is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. The city is sometimes called Owarichinomiya to avoid confusion with other municipalities of the same name, including

Ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

(now part of the city of

Toyokawa is a Cities of Japan, 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, famou ...

) and

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 379,654 in 161,434 households, and a population density of 3,336 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Ichinomiya is situated in western

, bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the west. The Kiso River and the Gojō River both flow through the city.

Climate

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

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Ichinomiya is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1833 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Ichinomiya population statistics
/ref> the population of Ichinomiya has increased steadily over the past 70 years.

Neighboring municipalities

;

Inazawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 135,580 in 54,999 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Geography Inazawa is located in the flatlands o ...

* Iwakura * Kitanagoya * Kiyosu * Kōnan ;

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

* Ginan * Hashima * Kakamigahara * Kasamatsu

City scape

File:Ichinomiya Skyline4.jpg,

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

of Ichinomiya City File:UmegaePark05.jpg,

of Owari-Ichinomiya File:138 Tower Park from Jukan Tower.jpg, 138 Tower Park File:尾張一宮駅 - panoramio2021.jpg, Downtown of Ichinomiya

History

Origins

" literally means "the first shrine" of a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ancient history

In case 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 w ...

, this was

Masumida Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Masumida neighborhood of the city of Ichinomiya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Owari Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on April 3. Enshrined ''kami'' The ''kami'' ...

, which dates to the

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

and was located close to the

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

in what is now the city of

Feudal period

Ichinomiya developed as a ''monzen-machi'' from the

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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

and was part of the holdings of

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

under the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

Late modern period

Meiji period

In the early

Meiji period The was 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 colonizatio ...

, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the town of Ichinomiya was created within Nakashima District Ichinomiya was raised to city status on September 1, 1921.

Contemporary history

Modern Ichinomiya

The city annexed the neighboring villages of Haguri and Nishinari in 1940, and with an additional eight surrounding municipalities (the villages of Chiaki, Tanyo, and Kitakata, and the towns of Asai, Yamato, Akiwara, Oku and a portion of Imaise) in 1955. On April 1, 2002, Ichinomiya was designated as a special city, with increased local autonomy. On April 1, 2005, the city was further expanded by absorbing the city of Bisai, and the town of Kisogawa (from Haguri District) which made it the fourth largest in

, after

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, and

Toyohashi is a Cities of Japan, 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 Prefec ...

. On April 1, 2021, Ichinomiya was designated as a

core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...

, with increased local autonomy.

Government

Mayor-council

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

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 38 members.

Prefectural Assembly

The city contributes five members to the

Aichi Prefectural Assembly The is the legislative assembly of Aichi Prefecture. Its 103 members are elected in 57 districts by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) to four-year terms. The assembly is responsible for enacting and amending prefectural ordinances, voting o ...

House of Representatives

In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Aichi District 9 and Aichi District 10 of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Public

Police

* Aichi Prefectural Police **Ichinomiya police station

Firefighting

*Fire department **Ichinomiya fire department

Health care

*Hospital **Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital **Kisogawa Municipal Hospital

Post office

*Bisai Post office *Ichinomiya Post office

Library

*Ichinomiya City Library File:Ichinomiya Police Station.JPG, Ichinomiya Police Station File:Ichinomiya Fire Dept.JPG, Ichinomiya Fire Department File:Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital in the evening A.jpg, Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital File:Ichinomiya post office 21003.JPG, Ichinomiya Post Office File:Ichinomiya City central library ac (2).jpg, Ichinomiya City Library

External relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

International

;Friendship cities *

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

(

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, Italy) **since January 30, 2013

National

;Disaster Alliance city * Takaoka (

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Ya ...

) **since October 31, 2007 * Seki (

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

) **since, 2011

Economy

Primary sector of the economy

Traditionally noted for textiles, Ichinomiya is now a regional commercial center with a mixed economy of manufacturing and agriculture.

Agriculture

Allium fistulosum ''Allium fistulosum'', the Welsh onion, also commonly called bunching onion, long green onion, Japanese bunching onion, and spring onion, is a species of perennial plant, often considered to be a kind of scallion. The species is very similar ...

* Dry Daikon *Rice

Animal husbandry

Poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...

Secondary sector of the economy

Manufacturing

The Eisaku Noro Company, which produces colorful handcrafting and machine yarns for clothing, is also based here.

Tertiary sector of the economy

Commerce

Kanesue has its headquarters in Ichinomiya. It moved to its current headquarters in July 1976. ;Shopping center * APiTA Ichinomiya (TelassWalk Ichinomiya) * Æon mall Kisogawa * Kanesue *

Meitetsu Department Store is a department store chain in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is headquartered in Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3mil ...

Ichinomiya File:一宮市千秋町 - panoramio.jpg, Chiaki Paddy field File:Woven fabric Factory.jpg, Bisyu Woven fabric factory File:Ichinomiya Honmachi Shopping Street ac (5).jpg, Shopping streets File:株式会社カネスエ - panoramio.jpg, Kanesue File:Telasswalk.ichinomiya.jpg, TelassWalk Ichinomiya

Companies headquartered in Ichinomiya

* Aichi small-elevator manufacturing corporation *

Ichibanya is a Japanese food services company based in Ichinomiya, Aichi. CoCo ICHIBANYA chain ICHIBANYA Co., Ltd. owns the top Japanese curry, curry rice restaurant chain in Japan, Curry House CoCo ICHIBANYA or usually just CoCo ICHIBAN or CoCo ICHI. ...

*Japan Ecosystem * Kanesue *Konami Amusement *SOTOH

Education

University

* Shubun University

College

* Aichi Kiwami College of Nursing * Ichinomiya Kenshin College

Primary and secondary education

*Ichinomiya has 42 public elementary schools and 19 public middle schools operated by the city government, and 10 public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private middle school and two private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

Conventional lines

;

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

Tōkaidō Line Tōkaidō may refer to: * Taiheiyō Belt (also Tōkaidō corridor), the megalopolis in Japan extending from Ibaraki Prefecture to Fukuoka Prefecture * Tokaido (company), a Japanese company that manufactures karate uniforms, belts, and related pro ...

: – – – ; Meitetsu logomark 2

Meitetsu , publicly trading 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 w ...

* Nagoya Main Line: – – – – – – – * Bisai Line: – – – – – – – – –

Roads

Expressways

* Meishin Expressway **: - Owari Ichinomiya PA – Ichinomiya IC – Ichinomita JCT – * Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway **: Ichinomiya JCT – Ichinomiya-Nishi IC – Hizai IC – Ichinomiya-Kisogawa IC – * Japanese Urban Expwy Sign 0016

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

** Route 16 (Nagoya Expressway)

Japan National Route

* *

Riverways

Water taxi

*Nishinakano tosen ( Kiso River) File:Civic Complex Building in front of Owari-Ichinomiya Station ac (8).jpg, File:Meitetsu Department Store Ichinomiya Store 2020-10 ac.jpg, File:Kisogawa Kyoryo of Tōkaidō Main Line.jpg, Kisogawa Bridge File:Ichinomiya IC 20160422A.JPG, Ichinomiya IC File:Nishinakano tosen 6.jpg, Nishinakano tosen

Local attractions

;Castle *Ichinomiya Castle *Kuroda Castle *Ōno Castle File:一宮城ー碑.JPG, Ichinomiya Castle File:Kuroda Castle site ac (2).jpg, Kuroda Castle File:Ōno Castle Site in Ichinomiya.jpg, Ōno Castle ;Buddhist temple *Houren-ji *Myōkō-ji *Sebe Saihō-ji File:Hourenji1.jpg, Houren-ji File:Hourenji3.jpg, Houren-ji ( Yamauchi Kazutoyo) File:Myoukouji2.jpg, Myōkō-ji File:Okucho Sebe Saihoji ac (2).jpg, Sebe Saihō-ji ;Shinto shrines *Azai shrine *Ifuribe shrine *Iwato shrine *

* Owari Ōmiwa Shrine File:Azai-jinja in Ichinomiya ac (2).jpg, Azai jinja File:Ifuribe shrine.jpg, Ifuribe jinja File:Iwato shrine.jpg, Iwato jinja File:Masumida Shrine Haiden.jpg, Masumida jinja File:Owari Oomiwa Shrine torii.jpeg, Owari Ōmiwa Shrine ;Archaeological sites *Mitsui Inariyama kofun *Nekojima Site File:Mitsui Inariyama kofun-02.jpg, Mitsui Inariyama kofun ;Park *138 Tower Park *Asano Park *Azaiyama Park *Umegae Park File:138 Tower Park (2013-02-08).jpg, 138 Towr Park File:Asano Park2.jpg, Asano Park File:Azaiyama Park ac (2).jpg, Azaiyama Park File:UmegaePark03.jpg, Umegae Park

Culture

Festivals

* Ichinomiya Tanabata Festival ( Double Seventh Festival) File:一宮七夕祭り (19399763454).jpg, Ichinomiya Tanabata Festival

Sports

File:Kōmyoji Park Stadium 01.jpg, Kōmyoji Park Stadium File:Hirashima Park Baseball Playing Grounds.jpg, Hirashima Park Baseball Playing Grounds File:Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium Entrance 20130817.jpeg, Ichinomiya Municipal Gymnasium (DIADORA Arena)

Notable people from Ichinomiya

* Ichinomiya Eisuke, the heir of the city * Tetsuma Esaki, politician * Ichikawa Fusae, politician * Kazuo Funaki, actor *

Nao Hibino is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 56 in singles and No. 43 in doubles by the WTA. Hibino has won three singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She has also won nine singles and ...

, tennis player *

Masaaki Kanda is a Japanese politician who served as governor of Aichi Prefecture in 1999–2011. A graduate of Chuo University, he served as mayor of Ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the hig ...

, politician * Ichinomiya Katsumi, owner of the city * Rie Kitahara, actress, former idol * Shinichi Kondoh, retired baseball player *

Jōji Matsuoka is a Japanese film director. After studying filmmaking in the College of Art at Nihon University, he won an award for his independent short ''Inaka no hōsoku'' at the Pia Film Festival in 1984. He directed his first commercial feature, ''Bataash ...

, movie director * Yukiko Okada, singer *

Hisa Ōta was a Japanese stage actress who spanned the Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō period, Taishō periods of Japan and was known by the name Hanako (花子). The ''kanji'' given for her name when born were 飛佐 (''Hisa''), but she did not use thos ...

, stage actress * Tange Sakura, voice actress *

Haruka Tomatsu is a Japanese actress and singer, employed by Music Ray'n. She received the Rookie of the Year award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards and the Synergy Award at the 9th Seiyu Awards. Tomatsu is known for voicing main heroines as Asuna Yuuki in ''Sword A ...

, voice actress * Masayuki Toyoshima, shogi player

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture