Gifu Park - History

History

The area that makes up Gifu Park has a long and important role in the history of Gifu City. Though Mount Kinka was strategically important for military purposes, living in the castle atop the mountain would have made daily life very difficult. As such, many important rulers built their main residences at the base of the mountain in modern day Gifu Park.

One of those residences used to belong to Oda Nobunaga. It was called Senjō-jiki (千畳敷), which literally means "one-thousand tatami mats." The residence was so large that it covered approximately two-thirds of the present day park. Much was known about the residence because the Portuguese Jesuit Missionary Luis Frois wrote about it extensively in his journals during his time visiting with Nobunaga, even going so far as to say that Gifu was "as bustling as Babylon." However, until excavation began in 1984, it was unknown whether or not this was actually Nobunaga's Senjō-jiki.

Additionally, the park has also been home to a zoo, an aquarium, the Gifu Prefectural Library, and the Gifu City Science Museum. However, all those facilities have been closed or moved.