Nagoya Middle Capital

Nagoya is at once a human and a humane city, besides being a prosperous industrial and commercial center. Men bound on business from Tokyo to Osaka will break their journey sooner at Nagoya than at any other. It is the best city this side of Kyoto in which to combine business with pleasure. No wonder Nagoya's rise in recent years has been prodigious.

The great secret of Nagoya's growing wealth is, of course, its happy situation on the nation's highway, commanding a central position with land and water communications spreading in all directions. The fastest expresses stop here; the Chūō (Central) railway line, running to Tokyo starts here; the Osaka-Nagoya line (Kwansai Main Line) makes its special communication with Osaka via Nara. The Bay of Ise, 3 miles from the heart of the city, sends out to the rest of the Empire and to foreign countries all the rich products of the fertile soil of Mino and Owari, of which Nagoya is the capital city.

Nagoya faces both ways, towards Kwantō and Kwansai, and though it has more of Kwansai than of Kwantō in manners and customs, it never forgets its strategic position as the middle capital, now cutting a leg from this, now slicing a joint from that. Of the various industries dyeing and textile stand first. Chemical industries come next, followed by porcelain ware of all kinds. Then come lacquer ware, cloisonné, watches and clocks, fans, glassware and cement, all of which, as well as many others, are important among Nagoya's products. Its chief exports are cotton goods, porcelain, etc., and its imports, wool, raw cotton, lumber, fodder, wheat, coal, etc. Nagoya is rich in agricultural products, especially in vegetables, of which it produces more than enough for its need. Therein lies perhaps the fundamental secret of its growing prosperity. Its soil is good, not only for cereals and vegetables but also for pottery. Situated about 13 miles from the city is the famous town of Seto, from which comes the worldfamous "Setomono" (Seto wares) or porcelain goods.