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

Geography

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

Gifu Prefecture is a 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 ...

on the west. Both the Kiso River and the Gojō River flow through the city.

Climate

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

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification 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 Inazawa is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

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

Surrounding municipalities

;

* Aisai * Ama *

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 ...

* Kiyosu ;

* Hashima * Kaizu

History

Ancient history

Inazawa is the location of 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 ...

provincial capital and

provincial temple The are Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). The official name for each temple was Konkomyo Shitenno Gokoku-ji (Konkōmyō Shitennō ...

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 ...

. The Owari Onkunitama Jinja, an important

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

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

Early modern period

During 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 ...

, Inaba and Ozawa villages formed a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

on the Minoji, a ''

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

'' connecting Miya-juku ( Atsuta on the Tōkaidō to Tarui-juku (

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

) on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

Late modern 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 ...

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

Contemporary history

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

Government

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

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature 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 26 members. The city contributes two members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 9 of the

lower house A lower house is 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 ...

Sister cities

* Olympia,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, since August 22, 1987 *

Chifeng Chifeng,; also known as Ulanhad ( (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff") also known as Ulankhad in Mongolian, is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol Le ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, since May 16, 1989.

Education

University

* Nagoya Bunri University

College

* Aichi Bunkyo Women's College

Schools

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

Economy

Primary sector of the economy

Agriculture

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

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

nuts.

Secondary sector of the economy

Manufacturing

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and Toyoda Gosei have large production plants in the city.

Tertiary sector of the economy

Commerce

Due to its transportation connections with the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region 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 ...

metropolis, Inazawa is increasingly becoming a

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

Companies headquartered in Inazawa

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

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, ...

* Tokaido Main Line: - – – ; 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:- – (Fuchidaka) – – – – –

Roads

Expressways

* Meishin Expressway

Japan National Route

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

Local attractions

;Castles *Orizu Castle *Shobata Castle ;Shrines and Temples *Owari Kokubun-ji * Owari Ōkunitama Jinja *Yawase Kannon Temple ;Natural attractions *Sobue Dune ;Cultural events * Hadaka Matsuri on the 12th day of the new Chinese Year ;Buildings and structures * Solae (tower) – Inazawa is the location of the Solae elevator testing tower, previously the highest such tower in the world, but now surpassed by the Kunshan Test Tower in China. File:Shobata Castle Site.jpg, Shobata Castle File:下津城址.jpg, Orizu Castle File:Owari Kokubun temple.JPG, Owari Kokubun temple File:Yawase Kannon s2.JPG, Yawase Kannon Temple File:Konomiya Street in Inazawa, Aichi 20150124.JPG, Konomiya Street File:稲沢サンドフェスタ04.jpg, Sobue Dune

Notable people from Inazawa

* Junki Ito, professional baseball player * Masaichi Kaneda, professional baseball player * Seiko Niizuma, actress and singer * Takanori Ogisu, artist * Mineo Ōsumi, admiral,

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

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

, professional wrestler * Nana Seino, actress and model

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture