Gojo City (五條市)
Gojo City is a city located in the midwest part of Nara Prefecture. It is a central city in Nanwa region.
Geography
Gojo City is located in the area along the Yoshino-gawa River (called the Kino-kawa River in Wakayama Prefecture), and has been thought important as a strategic traffic point connecting Yamato Province with Kii Province, or as an entrance into Yoshino Mountains since ancient times.
The Yoshino-gawa River flows to the west dividing the center of the city into parts. The city is surrounded by the Mt. Kongo (Kongo Mountains) and Yoshino mountain ranges, and if you go a little ways out of the urban area, you can see many steep slopes.
Neighboring municipalities
Nara Prefecture
Gose City, Oyodo Town in Yoshino County, Shimoichi Town, Tenkawa Village, Kurotaki Village, Nosegawa Village, Totsukawa Village and Kamikitayama Village.
Osaka Prefecture
Kawachinagano City, Chihayaakasaka Village in Minamikawachi County
Wakayama Prefecture
Hashimoto City, Koya Town in Ito County
Place-name description, '五條' or '五条.'
The City Hall has taken the name '五條,' on the other hand, while the station name of the JR Wakayama Line is described as 五条 Station (Nara Prefecture). Under such circumstances, on July 1, 2002, the description of five post offices in the city containing 'Gojo' in their names was revised 'from五条 to五條' in unison (also refer to Gojo Post Office).
五條' description
City Hall, police stations, fire stations, post offices (from July 1, 2002), Nara Kotsu Bus Lines (Gojo Bus Center and other bus stop names), town names of 1 to 4-chome, Gojo, names of elementary, junior high and high schools and interchanges.
In addition to this, most of the major government offices are described as '五條.'
五条' description
Gojo Station of the JR Wakayama Line (Nara Prefecture) (however, the bus top is described as '五條Station'), post offices (until June 30, 2002).
Refer to Shijonawate City as a similar example.
Campaign concerning the description of "じょう"
Concerning the description of Gojo City (Gojo Village, Uchi County) in the past, both descriptions are found.
Around the end of the Meiji period, '五條 Prefecture' was established and has also been recognized from official documents, etc. at that time that it was described as "五條;" this is because of the fact that there used to be the 五條 daikansho (regional office of administrative official) here. Even at the time of the enforcement of the municipal organization in 1957, when they had been advocating a simplification of old form of Chinese characters, the first mayor, Yonezo YAMAMOTO applied for a description of '五條 City' to the nation and the prefecture. However, it was stated as '五条' by mistake in the notification of an official gazette, and the city immediately requested the nation to have it corrected, and they notified again to the effect that the description had been a literal error in the next official gazette. On the other hand, it was described as '五條' in the public relations in Nara Prefecture from the start.
In 1997, the 40th anniversary of the enforcement of the municipal organization, the city requested many public organizations to revise '五条' to '五條' when using it as a city name; this is because there was a campaign to reduce the misuse of the descriptions that occurred among the citizens. As a result, such a revision was conducted by the nation (information signs in the roads), Nara Prefecture, police stations, post offices, major newspaper companies and Nara Kotsu Bus Lines, etc. However, even now, there are still a few descriptions of '五条' in the cases where only '五条' can be described (examples: banks and the savings department of post offices); this is because of problems related to how computers handle old Chinese characters, and the costs for modifying the system; for proper nouns like a company name that includes '五条,' or station names like '五条 Station' this is still an issue.
Population
Statistics by Nara Prefecture
36,144 people as of October 1, 2007
Population growth rate (from 2002 to 2007), -7.8%
* The population in 2002 was calculated by adding the populations of Gojo City, Nishi-yoshino Village and Oto Village together.
It is less convenient for transportation compared with neighboring Hashimoto City, Oyodo Town which have railroads bound directly for the heart of Osaka. Compared with the both city and town in which a housing land development had been advanced as bed towns, which resulted in a rapid increase in the population, the population of Gojo City has been walking sideways.
History
It used to be Uchi County in ancient times, and there are shrines based on the Engishiki (an ancient book for codes and procedures on national rites and prayers), including Uchi-jinja Shrine and Adahime-jinja Shrine (former Ada-go) dedicated by Hayato ADA who was forced to move to Yamato Province. Further, Hakkakudo (national treasure) built by FUJIWARA no Nakamaro in the Nara period also remains in Eizan-ji Temple.
When Yoshino, the base of the Southern Court surrendered in 1348 in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, the Emperor Gomurakami entered Ano (currently Nishiyoshino Town, Gojo City) and the Southern Court was placed temporarily. In 1600, Shigemasa MATSUKURA was awarded a territory as a conferral of honors in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Yamato Gojo Domain (currently Futami, Gojo City) was established and survived until Shigemasa was transferred to Shimabara Domain in 1616 in the Edo period.
Shigemasa made efforts to promote Shinmachi, a castle town in Gojo Domain and created the base of the prosperity thereafter. However, he was the cause of much tyranny after he was transferred to Shimabara Domain, and that led to the Shimabara War. Afterward, it became owned by the shogunate of the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), and the Gojo daikansho was established in 1795. It was blessed with facilities for transportation, including many kaidos (roads) and water transpotation by the Yoshino-gawa River (Kino-kawa River), etc., and prospered as the center of the administration of southern Yamato Province. Shinmachi-dori street corresponding to former Kishu Kaido Road is the center of the city, in which many houses which would remind us of those days remain even in the present.
It is also known for an incident where tenchu-gumi (royalist party to inflict punishment) assaulted the Gojo daikansho and killed the daikan (local governor), Gennai SUZUKI on September 29, 1863, which lighted a signal fire of the movement to overthrow the Shogunate (Tenchu-gumi incident).
The base of tenchu-gumi was placed in Sakurai-ji Temple (currently Sue, Gojo City near Honjin Crossing), and they temporarily named themselves 'Gojo Provisional Government.'
Gojo Prefecture was placed in a certain period in the first year of the Meiji period.
On October 15, 1957, two towns and six villages were merged; they were Gojo Town, Makino Village, Kita Uchi Village, Uchi Village, Oada Village, Minami Ada Village, Nohara Town and Sakaaibe Village, in Uchi County and this did not include Minami Uchi Village.
On January 1, 1959, Minami Uchi Village in Uchi County was incorporated into it.
On September 25, 2005, Nishi Yoshino Village and Oto Village in Yoshino County (Nara Prefecture) were incorporated into it. Meanwhile, Oaza of former Nishi Yoshino Village and that of former Oto Village came to start with '(Gojo City) Nishi Yoshino Town' and '(Gojo City) Oto Town' respectively.
Mayor
Haruo YOSHINO (from April, 2007 -)
In June, 2007, Nara Newspaper reported a suspicion that 'Haruo YOSHINO would have forced the former mayor, Nobuharu ENOKI into resigning his office through people relating to gangster organizations.'
Haruo YOSHINO denied it, however, the city assembly saw it as a problem, and rejected the personal affairs of educational board members in July, which resulted in a confusion of the municipal government. The establishment of the investigation commission to investigate the fact based on Article 100 of the Local Autonomy Act was proposed at a city assembly held on August 10, which was approved by a majority. A summoning of Haruo YOSHINO and the people relating to gangster organizations was held on September 20, however, the testimonies were widely different between the both parties.
Economy
Industry
Japanese persimmon
Manufacture, wholesale of disposable wooden chopsticks (There is a secretariat thereof in the city.)
Lumber industry
There is an industrial complex, Techno-park Nara in Sumikawa-cho in the northeastern part of the city.
South Daiwa Neo-police' (a town name is Denen) and 'Natsumi-dai Velde Stage' (a town name is Natsumi-dai), new towns developed by the former Daiwa Danchi Co., Ltd. (currently Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.) spread in the northwestern part of the city.
There are Fashion Center Shimamura Gojo shop, SATY Gojo (a chain store), Gojo shop Okuwa and Kohnan Home Stock Gojo Futami Shop, etc. as commercial facilities, which are located in clumps in the areas along the National Road 24. The commercial avenues around the Gojo Station distant from the national road have remarkably declined. Traffic on the national road has decreased because of the opening of the Keinawa Expressway, Gojo Road (a bypass of the National Road 24). In April, 2005, a regional largest-scale shopping mall (Oh-Street-Hashimoto-Ayanodai) opened in the neighboring Hashimoto City in Wakayama Prefecture.
Main business places
Koyo Machine Industries Co., Ltd., Gojo Plant (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho)
Kakinohasushi Honpo Tanaka, Head Office (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho)
Hosokawa Micron Corporation, Nara Office (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho)
Hoshienu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., head Office, Gojo Factory (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho): Mainly manufacturing non-prescription drugs, such as Pre-call, Pyroace, etc.
Tsutsunaka Plastic Industry Co., Ltd., Nara Plant (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho)
Nippon Valqua Industries, Ltd., Nara Office (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho)
Daiwa Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Head Office (in Techno-park Nara, Sumikawa-cho): A disposable wooden chopsticks maker
Club Cosmetics Co., Ltd., Gojo Factory (Sumikawa-cho): A cosmetics maker
Uotani-tekko Inc., Head Office (Inukai-cho): Famous for its sugarcane harvester
Toyama Orchid Farm, Nara Farm (Nohara Higashi): A farm run by a horticulturist, Masakatsu TOYAMA.
Traffic
Railroads
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Wakayama Line, Kita-Uchi Station – Gojo Station (Nara Prefecture) - Yamato-Futami Station
In the eastern part of the city, many people use Fukugami Station, Oada Station of the Kintetsu Yoshino Line located in Oyodo Town.
In the western part of the city, many people use Hashimoto Station, Rinkandenentoshi Station of the Nankai Koya Line located in Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture.
There used to be a freight feeder line from around Yamato-Futami Station to Kawabata Station. Further, there used to be a plan to construct Goshin Line connecting Gojo Station with Shingu Station, and a part of the construction was executed. Currently, the remains of an elevated bridge of Goshin Line are left in the center of the city.
Route buses
Nara Kotsu Bus Lines
Roads
Gojo City is a hub for traffic from the roads heading toward Osaka Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture and Yoshino Mountains areas.
Keinawa Expressway (scheduled): Currently, a section of the road within Gojo City is also called 'Gojo Road.'
Leisure
Kino-kawa River
Mt. Kongo (Kongo Mountains)
Akatani Auto Camp (Mori-no-yu)
Sightseeing
Historic sites from ancient times up to modern times dot the city.
Eizan-ji Temple (having Hakkakudo, a national treasure and a bonsho [temple bell])
Shinmachi-dori street (former Kishu Kaido Road keeping the air of the Edo period)
Kuriyama family residence (built in 1607; said to be the oldest private house in Japan which has an identified time of construction) is a national treasure and not disclosed.
Machinami Denshokan (Townscape Museum)
Machiyakan (the birthplace of a politician, Tokutaro KIMURA)
Sakurai-ji Temple, the site of the headquarters of Tenchu-gumi
Gojo City Museum (characterized by a cylindrical appearance designed by Tadao ANDO)
Yorasezan Shoren-ji Temple (a temple dedicating Ame-hare Jizo, Koyasan Shingonshu Sect)
Daitaku-ji Temple
Grand Head Temple of Bentenshu sect, Nyoi-ji Temple, Shusogobyo Mausoleum
Ano Bairin Plum Grove
Remains of Ano Imperial Palace
Nishiyoshion Onsen Hot Spring
Hoshi-no-kuni (containing a Michi no Eki [a roadside rest area with a market of local products for tourists], observatory, planetarium, accommodation facilities and Hoshi-no-yu)
Oto Village Kyodo-kan Museum
Fureai Koryu-kan (Oto Onsen Hot Spring 'Yume-no-yu')
Koyatsuji View Point
Miyano-taki Waterfall
Kaki (Persimmon) Museum
Architectural remains
Goshin Line (Sakamoto Line): The old tracks remain, unused, in the urban and mountainous areas.
Festivals
On January 14, Oni Hashiri (at Dadado in Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Otsu-cho)
On August 15, 16, Yoshino River Festival (at Okawa-bashi Bridge riverbed)
Others
Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University
Oto Cosmo Observatory (in Tentsuji Tunnel of the Goshin Line of the old Japanese National Railway)
It has a population of only 38,000 people, however, whose lives are enriched by as many as 14 city gymnasiums.
With respect to weather report classifications, and other warnings and advisories, the pre-merger Gojo City area and the former Nishi-yoshino Village area in Yoshino County belong to the 'whole area of Nara Prefecture –> the northern part of Nara Prefecture -> Gojo and the northern part of Yoshino, Nara Prefecture.'
The former Oto Village area in Yoshino County belongs to 'the whole area of Nara Prefecture -> the southern part of Nara Prefecture –> southwestern part of Nara Prefecture.'
Since a revision of the classifications has not made even after the merger, there are two classifications to issue weather forecast, weather warning and advisory in the same Gojo City. Due to the so-called 'great merger of municipalities in the Heisei period,' many cities, towns and villages ended up with two or more classifications for weather forecast, weather warning, and advisories. However, Gojo City is the only city in Nara Prefecture that has two or more classifications as of November 2008. Meanwhile, the whole area of current Gojo City belongs to the 'Nara No.4 District' as a constituency of the House of Representatives, which has not been changed from that before the merger.