300px, Ena City Hall is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 48,777, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 96.7 persons per km², in 19,820 households. The total area of the city was .

Geography

Ena is located in the Tōnō region of southeastern Gifu Prefecture. *Mountains:

Mount Kasagi Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Mount Hoko Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, Mount Yūdachi, Mount Byōbu,

Mount Yake literally, ''"Burning mountain"'' is an active volcano in the Hida Mountains, lying between Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, reaching at the highest peak. Geog ...

Mount Mitsumori Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

*Rivers: Kiso River,

Agi River The is a river in Japan which flows through Gifu Prefecture. It is part of the Kiso River system. Geography The river originates from Mount Yaki on the border of Nakatsugawa and Ena and flows west. It flows through the Akigawa Dam and the � ...

, Kamiyahagi River,

Kamimura River Kamimura (written: 上村 or 神村) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese kickboxer *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese animator *, Japanese footbal ...

Akechi River The is a branch of the Toki clan, which is descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Akechi clan thrived around the later part of the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Akechi became the head, soryo of the Toki after the Toki fell to the Saitō c ...

, Toki River,

Ori River Ori or ORI may refer to: People * Ori (Hebrew), a Hebrew given name, and a list of Israeli people with the name * Ori Kowarsky (born 1970), Canadian filmmaker and lawyer * Ōri Umesaka (1900–1965), Japanese photographer * Amos Ori (born 1956) ...

*Lakes:

Ena Gorge is a river valley located at the mid reaches of the Kiso River, which runs through the cities of Ena and Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Ena Gorge was so named by Shiga Shigetaka, a geographer of that time who praised the harmony of th ...

Lake Hokonoko A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Lake Agigawa A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Lake Okuyahagi A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Lake Origawa A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by characterized by hot and humid summers, and mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Ena is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Neighbouring municipalities

*Gifu Prefecture **

Nakatsugawa Magome-juku on the Nakasendō is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,930, and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 30,788 households The total area of the city was . Geography Nakatsugawa is in ...

Mizunami Nakasendō.html"_;"title="Hosokute-juku_on_the_Nakasendō">Hosokute-juku_on_the_ Hosokute-juku_on_the_Nakasendō_">Nakasendō.html"_;"title="Hosokute-juku_on_the_Nakasendō">Hosokute-juku_on_the_Nakasendō_ _is_a_Cities_of_Japan">city_located_in_ ...

* Shirakawa **

Yaotsu is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kamo District, Gifu, Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,036 and a population density of 886 persons per km2, in 4311 households. The total area of the to ...

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

** Neba ** Hiraya *

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ena has declined over the past 40 years.

History

The area around Ena was part of traditional

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

, and the name of "Ena" appears in

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

records, including the '' Nihon Shoki.'' During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, it was mostly controlled by

Iwamura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Mino Province in what is now the town of Iwamura, Gifu. It was centered around Iwamura Castle, and controlled parts of Mino and Suruga Provinces. Iwamura Domain ...

, and Ōi-juku developed as a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

highway connecting Edo with

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. During the post-

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

cadastral reforms, the area was organised into

Ena District, Gifu was a district located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 48,776 and a density of 68.95 persons per km2. The total area was 707.36 km2. Mergers * On October 25, 2004 - the towns of Akechi, Iw ...

. The city was founded on April 1, 1954 by the merger of two towns (Oi and Osashima) and six villages (Tōnō, Sango, Takenami, Kasagi, Nakano, and Iiji), all from Ena District. On October 25, 2004, Ena absorbed the towns of Akechi, Iwamura, Kamiyahagi and Yamaoka, and the village of Kushihara (all from Ena District) to create the expanded city of Ena.

Government

Ena has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 18 members.

Subdivisions

*Ōi-chō (大井町) *Osashima-chō (長島町) *Takenami-chō (武並町) *Misato-chō (三郷町) *Kasagi-chō (笠置町) *Iiji-chō (飯地町) *Nakanohō-chō (中野方町) *Higashino (東野) *Iwamura-chō (岩村町) *Yamaoka-chō (山岡町) *Akechi-chō (明智町) *Kamiyahagi-chō (上矢作町) *Kushihara (串原)

Economy

Ena was noted for its pulp and paper industry for many years. Production of precision instruments dominates the manufacturing sector.

Education

Ena has 14 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.

Chubu University is located in Kasugai, Aichi, Japan. Chubu University was established as the Chubu Institute of Technology in 1964 with the motto "Acta, non Verba" (Actions, not Words), but its institutional history begins with the Nagoya Daichi High School ...

maintains a subsidiary campus in Ena.

Transportation

Railway

JR Central is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

Chūō Main Line The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...

** – *

Akechi Railway The is a Japanese railway line in Gifu Prefecture connecting Ena and Akechi stations, which are both located in Ena. There are stations located in Nakatsugawa city as well. This is the only railway line operates. The third-sector company t ...

- (Akechi Line): ** – – < '' – '' > – – – – – – - )

Highway

Chūō Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central. Naming Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway Na ...

: Ena Interchange - Enakyō Service Area * * * *

Local attractions

Ōi-juku *

Hiroshige Museum of Art, Ena Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...

Agigawa Dam is a dam built on the Kiso River system, located in the Higashino section of Ena City, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. History The Agi River connects with the Kiso River just below Ōi Dam, running through a basin with a fairly large 2,000&n ...

Iwamura Castle 270px, Edo period layout was located in the southeastern area of Mino Province in Japan. Its ruins can be found in the modern-day municipal subdivision of Iwamura, in Ena, Gifu Prefecture. Along with Takatori Castle in Nara and Bitchu-Matsuyama ...

Ruins ** Hondōri Iwamura-chō * Nihon Taishō Mura * Sasayuri no Yu *

Yahagi Dam During the construction of the dam the two villages of Asahi and Kushihara were flooded. 177 villagers were displaced. See also * Yahagi No.2 Dam Dams in Aichi Prefecture Dams completed in 1970 {{Japan-dam-stub ...

* Mongol Village

Notable people from Ena

Kiyohiro Araki is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Ena, Gifu 300px, Ena City Hall is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population o ...

(member of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

) *

Utako Shimoda was a Japanese educator and poet of the Meiji and Taishō period. Born in present-day Ena, Gifu, she was the founder many educational organizations, including what is today Jissen Women's University. She had international influence, and was ...

(founder of Jissen Women's Educational Institute) * Kazuo Nagano (noted fraudster chairman of )Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Gifu Prefecture