Japan Heritage story
Gifu: Oda Nobunaga's town of hospitality
「信長公のおもてなし」が息づく戦国城下町・岐阜
Oda Nobunaga is remembered as a ruthless warlord, but in Gifu he was a generous host. He showed guests his castle, served them himself and took them to watch cormorant fishing, which still runs on the Nagara River.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Festivals and rituals, Food and sake
- Era
- Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 「信長公のおもてなし」が息づく戦国城下町・岐阜
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 岐阜県 （岐阜市）
The story
In the Warring States period Oda Nobunaga took a castle town here, named it Gifu and set out to unify Japan. Between battles he won allies with hospitality. At the foot of Mt Kinka he built a palace with huge rock gardens; the Jesuit Luis Frois called it a "paradise on earth". Guests were led up to the mountaintop castle, and Nobunaga carried their trays and served them himself.
Envoys, court nobles, tea masters and missionaries all came, and their letters spread the story as far as Europe. When Frois left, Nobunaga told him to come back to Mino as often as he liked.
What to see
- Gifu Castle on Mt Kinka: the view over the Nobi Plain is still the highlight, as it was for Nobunaga's guests.Google Maps 岐阜城 (opens in a new tab)
- Cormorant fishing (ukai) on the Nagara River: Nobunaga gave the fishermen the title of usho. Basho wrote a haiku about it, and Charlie Chaplin came to watch. The Nagara is the only river where this kind of ukai has continued without a break.Google Maps 長良川鵜飼 (opens in a new tab)
- The old castle town: the street plan has hardly changed since Nobunaga's day. Look for Gifu lanterns, Japanese umbrellas and the Gifu Great Buddha, Japan's largest lacquered Buddha.
- Gifu Matsuri: the spring festival of Inaba Shrine, with dancing floats and puppet floats.
Find more in the Gifu prefecture guide and our pages on castles.
Good to know
- Go up Mt Kinka in the afternoon and stay in town for an evening cormorant-fishing boat.
- Sweetfish (ayu) caught by the cormorants has been a Mino speciality since ancient times. Try it grilled with salt.
- Combine Gifu with the woodworkers' town of Takayama, also in Gifu.
Questions travellers ask
What is ukai?
A way of fishing at night by firelight, where trained cormorants catch sweetfish (ayu) for the fishermen. On the Nagara River it has continued since before Nobunaga's time.
Why is Gifu linked to Nobunaga?
He named the town Gifu and used Gifu Castle as his base while he worked to unify Japan.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.