Gifu Prefecture
, is located in the
Chūbu region of central
Japan. Its capital is
Gifu City.
Gifu Prefecture consists of the
old provinces of
Hida and
Mino. The area was named by
Oda Nobunaga during his campaign to unify all of Japan. Historically, it served as the center of swordmaking in all of Japan. More recently, its strengths have been in fashion and aerospace engineering.
One of the few landlocked prefectures in Japan, Gifu Prefecture shares borders with seven other prefectures:
Aichi,
Fukui,
Ishikawa,
Mie,
Nagano,
Shiga and
Toyama Prefectures.
The northern Hida Region is dominated by tall mountains, including the Japanese Alps. The southern Mino Region has vast plains with of arable soil. Most of the prefecture's population resides in the southern part of the prefecture, near the
designated city of
Nagoya.
Cities
|
The view from the top of the hill in Magome, Gifu prefecture. |
21 cities are located on Gifu Prefecture.
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each
district.
Mergers
(as of March 27, 2006)*
April 1,
2003-the towns and villages of
Ijira,
Miyama, and
Takatomi from
Yamagata District (dissolved by this action) merged, forming the city of
Yamagata.
*
May 1,
2003-the towns of
Hozumi and
Sunami merged to form the new city of
Mizuho.
*
February 1,
2004-the towns of
Itonuki,
Motosu,
Neo, and
Shinsei from
Motosu District merged to form the new city of
Motosu.
*
February 1,
2004-the towns of
Furukawa,
Miyagawa,
Kawai, and
Kamioka from
Yoshiki District merged to form the new city of
Hida.
*
March 1,
2004-all seven towns and villages from the former
Gujo District (dissolved by this action) merged, forming the city of
Gujo. The towns and villages that merged were
Hachiman,
Meihou,
Minami,
Shitori,
Takasu,
Wara, and
Yamato.
*
March 1,
2004-all four towns and the village from the former
Mashita District (dissolved by this action) merged, forming the city of
Gero. The towns and village that merged were
Gero (town),
Hagiwara,
Kanayama,
Kosaka, and
Maze.
*
October 25,
2004-four towns and a village from
Ena District merged into the new city of
Ena. The municipalities involved in this merger were the old city of
Ena,
Akechi,
Iwamura,
Kamiyahagi,
Kushihara, and
Yamaoka.
*
November 1,
2004-the former town of
Kawashima from
Hashima District merged into the expanded city of
Kakamigahara.
*
January 31,
2005-five villages and one town from
Ibi District merged create the new town of
Ibigawa. The municipalities involved in this merger were
Fujihashi, (former)
Ibigawa,
Kasuga,
Kuze,
Sakauchi, and
Tanigumi.
*
February 1,
2005-nine towns and villages from
Ono District and the former
Yoshiki District (dissolved by this action) merged into the expanded city of
Takayama. The towns and villages participating in this merger were, from Ono District,
Asahi,
Kiyomi,
Kuguno,
Miya,
Nyukawa,
Shokawa, and
Takane, and, from Yoshiki District,
Kamitakara and
Kokufu.
*
February 7,
2005-five towns and villages from the former
Mugi District (dissolved by this action) merged into the expanded city of
Seki. The towns and villages involved in this merger were
Horado,
Itadori,
Kaminoho,
Mugegawa, and
Mugi.
*
February 13,
2005-six towns and villages from the former
Ena District (dissolved by this action) merged into the expanded city of
Nakatsugawa. The towns and villages involved in this merger were
Fukuoka,
Hirukawa,
Kashimo,
Kawaue,
Sakashita, and
Tsukechi.
*
March 28,
2005-All towns within
Kaizu District-
Hirata,
Kaizu and
Nannou (dissolved by this action) merged into the new city of
Kaizu.
*
May 1,
2005-the town of
Kaneyama from
Kani District merged into the city of
Kani.
*
January 1,
2006-the town of
Yanaizu from
Hashima District merged into the city of
Gifu.
*
January 23,
2006-the town of
Kasahara from
Toki District merged into the city of
Tajimi.
Toki District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*
March 27,
2006-the town of
Kamiishizu from
Yoro District and the town of
Sunomata from
Anpachi District merged into the city of
Ogaki.
Gifu's economy includes many traditional industries such as agriculture and woodworking, but it is dominated by manufacturing industries extending from the Nagoya area, such as aerospace and automotive industry. A major characteristic of Gifu's industry is a wealth of small component manufacturers, such as precision machining, die and mold making, and plastic forming.
Gifu hosted the 2005
World Rowing Championships.
*
Official Gifu Prefecture homepage
