Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Ōgaki (大垣市, Ōgaki-shi) is a city located in Gifu, Japan. The total area of the city was 206.57 square km (79.76 sq mi). 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 north-west 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 centre, and Kamiishizu in the southwest.

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.

Neighbouring municipalities Gifu Prefecture ◦ Gifu; ◦ Hashima; ◦ Mizuho; ◦ Anpachi; ◦ Gōdo; ◦ Ikeda; ◦ Wanouchi; ◦ Sekigahara; ◦ Tarui; ◦ Yōrō.

Mie Prefecture ◦ Inabe

Shiga Prefecture ◦ Maibara; ◦ Taga.

History The area around Ōgaki was part of traditional Mino Province. During the Edo period, the area developed as a castle town for Ōgaki Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. In the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, the town of Ogaki was established within Anpachi District, Gifu Prefecture with the creation of the modern municipalities system on July 1, 1889. It was raised to city status on April 1, 1918. The city suffered severe flooding during the 1934 Muroto typhoon, and was largely destroyed in six air raids in 1945.

Municipal timeline • April 1918: Gained city 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

Government Ōgaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 22 members.

Economy Ibiden, a global electronic components manufacturer, is headquartered in the city.

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.

Local 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.

Transport: Rail • - JR Central - Tōkaidō Main Line; ◦ Ōgaki - Arao - Mino-Akasaka; • Tarumi Railway - Tarumi Railway Tarumi Line; ◦ Ōgaki - Higashi-Ōgaki; • Yōrō Railway Yōrō Line; ◦ Ōtoba - Tomoe - Mino-Yanagi - Nishi-Ōgaki - Ōgaki - Muro - Kita-Ōgaki; • 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.

Transport: Road • Meishin Expressway- Ogaki IC • Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway - Ogaki-nishi IC • National Route 21 • National Route 258 • National Route 365 • National Route 417.