Samurai culture, cultivated alongside the magnificent castle
The three great heroes of this area, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, who all dreamed of dominating the whole country; and Nagoya Castle, built 400 years ago; led to the flourishing of samurai culture.
Craftsmanship fostered in a peaceful town with rich resources
Many craftsmen moved to the big city of Nagoya, where their manufacturing skills were improved. These skills were passed down to the modern industry.
Unique cuisine created in pursuit of delicious food
The rich variety of ingredients made available by good climatic conditions and the people's strong desire for good tastes have resulted in the area's unique food culture.
From ancient myths to the Samurai era, the area witnessed various historic scenes
The area around Nagoya has seen many historical dramas.
Atsuta Shrine stores Kusanagi no mitsurugi, a sacred sword believed to have been wielded by an ancient legendary hero, Yamatotakeru-no-mikoto.
Near the shrine is the presumed birthplace of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who established the Kamakura Shogunate.
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, famous warlords of the Age of Civil Wars who led Japan's unification, all have roots in this area and are called "three great heroes".
Today's Nagoya City originated about 400 years ago, in 1609, when Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the whole town of Kiyosu to this area, and built the castle tower crowned with gold dolphins and organized the houses in a grid.
Ever since, the city has made great strides, maintaining the legacy of the samurai culture that once flourished.
Traditional manufacturing industry, now heading for space
Located midway between Edo and Kyoto/Osaka, Nagoya has served as a transportation hub since ancient times.
With the fertile soil of the Nobi Plain, rich seafood from Ise Bay and high quality timber from the upper drainage of the Kiso River, Nagoya had great potential for development when it was established.
The area also has Nagoya Castle, built with the support of the powerful Tokugawa Family.
The castle's Hommaru Palace, which is being restored, was said to be the best castle palace in those days.
As the town was established, various craftsmen came and improved their skills.
Techniques for making Japanese traditional clocks were later applied to the manufacturing of karakuri mechanical puppets, and passed down all the way to the modern industry after Japan became a modern state.
These techniques and the spirit of manufacturing are now employed in such fields as aerospace, transportation and fine ceramics, industries that will lead Japan's future development.
Pursuit of delicious food resulted in the unique Nagoya cuisine
One of Nagoya's representative ingredients is red miso.
Red miso is made from soybeans and takes longer to age than miso made of rice or wheat.
Red miso may not look good, but it has a marvelous taste and smell.
The traditionally abundant farm produce and seafood in this area allowed the long aging of red miso.
Red miso is an excellent ingredient that matches perfectly with various dishes such as udon noodles or pork cutlet.
Various unique dishes, which cannot be seen in other areas, have been created using red miso. Taking advantage of its location between Tokyo and Osaka, Nagoya mixed the food cultures of Eastern and Western Japan and has adopted anything that seems delicious.
This is why many surprising food combinations that have never been tried elsewhere are seen in this area.
Dishes such as "hitsumabushi", "tenmusu", "ankake spaghetti" and "ogura toast" are considered to be representative inventions of Nagoya.