was a village located in

Ōno District ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * � ...

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

, Japan. As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of 1,359 and a population density of 4.20 persons per km². The total area was 323.28 km². On February 1, 2005, Shōkawa, along with the town of Kuguno, and the villages of

Asahi Asahi (朝日, 旭, or あさひ) means "morning sun" in Japanese and may refer to: Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi (旭� ...

Kiyomi (''Citrus unshiu'' × '' sinensis'') is a Japanese citrus fruit that is a hybrid of a ''Miyagawa Wase'' mikan and an orange. The new breed was the first tangor created in Japan in 1949. It was named Kiyomi after the temple and the lagoon near ...

, Miya, Nyūkawa and Takane (all from

), the town of

Kokufu are the capitals of the historical Provinces of Japan. History As part of the Taika Reform (645) which aimed at a centralization of the administration following the Chinese model (''ritsuryō''), the kokufu and with it the office of the kokush ...

, and the village of Kamitakara (both from Yoshiki District), was merged into the expanded city of Takayama and no longer exists as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. In Fall, the village puts on Japan's longest

lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

festival (

Renjishi ''Renjishi'' (連獅子), or Two Lions, is a kabuki dance with lyrics written by Kawatake Mokuami, choreography by Hanayagi Jusuke I and music by Kineya Shōjirō III and Kineya Katsusaburō II, first performed in 1872. Originally staged for ...

- 連獅子). During the building of the Miboro dam, a portion of the village was submerged. One of the village's oldest cherry trees, which was threatened by the dam project, was transplanted to an area alongside the dam made lake. Though it is merely a pit stop on the way to Shirakawa or Takayama, it boasts an onsen. In 1999, a prehistoric reptile, '' Shokawa ikoi'', was discovered and named after the town.

Climate

Shōkawa, including parts of Takasu-cho have a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

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 ...

''Dfb''), with four distinct seasons. Some of the coldest settlements of mainland Japan (Honshu) can be found on this plateau, with a climate similar to that of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

, boasting an average of 10 metres snowfall throughout the winter season and giving rise to a selection of ski resorts and winter activities.

Notes

External links

Official website of Takayama

The village's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shokawa, Gifu Dissolved municipalities of Gifu Prefecture Takayama, Gifu 2005 disestablishments in Japan