Toyokawa City

Toyokawa is in the southeast of Aichi Prefecture and has a good natural environment. The city was created as a municipality in Showa 18 (1943). And It used to be called "HIno kuni" (province of ear). The city has history and tradition.

Toyokawainari

Toyokawainari is one of the three big Inaris in Japan. It is said that about one million and two hundred thousand people visit here on the first three days of the new year. Toyokawainari is a temple of the Soutou Sect. It started in 1441. And many historical heroes believed in it as a God which gave happiness. In the Edo era, people who wished for prosperity in business and better luck believed in it, too.

This is the "Hon den",the main temple. It was built between Meiji 27 and 30

This is the "Hattou", the big main temple. It was built between Meiji 27 and Showa 5.

Festivals in Toyokawa

Various festivals are celebrated in Toyokawa through the seasons.

Åôthe "Unagouji" festival
It is known as one of the most outrageous festivals. Unagouji means a maggot. The figures which lie down on the road at the tail of the festival procession look like maggots. So it is called Unagouji.

Åôthe "Tezuthu Enka" (handheld fireworks)
It has continued from the Edo era and is celebrated in many places in the city.

Åôtwo city festivals

Åõthe "Oiden" festival in spring
Å@ It was performed as a commercial festival, an agricultural festival, and a tree planting festival at first. The parade called 'princess highway dream romance' is performed. It reproduces a trip by a princess in the Edo era. It is the main event of spring which has 100,000 or more people every year.

Åõthe "Tezuthu" festival in summer
Å@Å@This festival started in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of municipal organization in Showa 63. The climax is the contest of Tezutsu Enka (handheld fireworks). Hundreds of them are launched over 2 hours

Cultural Assets

In the Nara era, Toyokawa was the center of the Mikawa Province. The city was a "kokufu" (provincial capital), and had a "kokubun ji" (provincial temple) and "kokubun niji" (provincial convent).
In later years, many histrical figures (for example, Yoritomo Minamoto, Yoshisada Nitta, Yoshimoto Imagawa, Ieyasu Tokugawa, Yukichi Fukuzawa) lived in or visited the city. Toyokawa has one of the largest and most valuable cultual assets in Japan.

1: 2: 3:

1 Niouzou in Zaiga temple
It was made in the Heian era. It was specified to be a cultural property of Japan in Showa 55. Now it is exhibited in Nara National Museum

2 Sanmyou temple
The Three-storied Tower was built in 1531. The first layer and the second layer are in Japanese style and the third layer is in Chinese style. It was specified to be a cultural property of Japan in Meiji 40.

3 The remains of the Kokubun niji
The Kokubun ji and The Kokubu niji were built by Emperor Shomu's imperial edict in Tenshou 13 (in 741). The Kokubu niji has a vast areaÅiabout 180m aroundÅjand it is one of the greatest in scale in Japan.
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