Atsuta, ku (ward), Nagoya city, eastern Aichi ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. It constitutes the south-central part of the city.
Atsuta was a port town and early religious centre. In the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867) it was one of the most-prosperous post towns on the Tōkaidō (“Eastern Sea Road”), the main historic land route between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyōto. It was incorporated into Nagoya in 1907 and became a ward in 1937.
Manufacturing was originally based on a pre-World War II munitions industry, but the ward currently produces automobiles, glass, musical instruments, rubber, and cedar products. Atsuta is home to the Shintō Atsuta Shrine, which contains the sword Kusanagi (“Grass-Mower”), one of Japan’s three Imperial Treasures. Pop. (2005) 63,608; (2010) 64,719.