Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture(滋賀県,Shiga-ken)is a landlockedprefectureof Japan located in theKansai regionofHonshu.Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 as of 1 October 2015 and has a geographic area of 4,017 km(1,551 sq mi). Shiga Prefecture bordersFukui Prefectureto the north,Gifu Prefectureto the northeast,Mie Prefectureto the southeast, andKyoto Prefectureto the west.
Ōtsuis the capital and largest city of Shiga Prefecture, with other major cities includingKusatsu,Nagahama, andHigashiōmi.Shiga Prefecture encirclesLake Biwa, the largestfreshwater lakein Japan, and 37% of the total land area is designated asNatural Parks, the highest of any prefecture. Shiga Prefecture's southern half is located adjacent to the former capital city ofKyotoand forms part ofGreater Kyoto, the fourth-largestmetropolitan areain Japan. Shiga Prefecture is home toŌmi beef, theEight Views of Ōmi, andHikone Castle, one of fournational treasure castlesin Japan.
Shiga was known asŌmi ProvinceorGōshūbefore the prefectural system was established.Omi was a neighbor ofNaraandKyoto, at the junction of western and eastern Japan. During the period 667 to 672,Emperor Tenjifounded a palace in Otsu. In 742,Emperor Shōmufounded a palace inShigaraki. In the earlyHeian period,Saichōwas born in the north of Otsu and foundedEnryaku-ji, the center ofTendaiand aUNESCOWorld Heritage Siteand monument of Ancient Kyotonow.
During theHeian period, theSasaki clanruled Omi, and afterward, theRokkaku clan,Kyōgoku clan, andAzai clansruled Omi. While during theAzuchi-Momoyama period,Oda Nobunagasubjugated Omi and builtAzuchi Castleon the eastern shores ofLake Biwain 1579.Tōdō Takatora,Gamō Ujisato,Oichi,Yodo-dono,Ohatsu, andOeyowere Omi notables during this period.
In 1600,Ishida Mitsunari, born in the east of Nagahama and based inSawayama Castle, made war againstTokugawa IeyasuinSekigahara, Gifu. After the battle, Ieyasu madeIi Naomasaa new lord of Sawayama. Naomasa established theHikone Domain, later famous forIi Naosuke. Ii Naosuke became the Tokugawa shogunate'sTairōand 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 asZeze.
With theabolition of the han system, eight prefectures were formed in Omi. They were unified into Shiga Prefecture in September 1872. "Shiga Prefecture" was named after "Shiga District" because Otsu belonged to the district until 1898. From August 1876 to February 1881, southern Fukui Prefecture had been incorporated into Shiga Prefecture.
In 2015, Shiga GovernorTaizō Mikazukiconducted 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.
Shiga bordersFukui Prefecturein the north,Gifu Prefecturein the east,Mie Prefecturein the southeast, andKyoto Prefecturein the west.
Lake Biwa, Japan's largest, is located at the center of this prefecture. It occupies one-sixth of its area. TheSeta Riverflows from Lake Biwa toOsaka BaythroughKyoto. 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 firstImportant Cultural Landscapesin 2006.
The lake divides the prefecture into four different areas:Kohoku(湖北, north of lake) centered Nagahama,Kosei(湖西, west of lake) centeredImazu,Kotō(湖東, east of lake) centered Hikone andKonan(湖南, south of lake) centered Otsu.
Plains stretch to the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. The prefecture is enclosed by mountain ranges with theHira MountainsandMount Hieiin the west, theIbuki Mountainsin the northeast, and theSuzuka Mountainsin the southeast.Mount Ibukiis the highest mountain in Shiga. InYogo, a small lake is famous for the legend of the heavenly robe of an angel(天女の羽衣,tennyono hagoromo), which is similar to a westernSwan maiden.
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.
As of 1 April 2014, 37% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated asNatural Parks(the highest total of any prefecture), namely theBiwakoandSuzukaQuasi-National Parks; andKotō,Kutsuki-Katsuragawa, andMikami-Tanakami-ShigarakiPrefectural Natural Parks.
Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:
These are the towns in eachdistrict:
The current governor of Shiga isTaizō Mikazuki, a former member of the House of Representatives from Shiga (DPJ, 3rd district), who was narrowlyelected in July 2014with center-left support against ex-METI-bureaucratTakashi Koyari(supported by the center-right national-level ruling parties) to succeed governorYukiko Kada. In June 2018, he wasoverwhelmingly reelected to a second termagainst only one, Communist challenger.
Theprefectural assemblyhas 44 members from 16 electoral districts, and is still elected in unified local elections (last round:2019). As of July 2019, the assembly was composed by caucus as follows:LDP20 members, Team Shiga (CDP,DPP, former Kada supporters etc.) 14,JCP4, Sazanami Club (of independents) 3,Kōmeitō2, "independent"/non-attached 1.
In theNational Diet, Shiga is represented by four directly elected members of theHouse of Representativesand two (one per ordinary election) of theHouse of Councillors. For the proportional representation segment of the lower house, the prefecture forms part of theKinki block. After the national elections of2016,2017and2019, the directly elected delegation to the Diet from Shiga consists of (as of August 1, 2019):
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 forcattle breedingand southeastern Shiga is famous forgreen tea. On Lake Biwa, some people are engaged in fishery andfreshwater pearlfarming.
Since the Medieval Period, especially inEdo period, many Shiga people were active incommerceand 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,Itochu,Marubeni,Takashimaya,WacoalandYanmarwere founded by people from Shiga. In their home towns such as Omihachiman, Hino,Gokashōand Toyosato, their mansions were preserved as tourist attractions.
Beginning in the 1960s, Shiga developed industry, supporting major factories owned by companies such asIBM Japan,Canon,Yanmar Diesel,Mitsubishi, andToray. According toCabinet Office's statistics in 2014, theManufacturingsector accounted for 35.4% of Gross Shiga Product, the highest proportion in Japan.Traditional industries include textiles,Shigaraki ware,Butsudanin Hikone and Nagahama, medicines in Koka, and fan ribs inAdogawa.
The population is concentrated along the southern shore of Lake Biwa in Otsu city (adjacent to Kyoto) and along the lake's eastern shore in cities such as Kusatsu and Moriyama, which arewithin commuting distance to Kyoto. The lake's western and northern shores are more rural and resort-oriented with white sand beaches. In recent years, many Brazilians settled in Shiga to work in nearby factories. 25,040 foreigners live in Shiga and 30% of foreigners were Brazilians as of December 2016.
Biwa Town(now a part of Nagahama) is a home of TheTonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe. Founded in the 1830s, the group is one of the most active traditionalBunrakupuppet theatersin Japan outside the National Theater in Osaka. Toyosato and Higashiomi are known to a mecca ofGoshu ondo.
Museums include theSagawa Art Museumin Moriyama, theLake Biwa Museumin Kusatsu and theMiho Museumin Kōka. In Kōka, a ninja house is preserved as a visitor center.
Since ancient times, Shigans have eaten fish from Lake Biwa. The most famous lake-food isfermented sushiofcrucian carp(鮒寿司,funa-zushi). It retains the ancient style of sushi and has a pungent odor. Shiga is also famous for high qualitywagyū,Ōmi beef. The Hikone Domain presented beef as medicinal food to shōguns.In addition,tsukemonoof root crops,mallardnabeor mallardsukiyaki(鴨鍋or 鴨すき,kamo-nabe or kamo-suki)in northern Shiga, red coloredkonjac(赤こんにゃく,aka konnyaku)in Omihachiman,sōmenwith grilledmackerel(焼鯖素麺,yaki-saba sōmen)in Nagahama, and lightly seasonedchamponin Hikone are examples of specific cuisine in Shiga.
Biwako Broadcastingbroadcasts local TV programs.NHKhas a broadcasting station in Otsu. Shiga is the only prefecture which has no regional newspapers.Kyoto Shimbunis a de facto regional newspaper of Shiga.
Ten universities, two junior colleges, and a learning center ofThe Open University of Japanoperate in Shiga.
The following sports teams are based in Shiga.
Shiga has manytourismresources, 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.
The main gateways to Shiga are theMaibara Stationin northern Shiga and the city ofŌtsuin the south. The Maibara Station is about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from theTokyo Stationby 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 islandChikubu-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 asŌmi HakkeiorEight Views of Ōmi, popularized byHiroshige'sukiyo-e. Most of the original eight views are now almost gone or changed from centuries ago. One remaining view is the Ukimidō "floating temple" building atMangetsu-jitemple 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 featuresIshiyama-deratemple in southern Otsu, which is also renowned for having a room whereMurasaki Shikibuthought up the plan for some chapters ofTale of Genji.
The mountains around the lake offer extensive views. Mount Hira is a 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 views of the lake and city. TheMichiganpaddlewheel boat offers lake cruises.
Besides the natural environment, historical buildings, and festivals, several persons of national importance hail from Shiga prefecture.Shiga has 807National TreasuresandImportant Cultural Properties, making it the prefecture with the fourth largest number of such properties in Japan.Shiga's most famous historical building isHikone Castle, one of fournational treasure castlesin the country. The castle tower is well-preserved and has many cherry trees. The neighboring city ofNagahamahastourismin addition to its hikiyama festival. Nearby shrines includeHiyoshi Taishain Otsu andTaga-taishain Taga, which respectively head the seventh and twentieth largestshrine networksin Japan, at about 4,000 shrines and 260 shrines, respectively.
Festivals include the hikiyama festival (floats parade festival), held in ten areas such asNagahama, 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 1979. During this festival ornate floats are mounted with miniature stages on which boys (playing both male and female roles) act inkabukiplays.Higashiomi (formerlyYōkaichi) city holds a Giant Kite Festival every May along the riverbank. Ordinary people are invited to pull the rope that sends the kites aloft.
Meishin Expressway,Shin-Meishin ExpresswayandHokuriku Expresswaypass through Shiga. National highway Route1,8,21,8,161,303,306,307,365,367,421,422and477connect with neighboring prefectures. Two bridges span southern part of Lake Biwa.
With development of land transportation in the 20th century, waterborne transportation in Lake Biwa was disused except for steamer services to islands on the lake and pleasure boats.
Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states.
35°7′N136°4′E﻿ / ﻿35.117°N 136.067°E﻿ /35.117; 136.067