| Toyohashi | |||
| Settlement Type: | Core city | ||
| Image Map1: | Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture Ja.svg | ||
| Map Caption1: | Location of Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture | ||
| Pushpin Map: | Japan | ||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | |||
| Coordinates: | 34.7692°N 137.3915°W | ||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||
| Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||
| Subdivision Name1: | Chūbu (Tōkai) | ||
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture | ||
| Subdivision Name2: | Aichi Prefecture | ||
| Leader Title: | Mayor | ||
| Leader Name: | Yoshitaka Asai | ||
| Area Total Km2: | 261.86 | ||
| Population Total: | 377453 | ||
| Population As Of: | December 1, 2019 | ||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time | ||
| Utc Offset1: | +9 | ||
| Blank Name Sec1: | Phone number | ||
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0532-51-2111 | ||
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Address | ||
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 1 Imabashi-chō, Toyohashi-shi, Aichi-ken 440-8501 | ||
| Blank Name Sec2: | Climate | ||
| Blank Info Sec2: | Cfa | ||
| Module: |
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is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households [1] and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was 261.86sqkm. By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005, when it was surpassed by the city of Toyota, which had merged with six peripheral municipalities.
Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is 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 in Toyohashi is a sea turtle nesting spot.
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Toyohashi is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around, and lowest in January, at around .
Per Japanese census data,[2] the population of Toyohashi has grown steadily over the past 60 years.
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 Jōmon 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 modern 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.
Toyohashi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 36 members.
The city contributes five members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly.
In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District15 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
| Mayor | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| Kiroku Okuchi (大口喜六) | 7 January 1907 to 10 January 1912 (first term) 27 April 1914 to 20 February 1916 (second term) 17 September 1938 to 10 December 1940 (third term) | |
| Shojuro Takahashi (高橋小十郎) | 12 February 1912 to 8 March 1913 | |
| Bengo Sakakibara (榊原辨吾) | 29 August 1913 to 28 March 1914 | |
| Tadao Hosotani (細谷忠男) | 18 January 1917 to 20 August 1923 | |
| Ichitaro Yoshikawa (吉川一太郎) | 10 June 1924 to 8 December 1925 | |
| Katsuzo Tamegai (田部井勝藏) | 5 August 1926 to 4 August 1930 |
| Mayor | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| Tohei Marumo (丸茂藤平) | 30 August 1930 to 29 August 1934 | |
| Shotaro Kanbe (神戸小三郎) | 3 September 1934 to 7 July 1938 | |
| Junichiro Kondo (近藤寿市郎) | 18 April 1941 to 17 April 1945 | |
| Tamotsu Mizuno (水野 保) | 6 May 1945 to 29 January 1946 | |
| Shinobu Yokota (横田 忍) | 29 March 1946 to 4 April 1947 | |
| Fujitomo Otake (大竹藤知) | 5 April 1947 to 28 June 1952 |
| Mayor | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| Sacho Ono (大野佐長) | 28 July 1952 to 30 June 1960 | |
| Mutsuro Kawai (河合陸郎) | 1 July 1960 to 26 March 1975 | |
| Shigeru Aoki (青木 茂) | 30 April 1975 to 26 April 1983 | |
| Akira Takahashi (高橋アキラ) | 27 April 1983 to 2 October 1996 | |
| Masaru Hayakawa (早川 勝) | 17 November 1996 to 16 November 2008 | |
| Koichi Sahara (佐原光一) | 17 November 2008 to 16 November 2020 | |
| Yoshitaka Asai (浅井由崇) | 17 November 2020 to present |
Industrial production is centered around the production of automotive-related components for Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki Motors, and Honda, all of whom have factories in the region.
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.
Ekimae-ōdōriShinkawaFudagiShiyakushomaeToyohashi-kōenmaeHigashi-hatchōMaehataAzumada-sakaueAzumadaKeirinjōmaeIharaAkaiwaguchi
Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus, a subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad.
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.[9]
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.
Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish),, beach fermented soybeans, food boiled in goby fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, .
In the fictional Harry Potter universe, Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.[10]
In the Takeshi Kitano movie Kikujiro, the story revolves around the characters' trip from Tokyo to Toyohashi.