In 1610, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari province from Kiyosu around seven kilometers to a more strategic location in present-day Nagoya. The city's name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋 (both read as Nagoya). One possible etymology for the city's name is the adjective なごやか (nagoyaka), meaning 'peaceful'.[1]
Nagoya Castle, a new, large castle, was constructed partly from materials taken from Kiyosu Castle During the construction, the entire town of around 60,000 people, including the temples and shrines, moved from Kiyosu to the new, planned town around Nagoya Castle.[4] Around the same time not far away, the ancient Atsuta Shrine was designated as a way station called Miya (the Shrine) on the important Tōkaidō, a road that linked the two capitals of Kyoto and Edo (now Tokyo). A town thus developed around the temple to support travelers. The combination of these two castle and shrine towns forms what we now call Nagoya.
Through the following years Nagoya became an industrial hub for the surrounding region. Its economic sphere included the famous pottery towns Tokoname, Tajimi and Seto, as well as Okazaki, one of the only places where gunpowder was produced under the shogunate. Other industries in the area included cotton and complex mechanical dolls called karakuri ningyo.
Part of the modernization efforts of the Meiji Restoration saw a restructuring of Japan's provinces into prefectures and the government changed from family rule to that by government officials. Nagoya was proclaimed a city on October 1, 1889, and designated a city on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance.
Nagoya was the target of U.S. air raids during World War II, beginning on December 13, 1944 with an attack on a Mitsubishi war industries plant. The bombing of Nagoya in World War II continued through the spring of 1945, and included large scale firebombing. Nagoya Castle, which was being used as a military command post, was hit and mostly destroyed on May 14, 1945.[5] Reconstruction of the main building was completed in 1959.
In 1959, the city was flooded and severely damaged by the Ise-wan Typhoon.
Atsuta Shrine is known as the second-most venerable shrine in Japan, after Ise Shrine. It is said to enshrine the Kusanagi sword, one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, but it is not on display to the public. It holds around 70 festivals in a year, and many people visit the shrine year-round. Also, the shrine has over 4,400 national treasures representing its 2,000 year history. It is currently (2009) undergoing restoration, and the main buildings are essentially completely concealed with protective sheets.
Nagoya Castle was built in 1612. Although a large part of it burned down in the fires of World War II, the castle was restored in 1959, adding some modern amenities such as elevators. The castle is famous for two magnificent Golden Orca (金の鯱, Kin no Shachihoko) on the roof, often used as the symbol of Nagoya.
The Noritake factory: The home of Noritake fine chinaware is open to visitors and allows people to browse through the history of the establishment. Complete with cafe and information/technology displays, as well as shopping facilities, visitors can spend a whole day wandering through the displays and grounds. It also holds a few sad reminders of devastation during the final stages of WWII.
One of the earliest censuses, carried out in 1889, gave Nagoya's population as 157,496. It reached the 1 million mark in 1934 and, as of December 2010, the city had an estimated population of 2,259,993 with a density of 6,923 persons per km². Also as of December 2010 there were estimated to be 1,019,859 households in the city — a significant increase from 153,370 at the end of World War II, in 1945.[9]
The total area is 326.45 km². Its metropolitan area extends into Mie and Gifu prefectures, with a total population of about 9 million people, with only Osaka and Tokyo being larger.
Transportation
Entrance to Shiyakusho Subway Station
Nagoya is served by Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO) built on the artificial island off shore of Tokoname and by Nagoya Airfield (Komaki Airport, NKM) near the city boundary with Komaki and Kasugai. On February 17, 2005, all of Nagoya Airport's commercial international flights moved to Centrair Airport. Nagoya Airfield is now used for general aviation and airbase facility as well as the main J-Air airline hub.
Nagoya Port is the largest port by international trade value in Japan. Toyota Motor Corporation uses Nagoya Port for export of their products.
Economy
Chubu Centrair Airport was constructed on an artificial island and is the gateway to the wider regionPort of Nagoya
Nagoya is the center of Greater Nagoya which earned nearly 70 percent of Japan's trade surplus as of 2003.[10]
Nagoya's main industry is the automotive business, as many Japanese automotive companies are based out of Nagoya, akin to how many U.S. automakers are based out of Detroit. Toyota is headquartered in Toyota and Nagoya. Mitsubishi Motors has R & D division in Okazaki located in a suburb of Nagoya. Many Japanese automotive suppliers such as DENSO, Aisin Seiki, Toyota Industries, JTEKT or Toyota Boshoku etc. are headquartered in Nagoya or suburbs of Nagoya. Furthermore, major automotive suppliers such as Magna International or PPG also have a presence in Nagoya.
JR Central, which operates the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, is headquartered in Nagoya, as is the fine ceramics company Noritake. As well Brother Industries which is known for office machines such as multifunction printers, NGK which is known for spark plugs and related products, Nippon Sharyo which is known for manufacturing rolling stock including the Shinkansen bullet trains and Hoshizaki Electric which is known for commercial ice machines and refrigeration equipment are also headquartered here. The Japanese confectionery company Marukawa is headquartered in Nagoya. There is also a sizable aerospace, machine tool and electronics industry in the area.[11]
Robot technology is another rapidly developing industry. Mechanized puppets, called "karakuri ningyo", are a traditional craft in the Nagoya area. In addition to the aerospace and robotics industries, a materials engineering industry is also developing in this area.[12]
Breakdown of Nagoya's GDP by economic activity
(from the 2005 city profile published by the City of Nagoya)
Service 26.5%
Wholesale and Retail 20.2%
Manufacturing 12.3%
Shipping and Communications 10.4%
Real Estate 9.8%
Administrative Services Supply 5.9%
Construction 5.8%
Finance and Insurance 5.4%
Others 3.7%
The World Expo 2005, also known as Aichi Expo was held just outside of Nagoya in the neighboring cities of Nagakute and Seto. The event was held from March 25 to September 25, 2005.
One of the old traditional theatres is Misono-za, one of the grand stages of Kabuki theatre. In the 1990s, the Aichi Arts Center was constructed in Sakae, which is the main venue for the performing arts. The Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra gives its performances there.
Dialect
The Nagoya dialect is referred to as Nagoya-ben and has proximities to the Kansai dialect, albeit with its own distinct pronunciation and vocabulary.
Foods
Some famous Nagoya foods: misokatsu (pork cutlet with miso sauce), tebasaki (chicken wings marinated in a sweet sauce with sesame seeds - a type of yakitori), kishimen (flat udon noodles), misonikomi udon (noodles in thick miso soup), Nagoya kōchin (a special breed of free-range chicken).
The Chunichi Dragons are one of Japan's most powerful baseball teams
In 2007, the Chunichi Dragons won the Japan Series baseball championship. In 2010, Nagoya Grampus won the J. League championship, their first in team history.
Nagoya is also home of the Shonai FC amateur football club and Nagoya Barbarians amateur rugby football club. Since 1984 the city has hosted the Nagoya Marathon; an annual marathon race for women.
