Shiga Prefecture viewed from space.
Hikone Castle.
is part of the
Kinki region on
Honshū Island,
Japan. The capital is the city of
Otsu.
History
Shiga was known as
Omi Province before the prefectural system was established.
Geography
Map of Shiga Prefecture.
Shiga shares a border with
Fukui Prefecture in the north,
Gifu Prefecture in the east,
Mie Prefecture in the southeast, and
Kyoto Prefecture in the west.
Different areas of the prefecture include Kohoku (north of lake), Kosei (west of lake), Koto (east of lake), and Konan (south of lake).
Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is located at the center of this prefecture. It occupies one-sixth the total area of Shiga. The prefecture is enclosed by mountain ranges with the
Hira Mountains in the west, the
Ibuki mountain range in the east, and the
Suzuka Mountains in the southeast. Northern Shiga is substantially colder with higher snowfall than in southern Shiga which is usually warmer.
Seta River flows out from Lake Biwa to the
Osaka Bay through
Kyoto. This is the only natural river which flows out from the lake. All of the other natural rivers flows into the lake.
Cities
Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:
Towns
These are the towns in each
district.
Mergers
★ On October 1,
2004, the towns of
Chuzu and
Yasu merged to form
Yasu city.
Yasu District was thereby dissolved.
★ On October 1, 2004, the towns of
Kosei and
Ishibe merged to form
Konan city.
★ On October 1, 2004, the towns of
Koka,
Minakuchi,
Shigaraki,
Tsuchiyama, and Konan merged to form
Koka city.
Koka District was thereby dissolved.
★ On January 1,
2005, all five towns and one village in the former
Takashima District comprising
Adogawa,
Imazu,
Shinasahi,
Makino, and
Takashima towns and
Kutsuki village merged to form
Takashima city.
Takashima District was thereby dissolved. Also there are no more villages left in the Shiga Prefecture with this creation.
★ On February 11, 2005,
Yokaichi city and the towns of
Eigenji,
Gokasho,
Aito, and
Koto merged to form
Higashiomi city. Yokaichi and the four towns were thereby dissolved.
★ On February 14, 2005,
Maihara,
Santo, and
Ibuki towns in
Sakata District merged to form the city of
Maibara.
★ On October 1, 2005, the town of
Omi from
Sakata District merged into the city of
Maibara.
Sakata District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On January 1,
2006, the town of
Notogawa from
Kanzaki District and the town of
Gamou from
Gamou District merged into the city of
Higashiomi.
Kanzaki District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On February 13, 2006, the city of
Nagahama and the towns of
Azai and
Biwa from
Higashiazai District merged to form the city of
Nagahama.
★ On February 26, 2006, the municipalities of
Echigawa and
Hatasho from
Echi District merged to form then new town of
Aisho.
★ On March 20, 2006, the town of
Shiga from
Shiga District merged into the city of
Otsu.
Shiga District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
Politics
★
Shiga Gubernatorial election, 2006
Economy
A number of major companies have factories in Shiga such as IBM Japan, Canon, Yanmar Diesel, and Toray. Trading house C.Itoh was founded in Shiga among the well-known Omi merchants.
Demographics
The population is concentrated along the southern shore of Lake Biwa in Otsu city (adjacent to Kyoto) and along the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. Cities on the eastern shore like
Kusatsu and
Moriyama are within commuting distance to
Kyoto. In recent years, many Brazilians have settled in Shiga due to factory jobs. The lake's western shores are more rural and resort-oriented with white sand swimming beaches.
Culture
The
Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe, a Japanese puppet theater in the form known as ''ningyō jōruri'' or
Bunraku is based in Biwa Town, on the shore of
Lake Biwa in the northeastern part of the Shiga Prefecture. Founded in the 1830s, the Tonda Puppet Troupe is one of the most active traditional puppet theaters in Japan outside the National Theater in Osaka.
In Moryama, there is also the Sagawa Art Museum.
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Shiga.
Volleyball
★
Toray Arrows (women's volleyball team) (
Otsu)
Tourism
Ukimido floating temple near Katata.
The main gateways to Shiga are the
Maibara bullet train station in northern Shiga and the city of
Otsu in the south. Before being incorporated as a prefecture in the modern era, Shiga's old fief name was Omi.
There are temples, castles, festivals, historical persons, and natural beauty that rank among those of national importance. Shiga's most prominent feature is
Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. It looks like Japan's belly button on a map of Japan. The lake can be visited either by car (you can drive completely around it in one day) or by boat. The northern part of the lake is especially scenic. The western shore has white-sand swimming beaches, popular among Kyotoites during the summer. It is less developed than the eastern shore where there are cities such as
Nagahama,
Hikone, and
Omi-Hachiman.
From Otsu, the Michigan paddlewheel boat offers cruises on Lake Biwa.
Boat cruises such as the well-known Michigan paddlewheeler and cruises to scenic Chikubushima island are worthy excursions. Many lakeside towns in Shiga also offer rental bicycles where you can hop on the bicycle at one train station and ride to another train station to return it. Cycling is a great way to see Shiga and the lake shore roads are very scenic. In spring, don't miss riding (or driving) through a stretch of road in Kaizu Osaki on the northern shore lined with cherry trees. It is one of Japan's most famous places for cherry blossoms.
Beautiful views of the lake can also be had from mountain roads like the Oku Biwako Parkway road up north and the Hiei-san Driveway and Oku Hiei Driveway overlooking the southwestern shore. In the capital city of Otsu, the Otsu Prince Hotel's Top of Otsu restaurant provides a superb high, panoramic view of the lake and city.
Like most prefectures, festivals abound in Shiga. Unique festivals include the Hikiyama Festival held in Nagahama in April. See ornate floats having with a miniature stage where highly-trained young boys (playing both male and female roles) act in kabuki plays. Meanwhile,
Higashi Omi (formerly Yokaichi) city holds a Giant Kite Festival every May along a riverbank. The public is welcome to pull the rope to put the kite aloft (it doesn't fly very long if there's no wind).
Shiga's most famous building is
Hikone Castle, a national treasure. The castle tower is well preserved and it gives you a good glimpse into how a real castle looked like during Japan's feudal period. It also has many cherry trees. The castle is associated with
Ii Naosuke who was the Tokugawa shogunate's Great Elder (Tairo). He favored and concluded commercial treaties with the Western powers and thus broke Japan's isolation from the world in the 19th century. Foreigners were then allowed to trade with Japan and take up residence in cities like
Yokohama and
Hakodate. Unfortunately, Ii was later assassinated in 1860 by people who sought to oust the foreign "barbarians."
Shiga's second-most famous building is Ishiyama Temple in Otsu. It has a room where one of Japan's most famous novels was written: Genji Monogatari or
Tale of Genji written by
Murasaki Shikibu.
Shiga Prefecture also has Omi Hakkei or Eight Views of Omi made famous by
Hiroshige's picturesque woodblock prints. Unfortunately, most of the original eight views are now almost gone or totally different from what they were centuries ago. One of them was set in Katata, home of the Ukimido, another famous building in Shiga. It is a small temple building built on stilts (now concrete pillars) on the lake near the shore, accessible by a short bridge.
Prefectural symbols
Lake Biwa,
Hikone Castle (
national treasure), Omi Hakkei (Eight Views of Omi), funa-zushi fermented fish, Omi beef
Miscellaneous topics
Shiga also produced a prime minister in
Sosuke Uno from
Moriyama. Unfortunately, he was also one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in Japan, being forced to resign after only three months (June-August 1989) in office. His extramarital affair with a
Kagurazaka geisha turned into a widely-reported sex scandal, leaving him no choice but to resign.
Sister states
★
Michigan,
USA
★
Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil
★
Hunan,
China
External links
★ http://www.pref.shiga.jp/index-e.html
★
Shiga Photos at PHOTOGUIDE.JP
★
Shiga Videos from PHOTOGUIDE.JP via YouTube
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