Toyohashi

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Template:Infobox City Japan

Toyohashi City Office

Toyohashi (豊橋市, Toyohashi-shi) is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The city was founded on August 1, 1906. As of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 383,691 and a density of 1,468.62 persons per km². The total area is 261.26 km2 (261,260,000 m2). By size, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005. It was on April 1, 2005 that Toyota city combined with six peripheral municipalities and saw its total population rise above 400,000 people, thus edging ahead of Toyohashi into second place.

Geography

Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is regarded as the capital of the informal “Higashi-Mikawa Region” of the prefecture. It is bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshu Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The presence of the warm Kuroshio Current offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The Katahama Jusan-ri Beach (片浜十三里) in Toyohashi is a sea turtle nesting spot.

Surrounding municipalities

Aichi Prefecture:

Shizuoka Prefecture

History

The area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants. Numerous remains from the Jomon period, and especially from the Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds.

During the Nara period, the area was assigned to Atsumi, Hoi and Yana Districts of Mikawa Province and prospered during subsequent periods as a post town on an important river crossing of the Tōkaidō connecting the capital with the eastern provinces. During the Sengoku period, the area was a highly contested zone between the Imagawa clan based in Suruga Province and various local warlords, who built a number of fortifications in the area, including Yoshida Castle. The rising power of the Matsudaira clan and its alliance with Oda Nobunaga eventually neutralized the threat posed by the Imagawa, and the area became part of the holdings of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the Tokugawa clan to relocate to the Kantō region and assigned the castle to Ikeda Terumasa. Ikeda developed the surrounding castle town and embarked on a massive and ambitious plan to rebuild Yoshida Castle. However, following the Battle of Sekigahara, he was relocated to Himeji Castle.

After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Yoshida Castle became the center of Yoshida Domain, a clan fief. The domain was assigned to several different fudai daimyō clans until coming into the possession of the Matsudaira (Nagasawa-Ōkōchi) clan in 1752, which remained in residence at Yoshida until the Meiji Restoration. The final daimyō of Yoshida, Matsudaira Nobuhisa, surrendered the domain to the Meiji government in 1868. In 1869, the name of the domain was formally changed from Yoshida to Toyohashi.

With the establishment of the municipalities system under the Meiji government in 1879, Toyohashi Town was created within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture. Toyohashi Zoo was established in 1899. The town achieved city status in 1906. A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line)] was established in 1925. In 1932, Toyohashi expanded its borders by annexing Shimoji Town (Hoi District), Takashi Village, Muroyoshida Village (Atsumi District), and Shimokawa Village (Yana District). Toyohashi suffered considerable damage during the 1944 Tōnankai earthquake, and even more damage during the Toyohashi Air Raid, which destroyed more than 60% of the city in June 1945.

In 1955, Toyohashi’s geographic extent was expanded again with the annexation of neighboring Maeshiba Village (Hoi District), Futagawa Village, Takatoyo Village, Oitsu Village (Atsumi District) and Ishimaki Village (Yana District). Toyohashi achieved Core city status in 1999 with increased autonomy from the prefectural government.

Administration

Mayor

Masaru Hayakawa (1996 - 2008)
Sahara Kōichi (2008 - )

National government

Akihiko Yamamoto (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan))

Economy

Mikawa Port is a major port for worldwide trade, and its presence has made Toyohashi an important city as the biggest import and export hub in Japan for automobiles, in volume terms. Compared to other ports around the world, Mikawa is roughly on a par with the German port of Bremerhaven.[1]

Industry

Automobiles made by Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen are imported and exported through Toyohashi port. The city acts as the port for approximately 50% of all automobile imports into Japan, and the volume of foreign-car imports is rising annually. Toyohashi was also the top producer of thread and textiles in volume terms during World War II.[citation needed]

Agriculture

Toyohashi is active in growing vegetables such as cabbage, and is also one of the top producers in Japan of quail. The city is a leading agricultural area, producing roughly ¥600 million annually.[citation needed]

Transportation

Rail

Toyohashi Station

Toyohashi Station is on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and the Tōkaidō Main Line. Hikari shinkansen services stop at Toyohashi Station approximately once every two hours, and Kodama services stop twice an hour. Toyohashi Station is also the terminus of the Iida Line, Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line, and the Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line, making it an important transportation hub.

Roads

Bus

Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus, a subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad.

Educational facilities

Universities

Local attractions

Places of interests

Yoshida Castle
Toyohashi city public hall
  • Toyohashi Park, which includes the site of Yoshida Castle (吉田城址), and the Toyohashi City Museum Art and History.
  • Site of Nirengi Castle
  • Toyohashi City Public Hall (豊橋市公会堂 Toyohashi-shi Kōkaidō), a National Important Cultural Property .[2]
  • Toyohashi Orthodox Cathedral (豊橋ハリストス正教会), a National Important Cultural Property
  • Futagawa-juku honjin museum
  • Toyohashi Zoo
  • Toyohashi Museum of Natural Resources

Special products

Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish), Gohei rice cake (五平餅 Gohei-mochi), beach fermented soybeans, food boiled in goby fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, Toyohashi calligraphy brush (豊橋筆 Toyohashi-fude).

Facilities and parks

Toyohashi has many parks, including the Natural History Museum and Zoological Park, the Imou swamp, Mikawa Seaside Forest, Kamo Iris Garden, and the Mukaiyama Ume Garden. It also has what is considered one of the best surfing beaches in Aichi and the surrounding region.[2]

Festivals

Toyohashi Festival, Spring Festival, Iris Flower Festival, Gion Festival, Demon Festival (February), and traditional marionette performances (Akumi joruri). At some of these festivals, especially the summer festivals, the use of traditionally handcrafted fireworks is showcased, and include hand-held bamboo-tube fireworks known as tezutsu hanabi.

Sister city relations

Media

In popular culture

In the fictional Harry Potter universe, Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.[3]

In the Takeshi Kitano movie Kikujiro, the story revolves around the characters' trip from Tokyo to Toyohashi.

Noted people from Toyohashi

References

  1. ^ Toyohashi City / Welcome
  2. ^ a b Toyohashi Culture Map
  3. ^ Whisp, Kennilworthy (2001). Quidditch Through the Ages. WhizzHard Books. pp. 31–46. ISBN 1-55192-454-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toyohashi, Aichi.
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