Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Gojō in 2020 is 27,927 people. The population has been on decline over the past quarter of a century.

History

The area of Gojō was part of ancient Yamato Province, and contains many kofun burial mounds and ancient Shinto shrine. During the Edo period, it was a castle town and part of the tenryō holdings under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Bakumatsu period, it was one of the sites of the Tenchūgumi incident. The town of Gojō was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on October 15, 1957 by merging with the town of Nohara and the villages of Makino, Kitauchi, Uchi, Sakaibe, Oata, and Minamiata. The village of Minamiuchi was annexed on January 1, 1957, and the villages of Nishiyoshino and Ōtō on September 25, 2005.

Government

Gojō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 12 members. Gojō contributes one member to the Nara Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Nara 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The local economy is based on agriculture, forestry and light manufacturing. In Sumikawa-cho in the northeast of the city, there are the industrial park Technopark, Naraya Gojo Wood Industrial Park, and the newly developed residential area Elbe Town Gojo and Renaissance Court, while the Gojo Kita Interchange on the Keihanawa Expressway and Iden-cho are home to the Kitauchi Industrial Park.

Education

Gojō has four public elementary schools, three public junior high school and one public high school operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Nara Prefectural Board of Education. There are also a private junior high and a private high school.

Transportation

Railways

20px JR West – Wakayama Line

: - -

Highways

  • 25px|link=|alt= Keinawa Expressway

Local attractions

  • Gojō Shinmachi old town
  • Uchi River Rock Carvings, National Historic Site

Notable people from Gojō

  • Ryotaro Tanose, politician
  • Machiko Ono, actress
  • Kazuma Okamoto, professional baseball player

References

  • Gojō City official website