Gifu

Gifu (gē`f), city (1990 pop. 410,324), capital of Gifu prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. A manufacturing and railway center, it has paper and textile industries and is noted for its trout fishing. It is the seat of Gifu Univ. (1949) and of the Nawa Entomology Institute (founded 1896). Strategically located between Kyoto and Tokyo, Gifu served as the headquarters (16th cent.) of Nobunaga. The city was reduced to ashes by fires following an earthquake in 1891. Gifu prefecture (1990 pop. 2,066,579), 4,052 sq mi (10,495 sq km), is mountainous and includes part of the Kiso plain. It is known for the manufacture of automobiles, machinery, textiles, paper, and pottery, and for large zinc deposits in the region. Population is concentrated in Gifu (the capital), Ogaki, and Seki.

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Gifu

a city in Japan, on central Honshu: hot springs, textile and paper lantern manufacturing. Pop.: 401 269 (2002 est.)

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Gifu 

a prefecture in Japan, located in the central part of Honshu Island. Area, 10,600 sq km. Population, 1.7 million (1966), including about 59 percent urban. The administrative center is the city of Gifu.

The surface of Gifu is an upland area at an altitude of 500-1,500 m, bordered by the volcanic mountain range of Hida (up to 3,190 m) and Ryohaku (up to 2,702 m). Spruce forests are widely distributed across the deeply cleft slopes. To the south, on the lower reaches of the Kiso River, there is a fertile plain.

Gifu is part of the Tokai economic region. Of the general mass of the economically active population (890,000), 22 percent work in agriculture, more than 33 percent in the manufacturing industry, 15.5 percent in commerce, and 11 percent in service industries. The leading branches of industry (as percentage ratios of their value to the whole industrial production of the prefecture) are textiles (30 percent), sewing and transportation machine building (8 percent), woodworking (6 percent), and paper (6 percent). Gifu is an important timber-producing region for Japan (1.7 million cu m of wood produced). The prefecture is responsible for one-quarter of Japanese zinc ore extraction. There are 98,000 hectares of arable land, of which 65 percent is under rice (harvest, 224,000 tons). There are orchards, and there are mulberry tree plantations and a silk industry. The tourist industry includes mineral water health resorts.

N. A. SMIRNOV

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Gifu 

a city in Japan in the center of Honshu Island on the Nagara River. Administrative center of Gifu Prefecture. Population, 398,000 (1968). Railroad junction. Gifu is a center of the silkworm-breeding and silk production region. Paper, paper umbrellas, lanterns, and screens intended for export are manufactured, and there is aircraft construction. The Nawa Economic Institute (founded in 1896) is located in the city. Gifu was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1891.