Samurai Festival -- Oda Nobunaga Parade in Gifu 織田 信長

On the first weekend of October the city of Gifu holds a parade for the famous (some would say infamous) warlord Oda Nobunaga. Although he was from Owari (modern day Aichi Prefecture), Oda Nobunaga was responsible for changing the name of the city and province to Gifu. Before it was Inoguchi village in the province of Mino. In 1567 Oda captured Inabayama Castle from the Saito clan then renamed castle, city, and province to Gifu which all still bear the name to this day. Oda Nobunaga is known in history as one of the three unifiers of Japan which had been divided by a century of warfare. The taking of Mino was the beginning of this process of unification and it was in Gifu where Oda planned his destiny. He used Gifu as his base of operation to launch his grandiose vision for nearly a decade before moving his capital south to Azuchi in 1575 to be nearer to Kyoto. Nevertheless, his mark on Gifu City was profound and the city continued to prosper down the centuries.