Editing Gifu Prefecture (section)

== History ==
{{See also|List of Historic Sites of Japan (Gifu)}}

The land area that makes up modern-day Gifu became part of the [[Yamato period|Yamato Court]] around the middle of the fourth century. Because it is in the middle of the island of [[Honshu]], 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 Tenmu]] as the 40th emperor of Japan.

The area of Gifu Prefecture consists of the [[Old provinces of Japan|old provinces]] of [[Hida Province|Hida]] and [[Mino Province|Mino]], as well as smaller parts of [[Echizen Province|Echizen]] and [[Shinano Province|Shinano]].<ref>Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|p. 780|page=780}}</ref> The name of the prefecture derives from its capital city, [[Gifu]], which was named by [[Oda Nobunaga]] during [[Siege of Inabayama Castle|his campaign]] to unify all of Japan in 1567.<ref name="kashimoristone">Stone ledger in front of [[Kashimori Shrine]]. Erected by Kashimori Shrine.</ref> 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]].<ref name="gkankou">[http://www.kankou-gifu.jp/en/outline/index.html Gifu tour guide – Outline of Gifu Prefecture] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001133648/http://www.kankou-gifu.jp/en/outline/index.html |date=October 1, 2011 }}. Gifu Prefecture Tourist Federation. Accessed September 9, 2007.</ref> 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 for the whole of Japan, with [[Seki, Gifu|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, Gifu|Motosu]] was the [[epicenter]] for the [[1891 Mino–Owari earthquake|Mino–Owari earthquake]], the second largest earthquake to ever hit Japan.<ref name="nsm">[http://research.kahaku.go.jp/rikou/namazu/04nobi/noubi.html Mino Earthquake] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706095621/http://research.kahaku.go.jp/rikou/namazu/04nobi/noubi.html |date=July 6, 2014 }}. {{in lang|ja}} Tokyo Science Museum. Accessed July 5, 2007.</ref> The earthquake, estimated at 8.0 ([[surface-wave magnitude]]), left a [[fault scarp]] that can still be seen today.