On October 25, 2025, “Wikipedia Town in Iwamura” was held in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
Overview
In Japan, “Wikipedia Town” is a Wikipedia editing workshop organized by libraries, local governments, citizen groups, etc. The aim is to enrich articles about local history and culture “by the hands of citizens,” and since 2012, it has been held all over Japan.
This event was held as one of the opening events for the Iwamura Branch of Ena City Central Library, which just opened on October 13th. In the morning, participants listened to an explanation of Wikipedia by instructor Kazuto Aoki, then took a guided walk down Iwamura-cho Hondori Street, and in the afternoon they split into four groups to edit Wikipedia.
The event was attended by over 10 students from Chubu University …
On October 25, 2025, “Wikipedia Town in Iwamura” was held in Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
Overview
In Japan, “Wikipedia Town” is a Wikipedia editing workshop organized by libraries, local governments, citizen groups, etc. The aim is to enrich articles about local history and culture “by the hands of citizens,” and since 2012, it has been held all over Japan.
This event was held as one of the opening events for the Iwamura Branch of Ena City Central Library, which just opened on October 13th. In the morning, participants listened to an explanation of Wikipedia by instructor Kazuto Aoki, then took a guided walk down Iwamura-cho Hondori Street, and in the afternoon they split into four groups to edit Wikipedia.
The event was attended by over 10 students from Chubu University in Aichi Prefecture, as well as four faculty members from the university. Five people from the hosting library, including Central Library Director Nahomi Yuto, handled the event, which was an extremely thorough support system considering the scale of the event.
Town Walk
The organizers selected four themes in advance: the Katsukawa House, the Kimura House, the Iwamura Town Autumn Festival, and the Tensho Canal. Iwamura Town has five townhouses designated as cultural properties by Ena City, and this time we visited two: the Katsukawa House and the Kimura House.
In the Juan, at the very back of the Kimura House grounds, costumes from the portable shrine procession used in the Iwamura Town Autumn Festival were on display. The four themes selected by the organizers are all interrelated, and I feel they are excellent choices for “Wikipedia Town”.
Wikipedia Editing
During the afternoon Wikipedia editing session, I, an experienced Wikipedian, joined the “Katsukawa House” group and worked with three Chubu University undergraduates, one graduate student, and one faculty member.
This time, library staff prepared a draft for each of the four groups in advance. The draft for the Katsukawa House was very complete, with all of the content from the prepared documents reflected in the draft, so our group was at a loss as to what to add when they started editing.
However, after much discussion, the focus shifted to uploading images. By adding images to the comprehensive text that had been prepared in advance, the article became more complete. During the tour, the students were also told that the site was used as a filming location for the movie “Father of the Galaxy Railroad,” and this section was also added by the students.
Books held by libraries often do not include information on recent trends. One of the features of “Wikipedia Town” is that participants can actually visit the facility and listen to explanations, and visiting the facility this time was also meaningful in terms of enriching the articles.
Can you help us translate this article?
In order for this article to reach as many people as possible we would like your help. Can you translate this article to get the message out?