Toyokawa, Aichi

Toyokawa 豊川市
City
New Year day in Toyokawa Inari
Flag
Location of Toyokawa in Aichi Prefecture, highlighted in pink
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture	Aichi Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Minoru Yamawaki
Area
• Total	160.63 km2 (62.02 sq mi)
Population  (June 2011)
• Total	181,514
• Density	1,130/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Japanese Black Pine
- Flower	Dwarf azalea
Phone number	0533-89-2111
Address	1-1 Suwa-chō, Toyokawa-shi, Aichi-ken 442-0068
Website	www.city.toyokawa.lg.jp

Toyokawa City Hall

Toyokawa (豊川市, Toyokawa-shi) is a city of about 180,000 people located in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The city, founded on June 1, 1943, originally comprised the three formerly independent Hoi District (宝飯郡, Hoi-gun) towns of Toyokawa (豊川町), Ko (国府町), Ushikubo (牛久保町), and the village of Yawata (八幡村). Toyokawa is blessed with a good balance of industry, commerce, agriculture and forestry spread over its 160 km² boundary, and is situated in an area rich in history, traditions, and culture.

Geography

Toyokawa is located in an area of rolling hills in southeastern Aichi Prefecture. It has a short coastline with Mikawa Bay.

Surrounding municipalities

• Toyohashi
• Okazaki
• Shinshiro
• Gamagōri

History

The area of modern Toyokawa was settled in prehistoric times. During the Nara period, the kokubunji of Mikawa Province was established in 741. The temple of Toyokawa Inari, a popular pilgrimage destination, dates from 1441. A number of daimyō clans under the Tokugawa shogunate originate in what are now parts of Toyokawa, most notably the Makino clan. The area prospered during the Edo period with two post towns along the Tōkaidō, Goyu-shuku and Akasaka.

After the Meiji Restoration, on October 1, 1889 the area was organized into several villages within Hoi District, Aichi Prefecture, including Toyokawa Village. On March 13, 1893, Toyokawa was promoted to town status. Toyokawa City was founded on June 1, 1943 by the merger of Toyokawa town with neighboring Ushikubo Town and Yawata Village.

In 1939 the massive Toyokawa Naval Arsenal was established, one of the largest producers of machine guns, aviation ordnance and ammunition in the Empire of Japan. It was also had sections that produced military-issue katana, bayonets, and glass lenses for use in cameras, binoculars, and similar equipment. During World War II, many thousands of civilians were conscripted or volunteered to work at the Arsenal, and towards the end of the war, included hundreds of middle school students and high school girls. On August 7, 1945 the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal was targeted by a flight of B-29 bombers. About 2,500 people were killed during the Toyokawa Air Raid. Toyokawa was one of the last places to be targeted using conventional explosive and incendiary bombs in the closing days of World War II, occurring the day after Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb.

After the war, on April 12, 1955 Toyokawa annexed Mikami village from Yana District. This was followed by the neighboring town of Goyu from Hoi District on April 1, 1959. Toyokawa further expanded on February 1, 2006 by annexing Ichinomiya, On January 15, 2008 the towns of Otowa and Mito became part of Toyokawa, and finally on February 1, 2010 the town of Kozakai likewise was merged into Toyokawa City.

Transportation

Rail

• JR Central – Tokaido Line
  • Nishi-Kozakai  • Aichi-Mito

• JR Central – Iida Line
  • Kozakai • Ushikubo • Aichi • Mikawa-Ichinomiya • Aichi • Ejima • Aichi •

• Meitetsu – Toyokawa Line
  • Aichi  • Yawata  • Suwachō  • Inariguchi  • Toyokawa-Inari

• Meitetsu – Nagoya Main Line
  • Ina - Odabuchi - Aichi - Goyu - Meiden-Akasaka - Meiden-Nagasawa

Highways

• National Route 1
• National Route 23
• National Route 151
• National Route 247
• National Route 362

Local attractions

• Toyokawa Inari – noted Buddhist temple

Military facilities

• JGSDF Camp Toyokawa

Notable people from Toyokawa

• Yuka Kato, Olympic swimmer
• Gakuto Kondo, professional soccer player
• Sion Sono, movie director

Sister cities

• Cupertino, California, U.S.

External links

• Official website Template:Ja icon