Ōgaki, Gifu

Ōgaki 大垣市
City
Ōgaki Castle
Flag
Location of Ōgaki in Gifu Prefecture
Ōgaki Location in Japan
Coordinates: 35°22′N 136°37′E / 35.367°N 136.617°ECoordinates: 35°22′N 136°37′E / 35.367°N 136.617°E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Gifu Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Bin Ogawa
Area
• Total	206.52 km^2 (79.74 sq mi)
Population (31 January 2013)
• Total	163,364
• Density	790/km^2 (2,000/sq mi)
Symbols
• Tree	Cinnamomum camphora
• Flower	Satsuki azalea
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address	2-29 Marunouchi, Ōgaki-shi, Gifu-ken 503-8601
Website	www.city.ogaki.lg.jp

Ōgaki Castle in 1933

Ōgaki (大垣市 Ōgaki-shi) is a city in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was incorporated as a city on April 1, 1918.

As of January 31, 2013, the city has an estimated population of 163,364^[1] and a population density of 790 persons per km². The total area is 206.52 km².

Ōgaki was the final destination for the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō on one of his long journeys as recounted in his book Oku no Hosomichi. Every November the city holds a Bashō Festival.

Geography

Ōgaki is located in the northwest area of the Nōbi Plain in Gifu Prefecture and is known as being the most centrally-located city in Japan.

As a result of its 2006 merger with the town of Kamiishizu (from Yōrō District), and the town of Sunomata (from Anpachi District), the city consists of three disconnected regions, with Sunomata in the east, the original Ōgaki in the center, and Kamiishizu in the southwest.^[2]

The main river flowing through the city is the Ibi River; however, the Nagara River forms the border between Ōgaki and the neighboring cities of Gifu and Hashima.

Adjacent municipalities

• Gifu Prefecture
  • Gifu
  • Hashima
  • Mizuho
  • Anpachi, Gōdo and Wanouchi (Anpachi District)
  • Ikeda (Ibi District)
  • Sekigahara and Tarui (Fuwa District)
  • Yōrō (Yōrō District)
• Mie Prefecture
  • Inabe
• Shiga Prefecture
  • Maibara
  • Taga (Inukami District)

Municipal annexations

• April 1918: Gained municipal status
• April 1928: Merged with parts of the village of Kitakuise, Anpachi District (specifically the localities of Kido, Minamiisshiki, Kasagi, Kasanui and Gama)
• December 1934: Merged with village of Minamikuise, Anpachi District
• June 1935: Merged with village of Tagishima, Anpachi District
• June 1936: Merged with village of Yasui, Anpachi District
• February 1940: Merged with villages of Urū and Shizusato, Fuwa District
• October 1947: Merged with villages of Ayasato, Fuwa District, and Sumoto, Anpachi District
• June 1948: Merged with village of Asakusa, Anpachi District
• October 1948: Merged with village of Kawanami and the Maze part of Maki, Anpachi District
• April 1949: Merged with village of Nakagawa, Anpachi District
• April 1951: Merged with village of Wagō, Anpachi District
• June 1952: Merged with village of Mitsukoshi, Anpachi District
• October 1954: Merged with village of Arasaki, Fuwa District
• September 1967: Merged with town of Akasaka, Fuwa District
• April 1988: Established city constitution
• March 27, 2006: Merged with towns of Kamiishizu, Yōrō District, and Sunomata, Anpachi District^[2]

Sister and friendship cities

Ōgaki is twinned with the following towns and cities.

• Changwon, South Korea
• Handan, China
• Berea, Ohio, United States
• Beaverton, Oregon, United States^[3]
• Stuttgart, Germany^[4]
• Namur, Belgium
• Glen Eira, Australia
• Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture
• Hioki, Kagoshima

Educational institutions

Universities and colleges

• Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS)
• Gifu Keizai University
• Ogaki Women's College
• Institute for Fashion Studies (IFS)
• Ogaki Nursing College (moved to Ogaki Medical Association March 31, 2006)
• Nihon Information Processing College
• Nihon General Business College
• Nihon-Chūō Nursing College Ogaki
• Nihon-Chūō Gakuen Culinary College

High schools

• Ogaki Kita Senior High School^[5]
• Ogaki Higashi Senior High School
• Ogaki Minami Senior High School
• Ogaki Nishi Senior High School
• Ogaki Technical High School
• Ogaki-Shogyo Business High School^[6]
• Nihon University Ogaki Senior High School
• Ogaki School for Handicapped (primary through senior high)
• Hirano Gakuen
• Ogaki Sakura High School

International schools

• Escola Brasileira Prof. Kawase - Brazilian primary school^[7]

Transportation

Railways

• Central Japan Railway Company
  • Tōkaidō Main Line: Ōgaki Station, Arao Station, Mino Akasaka Station
• Yoro Railway
  • Yoro Railway Line: Otoba Station, Tomoe Station, Mino Aoyagi Station, Nishi Ogaki Station, Ogaki Station, Muro Station, Kita Ogaki Station
• Tarumi Railway Company
  • Tarumi Line: Ogaki Station, Higashi Ogaki Station
• Seino Railway (freight railway)
  • Seino Ichihashi Line: Mino Akasaka Station, Otomezaka Station, Saruiwa Station, Ichihashi Station
  • Seino Hirui Line: Mino Akasaka Station, Mino Okubo Station, Hirui Station

Highways

• Meishin Expressway: Ogaki Interchange
• Tokai-kanjo Expressway: Ogaki-nishi Interchange
• National Route 21
• National Route 258
• National Route 365
• National Route 417

Visitor attractions

• Akasaka-juku, the 56th station on the Nakasendō
• Kokubun-ji ruins
• Basho's Oku no Hosomichi Haiku Journey Memorial
• Ōgaki Castle
• Softopia Japan
• Sumiyoshi Lighthouse
• Sunomata Castle

References

1. 人口と世帯 [Population and households]. Ogaki official website (in Japanese). Ogaki City. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
2. 総括 1 大垣市の沿革 (PDF). Ōgaki official website (in Japanese). Retrieved August 17, 2011.
3. http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/index.aspx?NID=1552. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. "Stuttgarter Stadtporträt/Städtepartnerschaften/Internationale Partnerschaften/Besonders freundschaftliche Beziehungen". Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Abteilung Außenbeziehungen (Official website of Stuttgart) (in German).
7. "Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão" (Archive). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.

External links

• Ōgaki City official website (Japanese)