Gifu (岐阜市; -shi) is the capital city of Gifu prefecture in the Chubu region of central Japan.
As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 404,428 and the density of 2,072.71 persons per km². The total area is 195.12 km².
The name gifu was given in Sengoku period by Oda Nobunaga, a leading feudal lord in provinces now Aichi prefecture; Renaming an old name Mino, he intended to show his ambition to reunify Japan. The name is after the name of a legendal mountain, Mt. gi in ancient China.
