Usuzumizakura 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 34,453 in 12, 464 households, 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 390 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Motosu is located in western Gifu Prefecture.

Mount Nōgōhaku is located on the borders of Gifu and Fukui prefectures in Japan. It is part of the Ryōhaku Mountains and serves as the drainage divide between the Pacific Ocean and the Japan Sea. There is one triangulation station at the top of the mounta ...

, on the border between Motosu and

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...

is the highest point in the city, with an elevation of .

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 Motosu 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 **

** Seki ** Yamagata **

Mizuho Mizuho () literally means "abundant rice" in Japanese and "harvest" in the figurative sense. It was also an ancient name of Japan. It might refer to: Places * Mizuho, Gifu, a city in Gifu * Mizuho, Tokyo, a town in Tokyo * Mizuho Plateau in A ...

Ibigawa is a town located in Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 21,319 in 8,015 households and a population density of 27 persons per km2, in 8,032 households. The total area of the town was . Geography Ibi ...

Ōno 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 * ...

** Kitagata *

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Motosu population statistics
/ref> the population of Motosu peaked around 2010 and has declined since.

City symbols

Motosu city's tree is the

persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...

tree, which is found growing naturally in the mountainous areas of Motosu. As persimmons are also cultivated in Motosu, it was chosen to represent the agricultural industry in the area.Motosu city profile
/ref> The city flower is the usuzumi cherry blossom found in the recently merged Neo. This unique cherry blossom initially sprouts pale pink flowers, which become white in full bloom, and a light black colour when the flowers die. Neo is also home to one of the three largest cherry blossom trees in Japan, which is reported to be the oldest cherry blossom tree in Japan. '' Ayu'' or sweetfish, has been chosen to be the representative fish of the city. Known as "the queen of clear streams", the fish is found in the Neo River that flows through Motosu. Highly regarded for its flavour in Japan, it is fished throughout summer in the rivers. The Motosu city bird is the ''

uguisu The Japanese bush warbler (''Horornis diphone''), known in Japanese as ''uguisu'' (鶯), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. Its distinctive breeding birdsong, song can be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring ...

'' or Japanese bush warbler, found in shrub thickets throughout Motosu. The bush warbler is known for its greenish brown colouring on its back, and white belly. Female birds can also be recognised by their dash pattern on their backs. It is also known as the "flower-viewing" bird, for its appearance near the many cherry blossom trees in the area. In order to commemorate the three-year anniversary Motosu-city's amalgamation of Itonuki, Neo, Shinsei and Motosu, the municipal government began working on a theme song that best represented their vision of the future. The lyrics of the theme song, "Habataite", are intended to convey the ideas of nature and people living harmoniously together. The song is played every afternoon on the loudspeakers to warn children to return home before nightfall. The music was written by the world-renowned

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

player Soujirou, who was commissioned by the local city government to write the theme song.

History

The area around Motosu 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 ...

. 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 ...

, much of the area was under the control of Ogaki Domain under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. In 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, Motosu District in Gifu Prefecture was created. On October 28, 1891, the Mino–Owari earthquake, the second largest earthquake to hit Japan, struck. Its epicenter was located in Motosu. The modern city of Motosu was established on February 1, 2004, from the merger of the former town of ''Motosu'', absorbing the towns of ''Itonuki'' and ''Shinsei'', and the village of ''Neo'' (all from Motosu District).

Government

Motosu 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 16 members.

Economy

On April 29, 2006, Malera Gifu opened on

Mitsuhashi Mitsuhashi (written: 三橋 lit. "three bridges") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese field hockey player *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese entomologist *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese badminton ...

, one of the main roads of Motosu. This shopping centre covers an area of 185,000 m², making it one of the largest shopping centres in Japan. It houses approximately 240 retail outlets, including a supermarket (Valor), restaurants, clothes retailers and a cinema (

Toho Cinema is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer a ...

Education

Colleges and universities

* National Institute of Technology, Gifu College

Primary and secondary education

Motosu has eight public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one public high school operated by the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education, and one private high school ( Gifu Daiichi High School).

Transportation

Railway

Tarumi Railway Tarumi Line The is a Japanese railway line in Gifu Prefecture, between Ōgaki Station, Ōgaki and Tarumi Station, Motosu. It is the only railway line operates. There was a freight rail service that transported cement for Sumitomo Ōsaka Cement of Sumitom ...

** - - - - - - <'> - - <'> - - - - -

Highway

* * *

References

External links

Motosu City official website

Malera official website
{{Authority control Cities in Gifu Prefecture