Mino, Gifu

Mino (美濃市) is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 20,749 in 8149 households, and a population density of 180 persons per km2. The total area of the city was 117.01 sqkm. The city is renowned for traditional Japanese Mino washi paper and its streets, which are in the style of the early Edo period (1603–1868). An urban area known as "Udatsu Townscape" (うだつのあがるまちなみ) was designated as an important traditional building group conservation area by the government on May 13, 1999.

Geography
Mino is located in the south-central Gifu Prefecture. The Nagara River and the Itadori River flow through the city. Mino is surrounded by the city of Seki to the west, south and east, and by the city of Gujō to the north.

Climate
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Mino is 14.8 C. The average annual rainfall is 2207.8 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.2 °C.

Neighbouring municipalities

 * Gifu Prefecture
 * Seki
 * Gujō

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Mino has decreased gradually over the past 40 years.

History
The area around Mino was part of tthe raditional Mino Province. During the Edo period, Kanamori Nagachika, the founder of Takayama Domain was granted permission by Tokugawa Ieyasu to build Oguriyama Castle on the Nagara River. Due to floods, the castle town was relocated in 1605 to higher ground. The area later became part of the holdings of Owari Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. In the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, Mugi District in Gifu Prefecture was created, and with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on July 1, 1889 the town of Kozuchi was created. In July 1909 Kozuchi was the site of a meteorite impact. The meteorite, which massed about 13.5 kg, broke into pieces and fell across an area 13 mi long and 5 mi wide. The largest piece, about 4 kg, fell in the village of Gokurakuji. On April 1, 1911, Kozuchi was renamed Mino. Mino was raised to city status on April 1, 1954 with the merger of the town of Mino with the villages of Suhara, Shimomaki, Kamimaki, Oyada, Aimi, and Nakauchi.

Government
Mino has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 13 members.

Education
Mino has five public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one public high school operated by the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education.

Railway

 * Nagaragawa Railway logo.svg - Nagaragawa Railway Etsumi-Nan Line
 * Matsumori - Minoshi - Umeyama - Yunohora-Onsenguchi - Suhara

Highway

 * [[file:JP Expressway E41.svg|35px]] Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway
 * [[file:JP Expressway C3.svg|25px]] Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway

Sister city relations

 * 🇹🇼 - Meinong District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, friendship city since November 29, 2012

Local attractions

 * Ogurayama Castle Ruins
 * Yawata Shrine

Notable people from Mino

 * Chiune Sugihara, diplomat