sign in sign up
<<
Home , Biwako Broadcasting, Hikone Domain, Ishida Mitsunari, Kyoto Shimbun, Lake Biwa, Ohatsu

Coor din ates: 3 5 °7 ′N 1 3 6 °4 ′E

Shiga Prefecture

滋賀県 ( Shiga-ken) is a prefecture of Shiga Prefecture , which forms part of the in the 滋賀県 western part of island.[1] It encircles Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. The capital is Prefecture [2] Ōtsu. Japanese transcription(s) • Japanese 滋賀県 • Rōmaji Shiga-ken Contents History Geography Symbol Municipalities Flag Cities Towns Mergers Politics Economy Demographics Culture Cuisine Mass media Education Sports Transportation Railways Roads Country Japan Boats Region Kansai Notable people from Shiga Prefecture Island Honshu Sister states Capital Ōtsu Notes Government References • Taizō Mikazuki External links Area • Total 4,017.38 km2 History (1,551.12 sq mi) Area rank 38th Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before Population (October 1, 2015) [3] the prefectural system was established. Omi was a • Total 1,412,916 neighbor of and , at the junction of western • Rank 26th and eastern Japan. During the period 667 to 67 2, • Density 350/km2 (910/sq mi) founded a palace in Otsu. In 7 42, ISO 3166 JP-25 founded a palace in Shigaraki. In the code early , Saichō was born in the north of Otsu Districts 3 and founded Enryaku-ji, the center of and one a Municipalities 19 UNESCO World Heritage Site and monument of Ancient Flower Rhododendron Kyoto now. (Rhododendron metternichii var. hondoense) In the Medieval Period, the Sasaki clan ruled Omi, and Tree Japanese maple (Acer afterward the Rokkaku clan, Kyōgoku clan and Azai palmatum) clans ruled Omi. In the 157 0s, Bird Little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) subjugated Omi and built on the eastern shores of in 157 9. Tōdō Takatora, Gamō Website www.pref.shiga.lg.jp /multilingual/english/index Ujisato, , Y odo-dono, and Oeyo were Omi .html (http://www.pref.shig notables in the . In those times, a.lg.jp/multilingual/english/i were active in Kōka (See also Kōga-ryū). ndex.html)

In 1600, , born in the east of Nagahama and based in , made war against in Sekigahara, Gifu. After the battle, Ieyasu made Ii Naomasa a new lord of Sawayama. Naomasa established the , later famous for . Ii Naosuke became the Tokugawa shogunate's Tairō and concluded commercial treaties with the Western powers and thus ended Japan's isolation from the world in the 19th century. Besides the Hikone Domain, many domains ruled Omi such as Zeze. With the abolition of the , eight prefectures were formed in Omi. They were unified into Shiga Prefecture in September 187 2. "Shiga Prefecture" was named after "Shiga District" because Otsu belonged to the district until 1898. From August 187 6 to February 1881, southern had been incorporated into Shiga Prefecture.

In 2015, Shiga Governor Taizō Mikazuki conducted a survey asking citizens whether they felt it necessary to change the name of the prefecture, partly to raise its profile as a destination for domestic tourism.[4]

Geography

Shiga borders Fukui Prefecture in the north, in the east, in the southeast, and in the west.

Lake Biwa, Japan's largest, is located at the center of this prefecture. It occupies one-sixth of its area. The Seta River flows from Lake Biwa to Bay through Kyoto. This is the only natural river that flows out from the lake. Most other natural rivers flow into the lake. There were many lagoons around Lake Biwa, but most of them were reclaimed in 1940s. One of the preserved lagoons is the wetland (水郷 suigō) in Omihachiman, and it was selected as the first Important Cultural Landscapes in 2006.

The lake divides the prefecture into four different areas: Kohoku (湖北, north of lake) centered Nagahama, Kosei (湖西, west of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture viewed lake) centered Imazu, Kotō (湖東, east of lake) centered Hikone from space and Konan (湖南, south of lake) centered Otsu. Plains stretch to the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. The prefecture is enclosed by mountain ranges with the Hira Mountains and in the west, the Ibuki Mountains in the northeast, and the Suzuka Mountains in the southeast. is the highest mountain in Shiga. In Y ogo, a small lake is famous for the legend of the heavenly robe of an angel (天女の羽衣 tennyo no hagoromo), which is similar to a western Swan maiden.[5]

Shiga's climate sharply varies between north and south. Southern Shiga is usually warm, but northern Shiga is typically cold with high snowfall and hosts many skiing grounds. In Nakanokawachi, the northernmost village of Shiga, snow reached a depth of 5.6 metres (18 ft) in 1936.[6]

As of 1 April 2014, 37 % of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks (the highest total of any prefecture), namely the Biwako and Suzuka Quasi-National Parks; and Kotō, Kutsuki- Katsuragawa, and Mikami-Tanakami-Shigaraki Prefectural Natural Parks.[7]

Municipalities

Cities

Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:

Map of Shiga Prefecture City Town

Hikone Nagahama

Higashiōmi Kusatsu Nagahama Rittō Hikone Maibara Ōtsu (capital) Takashima Kōka Moriyama Ōmihachiman Yasu Konan

Towns

These are the towns in each district:

Echi District Inukami District Aishō Kōra Gamō District Taga Toyosato Hino Ryūō

Mergers

Politics

The current governor of Shiga is Taizō Mikazuki, a former member of the House of Representatives from Shiga (DPJ, 3rd district), who was elected in July 2014 to succeed governor Y ukiko Kada.[8]

The prefectural assembly has 47 members from 16 electoral districts, and is still elected in unified local elections (last round: 2011). As of July 2014, the assembly was composed as follows: LDP 21 members, DPJ/kenmin network 12, Taiwa no kai/Shiga net 5, LDP sasshin no kai 5, Kōmeitō 2, Y our Party 1, The prefectural government building independent 1.[9] in Ōtsu City

In the , Shiga is represented by four directly elected members of the House of Representatives and two (one per ordinary election) of the House of Councillors. For the proportional representation segment of the lower house, the prefecture forms part of the Kinki block. After the most recent national elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, the directly elected delegation to the Diet from Shiga consists of:

in the House of Representatives for the 1st district in the west: Toshitaka Ōoka, LDP, 1st term, for the 2nd district in the northeast: Ken'ichirō Ueno, LDP, 2nd term, for the 3rd district on the southern shores of Lake Biwa: Nobuhide Takemura, LDP, 1st term, for the 4th district in the southeast: Takaya Mutō, LDP, 1st term, in the House of Councillors (Shiga At-large district) in the class of 2010 (term ends 2016): Kumiko Hayashi, DPJ, 2nd term, in the class of 2013 (term ends 2019): Takeshi Ninoyu, LDP, 1st term.

Economy

Cultivated areas occupy nearly one-sixth of the prefecture. Rice is the principal crop: over 90 percent of the farmlands are rice fields. Most farms are small, producing only a slight income. Most farmers depend on income from other sources. Eastern Shiga is famous for cattle breeding and southeastern Shiga is famous for . On Lake Biwa, some people are engaged in fishery and freshwater farming.

Since the Medieval Period, especially in , many Shiga Merchant mansions in Omihachiman people were active in commerce and were called Ōmi merchants (近江商人 Ōmi shōnin, Ōmi akindo), sometimes Ōmi thieves (近江 泥 棒 Ōmi dorobō) by other envious merchants. For example, Nippon Life, , , , Wacoal and Y anmar were founded by people from Shiga. In their home towns such as Omihachiman, Hino, Gokashō and Toyosato, their mansions were preserved as tourist attractions.

Beginning in the 1960s, Shiga developed industry, supporting major factories owned by companies such as IBM Japan, Canon, Y anmar Diesel, Mitsubishi, and Toray. According to Cabinet Office's statistics in 2014, the Manufacturing sector accounted for 35.4% of Gross Shiga Product, the highest proportion in Japan.[10] Traditional industries include textiles, Shigaraki ware, Butsudan in Hikone and Nagahama, medicines in Koka, and fan ribs in Adogawa.

Demographics

The population is concentrated along the southern shore of Lake Biwa in Otsu city (adjacent to Kyoto) and along the lake's eastern Historical population shore in cities such as Kusatsu and Moriyama, which are within Year Pop. ±% commuting distance to Kyoto. The lake's western and northern 1920 651,050 — 1930 691,631 +6.2% shores are more rural and resort-oriented with white sand 1940 703,679 +1.7% beaches. In recent years, many Brazilians settled in Shiga to work 1950 861,180 +22.4% in nearby factories. 25,040 foreigners live in Shiga and 30% of 1960 842,695 −2.1% foreigners were Brazilians as of December 2016.[11] 1970 889,768 +5.6% 1980 1,079,898 +21.4% 1990 1,222,411 +13.2% Culture 2000 1,342,832 +9.9% Biwa Town (now a part of Nagahama) is a home of The Tonda 2010 1,410,777 +5.1% 2015 1,412,916 +0.2% Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe. Founded in the 1830s, the Source: [1] (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/d group is one of the most active traditional Bunraku puppet ata/population/renew/index.html#nenp) theaters in Japan outside the National Theater in Osaka. Toyosato and Higashiomi are known to a mecca of Goshu ondo.

Museums include the Sagawa Art Museum in Moriyama, the Lake Biwa Museum in Kusatsu and the Miho Museum in Kōka. In Kōka, a ninja house is preserved as a visitor center.[12]

Cuisine Sagawa Art Museum Since ancient times, Shigans have eaten fish from Lake Biwa. The most famous lake-food is fermented of crucian carp (鮒寿司 funa-zushi). It retains the ancient style of sushi and has a pungent odor. Shiga is also famous for high quality wagyū, Ōmi beef. The Hikone Domain presented beef as medicinal food to shoguns.[13] In addition, of root crops, mallard nabe or mallard (鴨鍋 or 鴨すき kamo-nabe or kamo-suki) in northern Shiga, red colored (赤こんにゃく aka konnyaku) in Omihachiman, sōmen with grilled mackerel ( 焼鯖素麺 yaki- saba sōmen) in Nagahama, and lightly seasoned in Aquarium of Lake Biwa Museum Hikone are examples of specific cuisine in Shiga.

A fish store in Ōtsu Funa-zushi – fermented crucian carp

Nagahama yaki-saba sōmen Hikone champon

Mass media

Biwako Broadcasting broadcasts local TV programs. NHK has a broadcasting station in Otsu. Shiga is the only prefecture which has no regional newspapers. is a de facto regional newspaper of Shiga. Education

Ten universities, two junior colleges, and a learning center of The Open University of Japan operate in Shiga.[14]

Shiga University (Hikone and Otsu) of Medical Science (Otsu) University of Shiga Prefecture (Hikone) Seian University of Art and Design (Otsu) Seisen University (Hikone) Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology (Nagahama) Biwako-Gakuin University (Higashiomi) Biwako Seikei Sport College (Otsu) University of Shiga Prefecture (Kyoto and Kusatsu) (Kyoto and Otsu) Shiga Junior College (Otsu) Shiga Bunkyo Junior College (Nagahama)

Sports

The following sports teams are based in Shiga.

Basketball: Shiga LakeStars Volleyball: Toray Arrows (women's volleyball team) (Otsu) Football (soccer): MIO Biwako Kusatsu (Kusatsu), Sagawa Shiga F.C. (Moriyama).

Tourism

Shiga has many tourism resources, but Shiga is overshadowed by its much more famous neighbor Kyoto. Over four million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2000, but only sixty-five thousand visited Shiga.[15]

The main gateways to Shiga are the in northern Shiga and the city of Ōtsu in the south. The Maibara Station is Ukimidō hall at Mangetsu-ji temple about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from the Station by near Katata, Ōtsu the Tokaido Shinkansen. It is easy to go to Ōtsu from Kyoto and Osaka by high-speed trains.

Shiga's most prominent feature is Lake Biwa. The northern shore is especially scenic, such as the cherry blossoms of Kaizu Osaki in spring and the sacred island Chikubu-shima. The western shore has white sand beaches, popular among Kyotoites during the summer. The scenery of the southern shore, particularly around Otsu, was selected as Ōmi Hakkei or Eight Views of Ōmi, From Otsu port, the popularized by 's ukiyo-e. Most of the original eight paddlewheel boat offers cruises on views are now almost gone or changed from centuries ago. One Lake Biwa remaining view is the Ukimidō "floating temple" building at Mangetsu-ji temple in Katata, northern Ōtsu. It was reconstructed with concrete in 1937 , but a small temple still stands on the lake near the shore, accessible by a short bridge. Another scene features Ishiyama-dera temple in southern Otsu, which is also renowned for having a room where thought up the plan for some chapters of Tale of Genji.

The many mountains around the lake offer beautiful views. Mount Hira is a popular picnic spot. Mountain roads like the Oku-Biwako Parkway road up north and the Hiei-zan Driveway and Oku-Hiei Driveway overlooking the southwestern shore. In Ōtsu, the Ōtsu Prince Hotel's Top of Otsu restaurant provides a panoramic view of the lake and city. The Michigan paddlewheel boat offers lake cruises.

Besides natural beauty, historical buildings and festivals persons rank among those of national importance. Shiga has 807 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, that ranks the fourth large number in Japan.[10] Shiga's most famous historical building is Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in the country. The castle tower is well preserved and has many cherry trees. The neighboring city of Nagahama has tourism in addition to its hikiyama festival. Notable shrines include in Otsu and Taga-taisha in Taga, which respectively head the seventh and twentieth largest shrine networks in Japan, at about 4,000 shrines and 260 shrines, respectively.

Unique festivals include the hikiyama festival (floats parade festival), held in ten areas such as Nagahama, Otsu, Maibara, Hino and Minakuchi. The Nagahama hikiyama festival held each April is one of the three major hikiyama festivals in Japan and was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 197 9. During this festival ornate floats are mounted with miniature stages on which boys (playing both male and female roles) act in plays.[16] Higashiomi (formerly Y ōkaichi) city holds a Giant Kite Festival every May along the riverbank. Ordinary people are invited to pull the rope that sends the kites aloft.

Transportation

Railways

West Japan Railway Company (), , and Central Japan Railway Company Tōkaidō Shinkansen (Maibara Station) and Tōkaidō Main Line Keishin Line and Ishiyama Sakamoto Line JR West "Special Rapid" train on Biwako Line Main Line, Yōkaichi Line and Taga Line Shigaraki Kōgen Railway Sakamoto Cable

Roads , Shin-Meishin Expressway and pass through Shiga. National highway Route 1, 8, 21, 8, 161, 303, 306, 307 , 365, 367 , 421, 422 and 47 7 connect with neighbouring prefectures. Two bridges span southern part of Lake Biwa.

Boats

With development of land transportation in the 20th century, Biwako Ohashi Bridge waterborne transportation in Lake Biwa was disused except for steamer services to islands on the lake and pleasure boats.

Notable people from Shiga Prefecture

Sōsuke Uno, the 75th prime minister from Moriyama. He was one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in Japan, holding office for only three months (June–August 1989). , a singer and actor from Hikone and Yasu. He is also active as the first Cultural Ambassador for Shiga. Hizaki, a musician and songwriter, known for work as guitarist of Versailles.

Sister states

Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states.[17]

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Michigan, USA , China

Notes

1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Shiga-ken" in (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA 853)Japan Encyclopedia, p. 853 (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA853), p. 853, at Google Books; "Kansai" at (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA477)Japan Encyclopedia, p. 477 (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA477), p. 477, at Google Books. 2. Nussbaum, "Ōtsu" at (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA765)Japan Encyclopedia, p. 765 (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA765), p. 765, at Google Books. 3. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA78 0)Japan Encyclopedia, p. 780 (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA780), p. 780, at Google Books. 4. "Shiga Prefecture mulls name change to draw more visitors" (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/04/28/ national/shiga-prefecture-mulls-name-change-draw-visitors/#.VmV_xct961s). . 5. Shiga Prefecture. 余呉湖・天女の衣掛柳 (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/minwa/41/41-movie.html) [Lake Yogo - a willow hung a celestial robe] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-13. 6. Encyclopedia Shiga. p436. 7. "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/ doc/files/np_6.pdf) (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2015. 8. Shiga prefectural government: Governor's office (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/chijishitsu/index.html) (in Japanese) 9. Prefectural assembly: Members by caucus (http://www.shigaken-gikai.jp/g07_Kaiha.asp) (in Japanese) 10. Shiga Prefecture. 滋賀県の紹介（滋賀県なんでも一番） (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/profile/seikatsu/index.html) [Introduction of Shiga prefecture; Best scores of Shiga] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-08. 11. Shiga Prefecture. 滋賀県内の外国人人口 (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/b/kokusai/tabunka/population.html) [The number of foreigners in Shiga Prefecture] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-11-07. 12. Biwako Visitors Bureau. "Experiencing Ninjutsu (Ninja's techniques) at the ninja's native place – Koka Ninjutsu Yashiki" (http://en.biwako-visitors.jp/reports/ninja2/). Retrieved 2011-05-13. 13. The promoting council of production and distribution of Omi beef. 近江牛の歴史 (http://www.oumiushi.com/his tory.html) [The history of Omi beef] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-14. 14. Shiga Prefecture. 滋賀県内の大学・短期大学 (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/b/sigaku_daigaku/daigaku/index.html) [Universities and junior colleges in Shiga prefecture] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-08. 15. Shiga Prefecture. 湖国観光交流ビジョン 第２章 滋賀県観光の現状と課題 (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/f/kanko/ vision/index.html) [The vision for tourism and exchange of the Lake Country. Chapter 2: present situation and problem about the Shiga tourism] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-13. 16. Biwako Visitors Bureau. 滋賀県観光情報：長浜曳山まつり (http://www.biwako-visitors.jp/search/event_182.htm l) [Shiga tourism information : Nagahama hikiyama festival] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-05-20. 17. Shiga Prefecture. 滋賀県の紹介（滋賀県の国際交流 姉妹・友好都市） (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/b/kokusai/kor yu/shimai/ken/index.html) [Introduction of Shiga prefecture; International exchanges of Shiga, friendship sister cities] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-11-25.

References

Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2 QnPijAEmEC&client=firefox-a) Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58053128?referer=di&ht=edition) Shiga-ken hyakka jiten [Encyclopedia Shiga] (滋賀県百科事典, 1984). Tokyo: Yamato Shobo.

External links

Shiga travel guide from Wikivoyage Shiga Prefecture official page (http://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/multilingual/english/index.html) go.biwako - Travel Guide of Shiga Prefecture, Japan (Biwako Visiters Bureau) (http://en.biwako-visitors.jp/) Shiga Prefecture (http://www.gojapango.com/travel/shiga.htm) Guide - GoJapanGo Shiga-ken.com (http://shiga-ken.com/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shiga_Prefecture&oldid=849568243"

This page was last edited on 9 July 2018, at 21:58 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.