Gifu Prefecture

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**Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県 *Gifu-ken*)**

Capital	Gifu City
Region	Chūbu
Island	Honshū
Governor	Hajime Furuta
Area	10,598.18 km² (7^th)
- % water	0.2%
Population (October 1, 2000)
- Population	2,107,687 (18^th)
- Density	199 /km²
Districts	9
Municipalities	42
ISO 3166-2	JP-21
Website	www.pref.gifu.lg.jp
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus)
- Tree	Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata)
- Bird	Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
Symbol of Gifu Prefecture

Map of Gifu Prefecture.

The view from the top of the hill in Magome, Gifu Prefecture.

Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken^?), is located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is Gifu City.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Miscellaneous topics
5 External links

[edit] History

Gifu Prefecture consists of the old provinces of Hida and Mino. The name of the prefecture derives from its capital city 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.

[edit] Geography

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.

[edit] Cities

Twenty-one cities are located in Gifu Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Anpachi District

Anpachi

Goudo

Wanouchi

Fuwa District

Sekigahara

Tarui

Hashima District

Ginan

Kasamatsu

Ibi District

Ibigawa

Ikeda

Ono

Kamo District

Kani District

Mitake

Motosu District

Kitagata

Ono District

Shirakawa

Yoro District

Yoro

[edit] Mergers

(as of March 27, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

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, Shirotori, 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, Osaka, 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.

[edit] Economy

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.