city, south-central Aichi ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. It is located in the Mikawa Plain, on the Yahagi River, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Nagoya. It developed around Okazaki Castle after its construction in 1455. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) it prospered as one of the post towns on the Tōkaidō (“Eastern Sea Road”) route.

Okazaki refused to allow the Tōkaidō rail line to pass through the city in 1888. The town then declined until it was connected with Nagoya and Toyohashi by rapid-transit lines. Now an industrial centre, it produces textiles, foods, machinery, chemicals, and fabricated metals. Pop. (2005 prelim.) 354,707.