city, Aichi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, southeast of Nagoya. It was founded as a small castle town in 1533 by the Mizuno clan and was passed to various daimyo families during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). The city became a station on the Tōkaidō Line (railway) in 1888. Closely linked to nearby Toyota, Kariya produces automobile parts, as well as textile and farm machinery and ceramic tiles. Pop. (2005) 142,134.