Clear the Nagoya Local Quiz and earn the Nagoya Local title. Want to know Nagoya even better, or already confident? The tougher courses are next.
From coffee shops that serve a morning set to the castles of warlords, Nagoya covers remarkable ground, and so does its quiz. Questions range over Nagoya Castle with its golden shachi, Atsuta Jingu and its ancient sword, the local table of hitsumabushi and miso-nikomi udon, the three unifiers Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu who all emerged from this region, and place names like Gokiso and Irinaka that resist a first reading. Nagoya dialect, from "dera" to "yattokame," falls within range, as do the streets of Osu. You may discover that what you assumed was common local knowledge is hazier than you thought. For a warm-up, the practice questions are ready.
Q1.What is the famous Nagoya specialty of deep-fried chicken wings seasoned with a sweet-and-savory sauce?
Motsu-nabe (offal hot pot)
Champon
Tebasaki (chicken wings)
Mentaiko
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerTebasaki (chicken wings)
Tebasaki are chicken wingtips fried crisp, brushed with a sweet-savory glaze, and finished with pepper and sesame. A staple of Nagoya izakaya, the peppery wings grew from bar snack into a signature of Nagoya cuisine, with specialty chains carrying them nationwide.
Q2.What is the Nagoya-born dish of grilled eel over rice, eaten by varying the flavor with condiments and broth?
Una-ju (eel box)
Kabayaki-don
Tendon
Hitsumabushi
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerHitsumabushi
Hitsumabushi is finely sliced grilled eel served over rice in a wooden tub. The ritual is to enjoy it three ways: first as is, then with condiments, and finally doused with broth or tea. The name is said to combine ohitsu, the tub, with mabusu, to mix in.
Q3.Which canal/river, flowing through Nagoya, was developed together with the construction of Nagoya Castle?
Kanda River
Dotonbori
Horikawa
Onagi River
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerHorikawa
The Horikawa canal was dug in step with the building of Nagoya Castle. Carrying goods from the port at Atsuta up to the castle town, it powered Nagoya's economy and still flows through the city center today.
Q4.Which museum in Higashi Ward, Nagoya, houses daimyo artifacts handed down by the Owari Tokugawa family?
Nagoya City Art Museum
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Yokoyama Art Museum
Tokugawa Art Museum
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Correct answerTokugawa Art Museum
Opened in 1935, the Tokugawa Art Museum holds more than ten thousand daimyo heirlooms handed down in the Owari Tokugawa family, built around Ieyasu's own estate. Its holdings include the celebrated Tale of Genji illustrated scrolls among nine National Treasures and 59 Important Cultural Properties.
Q5.Who was the 7th lord of the Nagoya (Owari) Domain, known for his deregulation-oriented policies?
Tokugawa Yoshinao
Tokugawa Muneharu
Tokugawa Mitsutomo
Tokugawa Yoshikatsu
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerTokugawa Muneharu
Tokugawa Muneharu, seventh lord of Owari, answered the austerity of Shogun Yoshimune's Kyoho Reforms with deregulation and encouragement of spending, licensing theaters and festivals that set Nagoya buzzing. The shogunate forced him into confinement, yet his rule is remembered as the seed of Nagoya's flourishing merchant and performing culture.
