (Nagoya Castle) File:Osukannon.jpg, Ōsu Kannon File:Banshoji.jpg, Banshō-ji File:Arako kannon2.jpg,

Arako Kannon , also known as is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple located in Nagoya in central Japan. It has a wooden pagoda which is one of Japan's oldest, dating to the 16th century. Maeda Toshiie's family bodhisattva. References External links

B ...

File:Toyotasangyoukinen8.JPG,

File:SCMaglev and Railway Park1.JPG,

File:オアシス21から臨むテレビ塔(Night view of illuminated Nagoya TV Tower from Oasis 21) 23 Aug, 2015 - panoramio.jpg, The

and

File:Nagoya TV Tower4.jpg,

（Nagoya Central Park） File:Osu1.JPG, Ōsu shopping district File:Aquarium + Giant wheel + Fuji Icebreaker - view from the lighthouse - Nagoya Port - Japan (15676490678).jpg,

Garden Wharf File:Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium1.jpg,

File:Higashiyamashokubutu7.JPG,

File:Tougokusan2.JPG, Togokusan Fruits Park File:Shonai-ryokuchi05.jpg,

Shōnai Greens The , also known as ''Shōnai Park'', are located in Nishi-ku, Nagoya in central Japan. The Shōnai River passes by south of the park. Access by public transport is by Shōnai Ryokuchi Kōen Station on the Tsurumai Line The is a subway lin ...

File:Tsurumakouen1.JPG,

File:Tokugawa Museum.JPG,

File:Sirotoriteien.JPG, Shirotori Park File:WILDFLOWER GARDEN BLUEBONNET.jpg, Nagoya Port Wildflower Garden BlueBonnet File:Arimatsu Historic Townscape, Midori Ward Nagoya 2013.jpg,

Arimatsu is a town in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It houses the Arimatsu Station of the Meitetsu-Nagoya Line, roughly southeast of downtown Nagoya. The town merged into Nagoya on 1 December 1964, and is now a part of Midori-ku, Nagoya. The town is kno ...

File:Nakamurakouen1.JPG, Nakamura Park File:Hutabahouse.jpg, Cultural Path Futaba Museum (The residences of

Sada Yacco Sada Yacco or was a Japanese geisha, actress and dancer. Early life Sadayakko Kawakami was born July 18, 1871, the youngest of twelve children. "My grandfather on my mother's side was an assistant magistrate and rather famous, I hear. Our house ...

) File:Toyotasasukehouse.jpg, Cultural Path Sasuke Toyoda House File:Nixtutaiji5.JPG,

Nittai-ji Kakuōzan Nittai-ji (覚王山日泰寺, ''Japan-Thailand Temple'') is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, Japan. It was built in 1904 in order to keep the ashes of Buddha, given to Japan by the Kingdom of Thailan ...

Noritake garden2.jpg,

Noritake Garden The Noritake Garden (ノリタケの森) is located in the city of 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 ...

File:Nagoya Cty Science Museum 03, Sakae Naka Ward Nagoya 2020.jpg,

Nagoya City Science Museum The is a museum located in Sakae, Nagoya, the center of Nagoya City, in central Japan. The museum houses one of the largest planetarium in the world and has three main sections on modern technology, life sciences and general science with a var ...

File:Danpusan-kofun 04.JPG,

File:Maker’s Pier Overview1 201706.jpg, Maker's Pier File:Legoland japan.jpg,

File:@NAGOYA.jpg, @NAGOYA( Sannomaru)

Surrounding area

Nagoya is a starting point for visits to the surrounding area, such as Inuyama, Little World Museum of Man,

Meiji Mura is an open-air architectural museum/theme park in Inuyama, near Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, Japan. It was opened on March 18, 1965. The museum preserves historic buildings from Japan's Meiji (1867–1912), Taishō (1912–1926), and early Sh ...

, Himakajima, Tahara,

Toyohashi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-la ...

and

Toyokawa is a city in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 183,930 in 72,949 households, and a population density of 1,141 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Toyokawa, famous for its Toyoka ...

and

Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview ...

. Reachable with at most a two-hour journey are

, Gujo Hachiman, Gifu,

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

Takayama, Gifu file:高山市役所.JPG, Takayama City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,473 in 35,644 households, and a population density of 41 persons per km2. The total area of ...

, Gero Onsen and the hill stations in the Kiso Valley

Magome was the forty-third 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 city of Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was also the l ...

and

Tsumago was the forty-second of the sixty-nine post towns on the Nakasendō. It is located in Nagiso, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has been restored to its appearance as an Edo-era post town and is now a popular tourist destination. ...

Culture

Nagoya was a major trading city and political seat of the Owari lords, the most important house of the Tokugawa clan. They encouraged trade and the arts under their patronage, especially

Tokugawa Muneharu was a ''daimyō'' in Japan during the Edo period. He was the seventh Tokugawa lord of the Owari Domain, and one of the ''gosanke''. Biography Muneharu was the 20th son

, the 7th lord, who took a keen interest in drama and plays and lived lavishly. Under his rule, actors and actresses began to visit Nagoya. Arts and culture was further supported by the city's wealthy merchants. Culture flourished after the feudal

and the beginning of the Meiji era. During World War II many old buildings and artefacts were destroyed. The region's economic and financial power in the post-war years rekindled the artistic and cultural scene. File:Tokugawabijutsukan1.JPG, The Tokugawa Art Museum, which houses some of the finest art treasures of Japan File:Toyotasangyoukinen5.JPG, Textile Machinery Pavilion in the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology File:SCMaglev and Railway Park in Aichi Prefecture.jpg, SCMaglev and Railway Park File:Shirakawa Park 20161119A.jpg, Nagoya City Science Museum File:Aichi Arts Center exterior ac.jpg, Aichi Arts Center in Sakae File:Tokugawaendashizoroe1.JPG, Tsutsui-chō/Dekimachi tennōsai File:Nagoyamatsuri7.JPG, Nagoya matsuri File:Arimatsu festival.jpg, Arimatsu autumn festival File:Osu-2008 Oiran-dochu-02.jpg, ''Daidō-chōnin Matsuri'' in Ōsu File:Nagoya obi.JPG, The Nagoya ''obi'', the most popular type for ''kimono'' throughout Japan

Museums

Nagoya has multiple museums, including traditional and modern art, handicrafts to industrial high-tech, natural and scientific museums. Nagoya Castle's collection is from the Owari Tokugawa era. The main tower is a museum that details the history of the castle and the city. The Honmaru Palace, destroyed in World War II, is slated for reconstruction by 2016 and will again be a prime example of the ''

Shoin-zukuri is a style of Japanese residential architecture used in the mansions of the military, temple guest halls, and Zen abbot's quarters of the Muromachi (1336－1573), Azuchi–Momoyama (1568–1600) and Edo periods (1600–1868). It forms the basis ...

'' architecture of the feudal era.

is a private museum belonging to the Owari Tokugawa, who lived in Nagoya castle for 16 generations. Among other things, it contains 10 designated

national Treasures of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scien ...

, including some of the oldest scrolls of '' The Tale of Genji''. The Nagoya Noh Theatre houses various precious objects of

Noh theatre is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ...

. The

Nagoya City Museum The is a museum of the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The Nagoya City Museum was established in 1977. Its collection includes archaeological materials, fine art, crafts, documents, books and folk materials including samurai armor a ...

showcases the history of the town.

Yōki-sō ''Yōki-sō'' (揚輝荘) is a Japanese villa and gardens located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, central Japan. It is close to Nittai-ji temple. History The grounds were built for Itō Suketami (1878-1940), the president of the Matsuzakaya ( T ...

is a villa and gardens located in Chikusa-ku, close to Nittai-ji. It was constructed in the Taishō era for Ito Jirozaemon Suketami XV, the first president of

. Paintings and sculpture are exhibited at the

Nagoya City Art Museum The is located in the city of Nagoya in central Japan. The museum building itself was constructed by Kisho Kurokawa, one of the leading Japanese architects, from 1983 to 1987. Works by the surrealist Kansuke Yamamoto, Sean Scully, and Alexand ...

. Modern art is displayed at the

. The Aichi Arts Center also is the venue of rotating exhibitions. The city is also home to the

, a sister museum to the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, which was founded to bring aspects of the MFA's collection to Japan. The art of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

and ceramics can be seen at the

. Toyota has two museums in the city, the

Toyota Automobile Museum The is a large museum showcasing Toyota's storied past. It is a large complex located in Nagakute city, a city close to Nagoya, Japan. Collection Unlike the Toyota USA Automobile Museum, the museum in Nagoya also features many cars from other ...

which shows vintage cars, and the

, which showcases company history, including its start as a

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

. The

Nagoya City Tram & Subway Museum The is a museum located in the city of Nisshin, Aichi, Japan. It is owned and operated by the Transportation Bureau of the City of Nagoya. The museum houses a collection of Nagoya's old subway trains and trams. The museum visitors can exper ...

has trams and subway cars, as well as the

. The

opened in March 2011 with various trains from the Central Japan Railway Company. Other art museums in Aichi prefecture are the

Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum The is a prefectural art museum located in the city of Seto, north of the metropolis of Nagoya in central Japan. This museum was formally named "Aichi-ken Toji Shiryokan (愛知県陶磁資料館)", but the name in English has been the same as b ...

and the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.

is an open-air museum with salvaged buildings from the Meiji, Taishō and Showa eras. Another museum in Nagoya is the

Mandolin Melodies Museum is a private museum in 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, ...

. Other museums in the city include the International Design Centre Nagoya, the

Japan Spinning Top Museum The Japan Spinning Top Museum (日本独楽博物館) is a toy museum located in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. History The spinning top, called ''koma'' (独楽) was and still is a popular traditional toy in Japan and the Chubu region. The ...

and the

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Money Museum The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Money Museum (三菱東京UFJ銀行貨幣資料館) is a numismatic museum located in Nagoya, central Japan. As "Tokai Bank Money Museum", it opened in 1961. After a name change due to bank mergers, the present n ...

. The civic authorities promote tourism and have taken steps to safeguard architectural heritage by earmarking them as cultural assets. Apart from the castle, temples, shrines and museums in the city, a " Cultural Path" was instituted in the 1980s, located between the Tokugawa Art Museum and Nagoya Castle. This residential area has historic buildings such as the Nagoya City Archives, the Nagoya City Hall main building, the Aichi Prefectural Office main building, the Futaba Museum, the former residence of Sasuke Toyoda, the former residence of Tetsujiro Haruta and the Chikaramachi Catholic Church. Most buildings date from the Meiji and Taishō era and are protected.

Theatres

Nō is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

'' and ''

Kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside ''Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; therefo ...

'' theatre date back to the feudal times of the Owari Tokugawa lords. The

at Nagoya Castle continues that tradition and is a prominent feature in the cultural life of the city, with monthly performances. Developed during the Edo period, one of Japan's ''

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

'' grand stages is

, which also hosts various other Japanese entertainment such as concerts. In 1912, the musician Gorō Morita invented the

Nagoya harp 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 ...

music instrument. In 1992, the large, modern

was opened in Sakae. It is the main venue for

performing art The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...

s, featuring a main hall that can be used for

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and theatre and a concert hall. The

Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Nagoya, Japan, founded in 1966. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall and the Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts Aurora Hall. The orchestra gave ...

performs there, as well as many visiting guest orchestras.

''Ikebana''

is a school of ''

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

'', or

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

floral art Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floristry is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Professionally ...

. It was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Nagoya.

Festivals

Apart from the main national

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

and holidays, other festivals in Nagoya are unique to the city/region. Major events include the June Atsuta Festival, the July Port Festival, the August Nagoya Castle Summer Festival Castle and the October Nagoya Festival. Wards and areas host local festivals such as the in Ōsu.

Dialect

The is spoken in the western half of Aichi Prefecture, centering on Nagoya. It is also called . The Nagoya dialect is relatively close to

standard Japanese is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...

and to the

Kansai dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...

, differing in pronunciation and vocabulary.

Handicrafts

The industry of

Japanese handicrafts Traditional in Japan have a long tradition and history. Included in the category of traditional crafts are handicrafts produced by an individual or a group, as well as work produced by independent studio artists working with traditional craft m ...

in the city is centuries old. * Arimatsu and Narumi dye: during the construction of Nagoya Castle in the 17th century, the lords of Owari called in skilled craftsmen from

Bungo Province was a province of Japan in eastern Kyūshū in the area of Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, Hyūga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces. History At the end of the 7th century, Toyo ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, known for their tie-dyed fabrics. These craftsmen and their families were treated generously by the Owari and settled in the Arimatsu und Narumi neighbourhoods. Only the base fabric is dyed, leaving parts that were knotted as white spots. This highly specialised process requires 6–12 months to complete. * ''

Geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland *Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get� ...

clog Clogs are a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Used in many parts of the world, their forms can vary by culture, but often remained unchanged for centuries within a culture. Traditional clogs remain in use as protective f ...

straps: wooden clogs called ''geta'' were the shoes of the feudal era. The Owari devised a unique pattern for the cotton straps of the clogs and ordered them to be made by local weavers. The technique has developed over the generations. The straps became stronger and more resilient but more comfortable for the feet with the discovery of cotton velvet. * ''Shippo'': the technique for

enamelware Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Latin ...

called ''shippo'' arrived from the Netherlands towards the end of the Edo period. The patterns appear almost transparent and are often used on pottery. * Candles:

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...

is taken from a

wax tree Wax tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Catalpa'' *'' Ligustrum lucidum'', native to southern China *''Toxicodendron succedaneum ''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), ...

and painted around a rope made of grass and Japanese paper (''

washi is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''Ed ...

'') over and over again into layers. When cut in half, the candle looks as if it grew like a tree with rings. Japanese candles produce less smoke and are harder to blow out, since the

wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

tends to be larger. Artists paint the candles in coloured patterns. * ''Yuzen'': the art of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

dyeing was introduced by craftsmen from Kyoto during the rule of Owari Togukawa. The initial designs were extravagant and brightly coloured, but over time became more muted and light-coloured. * ''Sekku Ningyo'': festival dolls were introduced by markets during the Meiji era. Nagoya craftsmen rank among the top producers. * The city also gave its name to a type of ''

obi #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...

'', the sash that is used to tie a ''

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

''. The term ''Nagoya obi'' can refer to an older type of ''obi'' used centuries ago. This type was cord-like. The current – or to differentiate from the ''fukuro Nagoya obi'', also called – is the most-used ''obi'' type today. It was developed by a seamstress living in Nagoya at the end of the 1920s. The new, easy-to-use obi gained popularity among Tokyo's geisha, from whom it then was adopted by fashionable city women for their everyday wear. The ''Nagoya obi'' was originally for everyday wear, not for ceremonial outfits, but one made from exquisite brocade can be accepted as semi-ceremonial wear. A more formal version is called the or , which is more formal. *

has a long tradition due to suitable clay being available in

. Seto ware and

Tokoname ware is a type of Japanese pottery, stoneware, and ceramics produced in and around the municipality of Tokoname, Aichi, in central Japan. Tokoname was the location of one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. History Pottery made in Tokoname dates ...

are from the region. In the town itself

, Toyoraku ware,

and

were produced. * ''

Netsuke A is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an box, later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship. History Traditionally, Japanese clothing – ...

'' artists such as

Tametaka Tametaka (為隆) was a renowned ''netsuke'' carver from 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 P ...

and

Ikkan Ikkan (一貫) (1817–1893) was one of the most renowned ''netsuke'' artists in Japan during the Edo period. He was from Nagoya, Owari province, central Japan. His pieces can be found in many museum collections and achieve high prices at auction ...

were well-known during the Edo period.

Cuisine

The city and the region are known for its unique local . Dishes include: * ''Tebasaki'': chicken wings marinated in a sweet sauce with sesame seeds, basically a type of ''

yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves skewering the meat with , a type of skewer typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials. Afterwards, they are grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, th ...

'' * ''

Tenmusu Tenmusu, also spelled as ten-musu, is a dish in Japanese cuisine that consists of a rice ball wrapped with nori that is filled with deep-fried tempura shrimp. Tenmusu is sometimes included as a food in bento boxes. History Tenmusu originated in ...

'': a rice ball wrapped with nori that is filled with deep-fried tempura shrimp * ''Kishimen'': flat ''

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

'' noodles with a slippery texture, dipped in a light soy sauce soup and a sliced

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

or other flavouring added. It can be eaten cold or hot. * Red ''miso'': various dishes that use red ''

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spread ...

'', such as ''miso katsu'' ( pork cutlet) with sweet ''miso'' sauce and ''miso nikomi udon'' (hard ''udon'' stewed in ''miso'' soup) * ''Hitsumabushi'': rice dish with ''

unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel, particularly the Japanese eel, . Unagi is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking, often as '' kabayaki''. It is not to be confused with saltwater eel, which is known as '' anago'' in Japanese. ...

'' in a lidded wooden container. This dish is enjoyed three ways; as ''

unadon is a dish originating in Japan. It consists of a '' donburi'' type large bowl filled with steamed white rice, and topped with fillets of eel (''unagi'') grilled in a style known as ''kabayaki'', similar to teriyaki. The fillets are glazed with a ...

'', with spice and as ''

chazuke ''Chazuke'' (茶漬け, ちゃづけ) or ''ochazuke'' ( お茶漬け, from ( o)''cha'' ' tea' + ''tsuke'' 'submerge') is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring green tea,Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

'' movie was in Nagoya on October 27, 1954. The city, especially Nagoya Castle, has been featured in two other Godzilla movies: '' Mothra vs. Godzilla'' and ''

Godzilla vs. Mothra is a 1992 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 19th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the fourth film in the ...

''. The city is also featured in '' Gamera vs. Gyaos'' and is the main setting of 2003 film '' Gozu.'' The 1995 film '' The Hunted'' starring

Christopher Lambert Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...

and the 1992 film '' Mr. Baseball'' starring

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...

were also filmed in the city. The city was the setting for the 2007 movie '' Ashita e no yuigon'' (translated as ''Best Wishes for Tomorrow''), in which a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

war criminal sets out to take responsibility for the execution of U.S. airmen. The anime ''

The Wind Rises is a 2013 Japanese animated historical drama film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Walt Disney Japan, Mitsubishi, Toho and KDDI. It was rele ...

'' by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

, released in 2013, is a highly fictionalized biography of the

's chief engineer

Jiro Horikoshi was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. Early life Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...

and takes mostly place in Nagoya of the 1920s and 1930s. Nagoya is also the setting for the manga and anime series

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Masaki Andō. It was serialized in Ichijinsha's '' Monthly Comic Rex'' magazine from May 2016 to September 2022. An anime television series adaptation by Saetta aired from Apr ...

, which highlights many of the sites and traditions of the city.

Sports

Konami Cup Asia Series Champions Chunichi Dragons No,2

Nagoya is home to several professional sports teams: In 2007, the Chunichi Dragons won the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

baseball championship. In 2010, Nagoya Grampus won the J. League championship, their first in team history. Nagoya is also the home of the Nagoya Barbarians semi-pro

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

club. A ''

honbasho A is an official professional sumo tournament. The number of ''honbasho'' every year has varied along the years; since 1958 there are six tournaments every year. Only ''honbasho'' results matter in determining promotion and relegation for ''riki ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

tournament is held every July at the

Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium , also known as , is a multi-purpose gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan, built in 1964. Overview Located on the site of the secondary enclosure of Nagoya Castle, it is host to numerous concerts and events. The gymnasium has 4,375 fixed seats, and can ...

. The city has hosted

The Crowns is a professional golf tournament that is played over Nagoya Golf Club's Wagō Course in Tōgō, Aichi, Japan. Founded in 1960, it has been an event on the Japan Golf Tour schedule since the tour's first season in 1973. History The Crowns was ...

golf tournament since 1960 and the women's

Nagoya Marathon The , named until the 2010 race, is an annual marathon race for female runners over the classic distance of 42 km and 195 metres, held in Nagoya, Japan in early March every year. It holds World Athletics Platinum road race status. It i ...

since 1984. In September 2016 the city was awarded the right to host the 2026

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

after it was the only city to lodge a bid. It will be the third time Japan hosts the event after Tokyo in 1958 and

in 1994. The city hosted the official 1979 Asian Basketball Championship. Later, it became one of the host cities of the official Women's Volleyball World Championship for its

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

editions. File:ナゴヤドーム - panoramio (2).jpg, Nagoya Dome File:Binnenkant van Nagoya Dome, -21 maart 2019 a.jpg,

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

File:Dolphins Arena 20180923-01.jpg, The

is used for Sumo wrestling and other events File:Dolphins Arena02.jpg,

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins The are a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. Prior to their entry into the B.League in September 2016, the club was the corporate team of Mitsubishi Electric. In 2020, the Diamond Dolphins ...

File:Mizuho Koen Stadium 20160815-02.jpg,

Mizuho Athletic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nagoya, Japan. It was formerly known as Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium ( ja, 名古屋市瑞穂公園陸上競技場, Nagoyashi Mizuho Kōen Rikujō Kyōgijō). Since April 2015 it has been called Paloma ...

File:瑞穂陸上競技場1 - panoramio.jpg,

Nagoya Grampus (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the c ...

File:Mizuho Rugby Stadium.jpg,

Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium due to a naming rights deal with gas heater construction company ''Paloma'', is a rugby stadium in Nagoya, Japan. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches. The stadium holds 15,000 people and was built in 1941. Overview It was former ...

File:Toyota-Sports-Center-2.jpg,

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is ...

Notable people

Historical figures

The three samurais who unified Japan in the 16th century all have strong links to Nagoya: *

(1534–1582), from

(1536–1598), one of

's top generals *

(1543–1616), born in

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

, (the eastern half of modern Aichi prefecture) Other samurai include: *

(the first ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' of the

) *

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...

(samurai of the

) *

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods of the 16th century. He served as senior retainer to the O ...

(samurai of the Sengoku period) *

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

(samurai of the Sengoku period) *

Katō Kiyomasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake. Biography ...

(samurai of the Sengoku period) * Sassa Narimasa (samurai of the Sengoku period) * Sakuma Nobumori (samurai of the Sengoku period) * Sakuma Morimasa (samurai of the Sengoku period) * Maeda Toshimasu (Maeda Keijirō, samurai of the Sengoku period)

Inventors and industrialists

* Sakichi Toyoda (1867–1930), prolific inventor from Shizuoka Prefecture * Kiichiro Toyoda (1894–1952), son of Sakichi Toyoda, established

* Akio Morita (1921–1999), co-founder of Sony *

(1903–1982), worked in Nagoya as chief engineer of the

fighter

Executive officers

* Yoichi Wada

Writers

*Yokoi Yayū (1702–1783), haiku poet and samurai in Owari Domain *Ryukichi Terao (born 1971), Hispanist and translator of Latin American literature

Performing artists of Japan

Musicians and composers

* Etsuko Hirose (born 1979), classical pianist * Moa Kikuchi (born 1999), Japanese musician, singer, dancer, model, and actress (member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and a former member of the Japanese idol, idol group Sakura Gakuin) * Home Made Kazoku, Japanese hip hop music, hip hop Trio (music), trio * Yōsei Teikoku, five-member Japanese musical unit * Spyair, Japanese rock band * Kiyoharu (born 1968), Japanese musician and singer-songwriter, known for his work with Kuroyume and Sads (band), Sads * Koji Kondo (born 1961), Japanese music composer, pianist, and music director who works for the video game company Nintendo. * Seamo (Real Name: Naoki Takada, Nihongo: 高田尚輝, ''Takada Naoki'', born 1975), Japanese hip hop music, hip hop recording artist * Takanori Iwata (born 1989), Japanese dancer and actor (member of J-pop boygroups Sandaime J Soul Brothers and Exile (Japanese band), Exile) * Naomi Tamura (born 1963), Japanese pop singer and songwriter * Kazuki Kato (born 1984), Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and singer * Lullatone, Japanese musical duo * Aya Hirano (born 1987), Japanese actor, voice actor and singer * Jasmine You (1979–2009), Japanese musician, best known as original bassist of the symphonic metal band Versailles (band), Versailles * Outrage (band), Outrage, Japanese thrash metal band * Enako (born 1994), cosplayer * Sho Hirano (born 1997), member of King & Prince * Kanon Suzuki (born 1998), former idol and singer (former member of Japanese girl idol group Morning Musume) * Shinichi Suzuki (violinist), Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998), Japanese musician, philosopher, and educator and the founder of the international Suzuki method of music education and developed a philosophy for educating people of all ages and abilities * nobodyknows+, Japanese hip hop music, hip hop band * SKE48, Japanese Japanese idol, idol group * Okada Yukiko (1967–1986), Japanese idol and winner of the talent show Star Tanjō! in Tokyo, Japan * Coldrain, Japanese rock band * May'n (Real Name: Mei Nakabayashi, Nihongo: 中林芽依, ''Nakabayashi Mei'', born 1989), Japanese singer * Team Shachi, Japanese female Japanese idol, idol group * Kero Kero Bonito, Sarah Midori Perry * INTO1, Uno Santa * Cherry Bullet, Kokoro

Actors

* Kaede Hondo * Akari Kitō * Matt McCooey, British actor of Japanese ancestry * Naoko Mori * Kaito Nakamura (actor), Kaito Nakamura * The Nose sisters: Anna, Erena, and Karina Nose, Karina * Naomi Kawashima * Hirotaka Suzuoki * Hiroshi Tachi * Emi Takei * Hiroshi Tamaki * Kokoro Terada * Toshihiko Nakajima * Yuki Yamada (actor), Yūki Yamada

Athletes

* Miki Ando * Mao Asada * Mai Asada * Kazuki Himeno * Midori Ito * Jong Tae-se * Takahiko Kozuka * Takashi Sugiura * Último Dragón * Shoma Uno * Yoshiaki Oiwa * Takamoto Katsuta * Hugh Barter * Takuma Koga * Takuma Koga (racing driver)

Manga artists

* Akane Ogura * Akira Toriyama * Mohiro Kitoh

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Nagoya City official website

WikiSatellite view of Nagoya at WikiMapia

Nagoya International Center

Official Tourism Guide – Nagoya Travel Guide
{{Authority control Nagoya, Cities in Aichi Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan 1889 establishments in Japan Populated places established in 1889 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan