Origins 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.
Sengoku period 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.
Edo period 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.
Meiji period 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.
Taishō period A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line) was established in 1925.
Shōwa period 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.
Modern Toyohashi 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. ==Government==