At the Gifu Gokoku Shrine at the foot of Mt. Kinkazan in Gifu City, a piece of living history is unfolding. The Edohigan tree, which is more than 100 years old and climbs to a height of 8 meters, is blooming earlier than usual. This tree carries a name steeped in the region's unique traditions. It acquired the name "ukaizakura" among locals when the number of cherry blossoms was used as a guide for the number of sweetfish that cormorants would catch in the Nagara River. "Ukai" is a traditional fishing method used to catch sweetfish using cormorant.