Nagoya


Nagoya is the capital and most populous city of Aichi Prefecture in Japan. It is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city in Japan, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is itself the third-most populous metropolitan area in Japan. Nagoya is located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, and its seaport is the largest in Japan.
In 1610, the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari Province from Kiyosu to Nagoya. This period saw the renovation of Nagoya Castle. The early 1900s brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in the city during the Meiji Restoration, and it became a major industrial hub for the country as the area's automobile, aviation, and shipbuilding industries flourished; the traditional manufacturing of bicycles, sewing machines, and timepieces was thus followed by the production of ceramic, chemicals, oil, petrochemicals, and steel. These factors made Nagoya a target of American air raids during the Pacific War.
Nagoya's economy diversified following the Second World War, but the city remains a significant centre of industry and transport in Japan. It is linked to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto by the Tokaido Shinkansen and is home to the Nagoya Stock Exchange, as well as the headquarters of Brother Industries, Ibanez, Lexus, and Toyota Tsusho, among others. It hosts educational institutes such as Nagoya University, the Nagoya Institute of Technology, and Nagoya City University. Famous landmarks include Atsuta Shrine, Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Hisaya Ōdori Park, Nagoya Castle, Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, and Nagoya TV Tower. Nagoya will host the 2026 Asian Games, making it the third Japanese city to do so after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.

Toponymy

The city's name was historically written as or . One possible origin is the adjective, meaning 'calm'.
The name, consisting of chū + kyō is also used to refer to Nagoya. Notable examples of the use of the name Chūkyō include the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.

History

Origins

;Jōmon period & Kofun period
In the Jomon and Yayoi period, the Ōguruwa Shell Midden was discovered before the settlement of Nagoya. In the Kofun period, Nagoya was settled and the Danpusan Kofun and Shiratori Kofun was built in this area. The Atsuta Shrine is of ancient origin, it is home to the Imperial Regalia of Japan, the legendary sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi. According to traditional sources, Yamato Takeru died in 113 AD. The possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home.
;Heian period
The Seigan-ji was built by the Fujiwara clan in the late Heian period. A member served as the head priest of the nearby Atsuta Shrine, one of the legendary shrines of Japan. It is believed that Yura-Gozen, also known as Urahime, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, was married to Minamoto no Yoshitomo and their son Minamoto no Yoritomo's birthplace is Nagoya, he is also the founder of the Kamakura shogunate.

Feudal period

;Azuchi–Momoyama period
Oda Nobunaga and his protégés Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were powerful warlords based in the Nagoya area who gradually succeeded in unifying Japan. In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari Province from Kiyosu, about away, to a more strategic location in present-day Nagoya.
In May–June 1560, the Battle of Okehazama took place in Dengakuhazama, Owari Province which was just outside of what would become Nagoya city. In this battle, Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto and established himself as one of the leading warlords in the Sengoku period.

Early modern period

During this period Nagoya Castle was constructed, built partly from materials taken from Kiyosu Castle. During the construction, the entire town around Kiyosu Castle, consisting of around 60,000 people, moved from Kiyosu to the newly planned town around Nagoya Castle. Around the same time, the nearby ancient Atsuta Shrine was designated as a waystation, called Miya, on the important Tōkaidō road, which linked the two capitals of Kyoto and Edo. A town developed around the temple to support travelers. The castle and shrine towns formed the city.

Modern period

;Meiji period
During the Meiji Restoration Japan's provinces were restructured into prefectures and the government changed from family to bureaucratic rule. Nagoya was proclaimed a city on October 1, 1889, and designated a city on 1 September 1956 by government ordinance. Nagoya became an industrial hub for the region. Its economic sphere included the famous pottery towns of Tokoname, Tajimi and Seto, as well as Okazaki, one of the only places where gunpowder was produced under the shogunate. Other industries included cotton and complex mechanical dolls called karakuri ningyō.
;Taisho period
Mitsubishi Aircraft Company was established in 1920 in Nagoya and became one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in Japan. The availability of space and the central location of the region and the well-established connectivity were some of the major factors that lead to the establishment of the aviation industry there.
;Pacific War and post-war years
Nagoya was the target of air raids during the Pacific War. The population of Nagoya at this time was estimated to be 1.5million, fourth among Japanese cities and one of the three largest centers of the Japanese aircraft industry. It was estimated that 25% of its workers were engaged in aircraft production. Important Japanese aircraft targets were within Nagoya. Others, notably 240 and 1833, were to the north of Kagamigahara. It was estimated that they produced between 40% and 50% of Japanese combat aircraft and engines, such as the vital Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. The Nagoya area also produced machine tools, bearings, railway equipment, metal alloys, tanks, motor vehicles and processed foods during the war.
Air raids began on April 18, 1942, with an attack on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aircraft works, the Matsuhigecho oil warehouse, the Nagoya Castle military barracks and the Nagoya war industries plant. The bombing continued to the spring of 1945, and included large-scale firebombing. Nagoya was the target of two of Bomber Command's attacks. These incendiary attacks, one by day and one by night, devastated. The XXI Bomber Command established a new U.S. Army Air Force record with the greatest tonnage ever released on a single target in one mission—3,162 tons of incendiaries. It destroyed or damaged twenty-eight of the numbered targets and raised the area burned to almost one-fourth of the entire city.
Nagoya Castle, which was being used as a military command post, was hit and mostly destroyed on May 14, 1945, followed by the Yokkaichi bombing in June 1945. Reconstruction of the main building was completed in 1959. On July 26, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped a conventional pumpkin bomb in the Yagoto area of Nagoya while training for their nuclear mission to Hiroshima. In 1959, the city was flooded and severely damaged by the Ise-wan Typhoon.

Contemporary period

After the war Nagoya was able to rebuild and take up its role again as one of Japan's leading industrial and manufacturing centers. It became known as the "Houston and Montreal of the Orient". It also plays an increasing role in the meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions industry, hosting the Expo 2005 and the Nagoya Protocol conference in 2010.

Geography and administrative divisions

Geography

Nagoya lies north of Ise Bay on the Nōbi Plain. Nagoya was built on low-level plateaus to ward off floodwaters. The plain is one of the nation's most fertile areas. The Kiso River flows to the west along the city border, and the Shōnai River comes from the northeast and turns south towards the bay at Nishi Ward.
The human-made Hori River was constructed as a canal in 1610. It flows from north to south, as part of the Shōnai River system. The rivers allowed for trade with the hinterland. The Tempaku River feeds from a number of smaller river in the east, flows briefly south at Nonami and then west at Ōdaka into the bay.
Nagoya's location and its position in the centre of Japan allowed it to develop economically and politically.

Climate

Nagoya has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and cool winters. The summer is noticeably wetter than the winter, with rain falling throughout the year.

Area

Wards

Nagoya has 16 wards.

Demographics

One of the earliest censuses, carried out in 1889, counted 157,496 residents. The population reached the 1million mark in 1934 and as of September 2025 had an estimated population of 2,337,864 with a population density of. Also as of 2025 an estimated 1,193,148 households resided there—a significant increase from 153,370 at the end of the Pacific War in 1945.
The area is. Its metropolitan area extends into the Mie and Gifu prefectures, with a total population of about 10million people, surpassed only by Osaka and Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

Police

;Aichi Prefectural Police
  • Atsuta Police Station
  • Chikusa Police Station
  • Higashi Police Station
  • Kita Police Station
  • Meito Police Station
  • Midori Police Station
  • Minami Police Station
  • Minato Police Station
  • Mizuho Police Station
  • Moriyama Police Station
  • Naka Police Station
  • Nakagawa Police Station
  • Nakamura Police Station
  • Nishi Police Station
  • Showa Police Station
  • Tenpaku Police Station