Biwa, Shiga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Biwa (びわ町, Biwa-chō^?) was a town located in Higashiazai District, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 7,599 and a population density of 447.53 persons per km². The total area was 16.98 km².

Biwa-cho is the home of the Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe, a troupe founded in the 1830s in the tradition of Bunraku puppetry. The Tonda Troupe has performed internationally four times in the United States and Australia.

[edit] Merger

On February 13, 2006, the town of Biwa merged into the city of Nagahama.