 Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken) - A
prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its
capital is the city of Gifu. Located in the center of Japan,
it has long played an important part as the crossroads of
Japan, connecting the east to the west. During the Sengoku
period, many people referred to Gifu by saying, "control
Gifu and you control Japan."
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. Japan's postal codes all start with a
three-digit number, ranging from 001 to 999. Part of Gifu
has the 500 prefix, giving further proof of its location in
the center of Japan.
Gifu Prefecture has five unofficial regions, which allows
local municipalities to work together to promote the
surrounding area. The five regions are Seinō (西濃), Gifu
(岐阜), Chūnō (中濃), Tōnō (東濃) and Hida (飛騨). The borders of
the regions are loosely defined, but they are usually
delineated among major cities.
The northern Hida region is dominated by tall mountains,
including parts of the Japanese Alps. The southern Mino
region is mostly made up of parts of the fertile Nōbi Plain,
a vast plains area with arable soil. Most of the
prefecture's population resides in the southern part of the
prefecture, near the designated city of Nagoya.
The mountainous Hida region contains both the Hida
Mountains,which are referred to as the "Northern Alps," and
the Kiso Mountains, which are known as the "Central Alps" in
Japan. The Ryōhaku Mountains are also located in the Hida
region. Other major ranges include the Ibuki Mountains and
the Yōrō Mountains.
Much of the Mino region is made up of the alluvial plain of
the Kiso Three Rivers, which are the Ibi River, Kiso River
and Nagara River. The source for all three rivers is located
in Nagano Prefecture and they eventually run through Aichi
and Mie prefectures before emptying into Ise Bay. Other
major rivers in the prefecture include the Jinzū, Takahara,
Shō, Shōnai, Yahagi and Ishitoro rivers.
Because the Mino region is surrounded by low mountains, the
temperature fluctuates through the year, from hot summers to
cold winters. The eastern city of Tajimi, for example,
generally records the hottest temperature throughout all of
Japan each year and, on August 16, 2007, it set the record
for hottest recorded day in Japan's history--40.9 degrees
Celsius. The summers are made hotter because the landlocked
area becomes a heat island, which is further worsened when
hot, dry foehn winds blow over the Ibuki Mountains out of
the Kansai region. The Hida region, with its higher
elevation, is generally cooler than the Mino region, though
there are sometimes extremely hot days there, as well.
Shōkawa-chō, part of the city of Takayama, is located up in
the mountains and its location has led it to be called the
coldest inhabitted place on Honshū.
 The land area that makes up modern-day Gifu became part of
the Yamato Court around the middle of the fourth century.
Because it is in the middle of the island of Honshū, it has
been the site of many decisive battles throughout Japan's
history, the oldest major one being the Jinshin War in 672,
which led to the establishment of Emperor Temmu as the 40th
emperor of Japan.
The land area of Gifu Prefecture consists of the old
provinces of Hida and Mino, as well as smaller parts of
Echizen and Shinano. The name of the prefecture derives from
its capital city, Gifu, which was named by Oda Nobunaga
during his campaign to unify all of Japan in 1567. The first
character used comes from Qishan (岐山), a legendary mountain
from which most of China was unified, whereas the second
character comes from Qufu (曲阜), the birthplace of Confucius.
Nobunaga chose those characters because he wanted to unify
all of Japan and he wanted to be viewed as a great mind.
Historically, the prefecture served as the center of
swordmaking in all of Japan, with Seki being known for
making the best swords in Japan. More recently, its
strengths have been in fashion (primarily in the city of
Gifu) and aerospace engineering (Kakamigahara).
On October 28, 1891, the present-day city of Motosu was the
epicenter for the Mino-Owari Earthquake, the largest
earthquake to ever hit Japan. The earthquake, estimated at
8.0 earthquake, left a huge cleft in the ground that can
still be seen today.
Twenty-one cities are located in Gifu Prefecture:
Ena
Gero
Gifu (capital)
Gujō
Hashima
Hida
Kakamigahara
Kani
Kaizu
Mino
Minokamo
Mizuho
Mizunami
Motosu
Nakatsugawa
Ōgaki
Seki
Tajimi
Takayama
Toki
Yamagata
Information source: “Gifu Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 2 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Gifu Prefecture>. |
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