25 Facts About Gifu

1.

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital.

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2.

Gifu continued to flourish even after Japan's unification as both an important shukuba along the Edo period Nakasendo and, later, as one of Japan's fashion centers.

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3.

City of Gifu is located in the southern portion of the prefecture and is on the northern edge of the Nobi Plain.

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4.

When Gifu was founded in 1889, it was a small city that experienced moderate growth as Japan industrialized at the beginning of the century.

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5.

Gifu remained prosperous in the post-war years, until its population started to decline like many Japanese cities in the 1980s and '90s.

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6.

Gifu took the first character from Qishan, the legendary mountain from which most of ancient China was unified.

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7.

Gifu's economy grew immensely during this period, primarily due to its location at the center of Nobunaga's expanding empire.

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8.

Gifu recovered from the earthquake damage by the end of the Meiji period, and by 1911 was prosperous enough to establish a municipal street car service throughout the city.

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9.

In 1940, Gifu absorbed the former post town of Kano, greatly increasing its land area.

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10.

Originally, rubberized silk was used to help these bombs use the newly discovered jet stream to traverse the Pacific Ocean, but Gifu's paper was found to be both stronger, lighter, and more airtight.

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11.

Gifu recovered through the establishment of various local industries.

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12.

Gifu City Tower 43 is an example of cooperation between the public and private sectors, with part of the building belonging to the city and the remainder privately owned.

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13.

Gifu expanded its size in 2006 by merging with the neighboring town of Yanaizu during the great Heisei merger.

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14.

In terms of the national government, Gifu 1st district is a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet.

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15.

The district consists of all of Gifu, excluding the former town of Yanaizu, which falls into the Gifu 3rd District.

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16.

The area just north of JR Gifu Station contains a variety of small clothing stores catering to many types of consumers.

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17.

Gifu has 48 nursery schools and 43 kindergartens available for children.

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18.

Gifu has a North Korean school, the Gifu Korean Elementary and Junior High School.

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19.

Gifu Women's University, a private women's university founded in 1968 is a four-year school.

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20.

Gifu Bus connects Nagoya with Gujo, Seki, Mino and Shirakawa-go.

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21.

Matsuo Basho, a renowned haiku poet in the Edo period, spent many months in Gifu, creating haiku about many things, including cormorant fishing.

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22.

The Gifu Festival is a Shinto festival that begins at Inaba Shrine and winds its way through other shrines within the city.

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23.

Gifu Park is one of the major tourist attractions of the city because it contains many of the museums and is near many other sightseeing spots.

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24.

Gifu's presence was so strong that his death was mourned at the temple for three generations, and his remains are now interred there.

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25.

City of Gifu is currently promoting the Slow Life City Initiative, which is similar to, but more comprehensive than, the slow food initiative.

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