Higashishirakawa (東白川村, Higashishirakawa-mura) is a village located in Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.[3] Higashishirakawa is located in the Mino-Mikawa Plateau of central Gifu Prefecture, surrounded by 1000-meter class mountains.During the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, the area was organised into Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture.The early Meiji period Haibutsu kishaku movement was especially strong in this area, and to this day, Higashishirakawa is the only municipality in Japan without a single Buddhist temple.Plans to merge the village with the neighbouring city of Gifu were rejected by a referendum in June 2004.