Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Toyokawa is a city located in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The total area of the city is 161.14 square kilometres. Toyokawa, famous for its Toyokawa Inari temple, is blessed with a good balance of industry, commerce, agriculture and forestry, and is situated in an area rich in history, traditions, and culture.

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

Surrounding municipalities Aichi Prefecture • 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.

History: Middle Ages Muromachi Period The temple of Toyokawa Inari, a popular pilgrimage destination, dates from 1441.

Sengoku Period A number of daimyō clans under the Tokugawa shogunate originate in what are now parts of Toyokawa, most notably the Makino clan.

Early modern period Edo Period The area prospered during the Edo period with two post towns along the Tōkaidō, Goyu-shuku and Akasaka.

Late modern period Meiji Period After the Meiji Restoration, on October 1, 1889, several villages were organized with the establishment of the modern municipalities system within Hoi District, Aichi Prefecture, including Toyokawa Village. On March 13, 1893, Toyokawa was promoted to town status.

Showa Period Toyokawa City was founded on June 1, 1943, by the merger of Toyokawa town with neighboring Ushikubo Town and Yawata Village, all from Hoi District.

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 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, this workforce 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.

Contemporary history After WWII 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.

Government Toyokawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 30 members. The city contributes one member to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 8 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Military • JGSDF Camp Toyokawa

Education Toyokawa has 26 public elementary schools and 10 public junior high schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transport: Rail Conventional lines Central Japan Railway Company • Tōkaidō Main Line：- Nishi-Kozakai – Aichi-Mito – • Iida Line：- Kozakai – Ushikubo – Toyokawa – Mikawa-Ichinomiya – Nagayama – Ejima – Tōjō; Meitetsu; • Nagoya Main Line：- Ina – Odabuchi – Kō – Goyu – Meiden-Akasaka – Meiden-Nagasawa – • Toyokawa Line：- Kō – Yawata – Suwachō – Inariguchi – Toyokawa-Inari.

Transport: Road Expressways • Tōmei Expressway

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

Seaways Seaport • Port of Mito（Port of Mikawa).

Local attractions Castles • Ina Castle • Makino Castle • Ushikubo Castle; Temples • Toyokawa Inari – noted Buddhist temple • Mikawa Kokubun-ji; Shrines • Toga Shrine – ichinomiya of Mikawa Province.