, formerly known as Koromo, 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 ...

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 426,162 and a population density of 464 people per km². The total area was . It is located about 50 minutes from

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 ...

by way of the Meitetsu Toyota Line. Several of

Toyota Motor Corporation 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 ...

's manufacturing plants, including the Tsutsumi plant, are located there. The longstanding ties between the Toyota Motor Corporation and the town of Toyota, formerly known as , gave the town its current name. The city's flag (and seal), is a unicursal hexagram.

Geography

Toyota is located in north-central Aichi Prefecture, and is the largest city in the prefecture in terms of area. The city area is mountainous to the north, with peaks averaging around 1000 feet (328 m) in height along its northern border with Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. Much of the mountainous northern portion of the city is within Aichi Kōgen Quasi-National Park. Toyota is within a two hour drive of

.Jacob, Vinod.
In Toyota land
." ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

Business Line''. August 18, 2006. Retrieved on May 9, 2013. File:View of Yahagi River from Nomiyama Viewing Platform, Toyota 2013.jpg, Downtown File:Iyama03.jpg, Iyama File:Kurodacho, Toyota, Aichi Prefecture 441-2524, Japan - panoramio (1).jpg, Kuroda Lake File:View of Lake Mikawa, Habu-cho Toyota 2012.JPG, Mikawa Lake File:Asahi Ohashi, Ushiji&Odakino-cho Toyota 2012.JPG, Okuyahagi Lake

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 Toyota 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 Toyota has been increasing over the past 50 years.

Surrounding municipalities

;

* Anjō * Chiryu * Kariya * Miyoshi * Nagakute * Nisshin * Okazaki * Seto * Shinshiro * Shitara ;

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 ...

* Ena * Mizunami * Toki ;

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

* Neba

City scape

File:Toyota City Skyline001.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 Toyota File:Koromo-jo Castle（Shichishū-jo Castle）.jpg, Koromo Castle File:Toyota-Pedestrian-Deck-1.jpg, Toyotashi Station Pedestrian Deck File:Pedestrian Deck, Wakamiya-cho Toyota 2018.jpg,

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

of Toyota

History

Origins

The area of present-day Toyota City has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and archaeologists have found a continuous record of artifacts from the Japanese paleolithic period onwards. In early proto-historic times, the area was under the control of the Mononobe clan, who built numerous '' kofun'' burial mounds. The local place name "Koromo" is mentioned in the '' Kojiki'' and other early Japanese documents.

Edo 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 ...

, parts of the area of the current city were under the control of Koromo Domain, a feudal ''han'' under the

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 ...

; however, most of the area of the current city was '' tenryō'' territory controlled directly by the government in Edo and administered through ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

'' class appointed administrators. The village of "Matsudaira", from which

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

took his clan name, was located within what is now the city of Toyota.

Meiji period

After 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the area was organized into the towns of Asuke and Koromo and numerous villages under Higashikamo District and Nishikamo District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The area was a major producer of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and prospered from the

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 ...

through the Taishō periods. As the demand for raw silk declined in Japan and abroad, Koromo entered a period of gradual decline after 1930. The decline encouraged Kiichiro Toyoda, cousin of Eiji Toyoda, to look for alternatives to the family's automatic

loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

manufacturing business. The search led to the founding of what became the

. Toyota built the first manufacturing facility, known as Toyota Honsha plant in November 1938, breaking ground in December 1935.

Modern history

On March 1, 1951, Koromo gained city status, and absorbed the village of Takahashi from Nishikamo District on September 30, 1956. Due to the fame and economic importance of its major employer, the city of changed its name to Toyota on January 1, 1959. Toyota became a sister city with

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1960. It continued to expand by annexing the towns of Kamigo (Hekikai District) on March 1, 1964, and Takaoka (Hekikai District) on September 1, 1965, and Sanage (Nishikamo District) on April 1, 1967, as well as the village of Matsudaira (Higashikamo District) on April 1, 1970. In 1979 the

Nagoya Railroad , 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 whic ...

(Meitetsu) opened the Toyota New Line (now Toyota Line), and in 1988, the Aichi Loop Line was opened, thus considerably improving access to the city via rail transport. Toyota became 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 ...

in 1998, with increased local autonomy. On March 25, 2005, Expo 2005 opened with its main site in Nagakute and additional activity in Seto and Toyota. The Expo continued until September 25, 2005. On April 1, 2005, Toyota absorbed the town of Fujioka, and the village of Obara (both from Nishikamo District), the towns of Asuke, Asahi and Inabu, and the village of Shimoyama (all from Higashikamo District) to create the new and expanded city of Toyota. Mitsuru Obe and Eric Pfanner of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' stated that by 2015 Toyota was recovering from an economic depression "so deep that some were comparing it to Detroit." File:Sanage-jinja Torii.jpg, Sanage shinto shrine File:Chuma no Ohinasan 2012.jpg, Asuke area ( Groups of Traditional Buildings) File:Toyota museum 101.JPG, Koromo Castle File:Toyota Sangokan exterior 2017-06 (1).jpg, City center of Toyota

Government

Mayor-council

Toyota 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 45 members.

Prefectural Assembly

The city contributes five members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly.

House of Representatives

In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Aichi District 11 and Aichi District 14 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 **Asuke police station **Toyota police station

Firefighting

*Fire department **Asuke fire department **Toyota-Kita fire department **Toyota-Minami fire department **Toyota-naka fire department

Health care

*Hospital **Asuke Hospital **Toyota Kosei Hospital **TOYOTA Memorial Hospital

Post office

*Toyota Post office

Library

*Toyota City Library File:Toyota Police station 2018.jpg, Toyota Police Station File:Toyota City Fire Fighting Head Office, Chokoji Toyota 2019.jpg, Toyota Fire Department File:Toyota-Kosei-Hospital-1.jpg, Toyota Kosei Hospital File:Toyota Post Office, Totsuka-cho Toyota 2018.jpg, Toyota Post Office File:Toyota City Central Library exterior ac (2).jpg, Toyota City Library

Sister cities

Toyota is twinned with: *

, since 1960 * Derbyshire,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, since 1998

Economy

Primary sector of the economy

;Agriculture *

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

* Pyrus pyrifolia (Atago) ;Forestry * Cryptomeria *

Chamaecyparis obtusa ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate climate, temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber ...

Secondary sector of the economy

The main headquarters 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 ...

is located in a 14-story building in Toyota. As of 2006 the head office has the "Toyopet" Toyota logo and the words "Toyota Motor". The Toyota Technical Center, a 14-story building, and the original Honsha plant, Toyota's first plant engaging in mass production and formerly named the Koromo plant, are adjacent to one another in a location near the headquarters. Vinod Jacob from ''

'' described the main headquarters building as "modest". In 2013 company head Akio Toyoda reported that it had difficulties retaining foreign employees at the headquarters due to the lack of amenities in Toyota.Greimel, Hans.
Dreary HQ city is a handicap in global glitz plan
"
Archive
'' Automotive News''. May 6, 2013. Retrieved on May 9, 2013.

Tertiary sector of the economy

;Shopping center * Æon Takahashi (GREEN CITY) * Æon Toyota *KiTARA *Lut's *Meglia *T-FACE File:Azakai-cho Toyota 2011.JPG, Azakai Town File:Inabucho, Toyota, Aichi Prefecture 441-2513, Japan - panoramio (1).jpg, Inabu Town File:JA Aichi Toyota, Nishi-machi Toyota 2018.jpg, JA Aichi Toyota File:Toyota 86 GT Red.jpg, Toyota 86 File:Aeon-Style-Toyota-1.jpg, Æon Toyota File:Toyota-KiTARA-1.jpg, KiTARA

Education

Colleges and universities

* Aichi Gakusen University * Aichi Institute of Technology * Aichi Mizuho College * Chukyo University – Toyota campus * Japanese Red Cross Toyota College of Nursing * Junior College of Toyota (1990–1999) * Ohkagakuen University – Toyota campus * Toyota National College of Technology

Primary and secondary education

Toyota has 78 public elementary schools and 27 public middle schools operated by the city government and 12 public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also two private middle schools and eight private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the disabled.

International schools

* Escola Alegria de Saber – Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. * Escola NECTAR – Brazilian primary school * Escola Pintando o Sete – Brazilian primary school

Transportation

Toyota, as the home city of

is well-served by expressways and national highways. However, it was the largest city in Japan which was not served by the Japanese National Railways (JNR) during its existence. The closest

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

station is Mikawa-Anjō Station in the city of Anjō, although the limited-stop '' Nozomi'' and '' Hikari'' services do not stop there.

Railways

Conventional lines

;

Meitetsu * Toyota Line: – – * Mikawa Line: – – – – – – – – – ; Aikan logomark

Aichi Loop Railway * Aichi Loop Line: – – – – – – – – – – – ; 60px Linimo * Aichi High-Speed Transit: –

Roads

Expressways

* Tōmei Expressway * Shin-Tōmei Expressway * Isewangan Expressway * Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway

Japan National Route

* * * * * * * * File:Meitetsu Toyotashi Station ac.jpg, Toyotashi Station File:Aichi_Kanjo_Tetudo_Line_Shin_Toyota_Sta.jpg, Shin-Toyota Station File:TOYOTA_Interchange_on_TOMEI_EXPWY_and_SHIN-TOMEI_EXPWY.jpg, Toyota JCT File:Shin-Tomei20180826B.jpg, Toyota-Higashi JCT File:Route153 Umetsubo.JPG, National Route 153 File:豊田スタジアム TOYOTA Stadium - panoramio.jpg, Toyota big bridge File:TOYOTA_ARROWS_Bridge.jpg, Toyota Arrows Bridge

Local attractions

* Asuke area ( Groups of Traditional Buildings) *Kampachi Gorge * Kōrankei Gorge *Kuragaike park *The ruins of Matsudaira *Obara shikizakura * Toyota Automobile Museum *Toyota Kaikan Exhibition Hall *Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall * Toyota Municipal Museum of Art File:Manrin-kouji Alley in 2019 ac.jpg, Asuke area File:足助城高櫓.JPG, Asuke Castle File:Toyota museum 051.JPG, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art File:Toyota Kaikan3.jpg, Toyota Kaikan Exhibition Hall File:Kiichiro Toyoda's Residence 02, Ikeda-cho Toyota 2019.jpg, Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall File:Kampachi Gorge, Toyota-city 2018.jpg, Kampachi Gorge File:Kōrankei.jpg, Kōrankei Gorge File:Korankei3.jpg, Sanshu Asuke Yashiki File:Korankei4.jpg, Kōjaku-ji File:Senmishikizakura1.jpg, Obara shikizakura File:Matsudairago1.jpg, The ruins of Matsudaira File:Kuragaike Park 03, Toyota 2019.jpg, Kuragaike park File:Koromo festival4.jpg, Koromo Festival

Culture

Sports

Sports Team

Sports Facilities

* Sky Hall Toyota * Toyota Athletic Stadium * Toyota Sports Center * Toyota Stadium

Notable people from Toyota

* Miliyah Kato, singer * Yoshio Markino, artist, author * Masami Mitsuoka, singer * Masato Naito, Olympic hurdler * Etsuko Nishio, singer, actress * Suzuki Shōsan, Edo period Zen prelate * Tadashi Sugiura, professional baseball player * Katsuaki Watanabe, former president of Toyota Motors

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture