Gifu (Gifu-shi) is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. Before becoming a city, it was part of the former Atsumi District, but it has since been designated a core city by the national government. Most of the area's history is a result of its location in the middle of Japan. During the Sengoku period, Gifu thrived as a castle town, first under the protection of Saitō Dōsan, then under the protection of Oda Nobunaga, and it was often a staging point for battles in the effort to unify Japan. During the Edo period, Gifu and its neighboring post town, Kanō-juku, thrived as major rest areas along the Nakasendō. Eventually, the city's economy became supported by the fashion industry, but now the city is looking towards the manufacturing industry to boost its economy. Much of Gifu's land area has been gained as the result of many mergers, but most of that came through mergers with the neighboring towns of Kanō (in 1940) and Yanaizu (in 2006). As a result, Gifu's geography is very diverse, ranging from the built-up city center to persimmon orchards and rice paddies in the outskirts.