| Shiga Prefecture | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese transcription(s) | |||
| • Japanese | 滋賀県 | ||
| • Rōmaji | Shiga-ken | ||
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| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kansai | ||
| Island | Honshu | ||
| Capital | Ōtsu | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Yukiko Kada | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4,017.36 km2 (1,551.1 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 38th | ||
| Population (August 1, 2009) | |||
| • Total | 1,402,132 | ||
| • Rank | 28th | ||
| • Density | 332/km2 (859.9/sq mi) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | JP-25 | ||
| Districts | 3 | ||
| Municipalities | 19 | ||
| Flower | Rhododendron (Rhododendron metternichii var. hondoense) | ||
| Tree | Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) | ||
| Bird | Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) | ||
| Website | www.pref.shiga.jp | ||
Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県 Shiga-ken) is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island.[1] The capital is the city of Ōtsu.[2]
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Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established.[3] Omi was a neighbor of Nara and Kyoto, and junction of western and eastern Japan, so Omi was developed as the hinterland of capitals, the traffic important point and sometimes political center. In the years 667 to 672, Emperor Tenji founded a palace in Otsu. In 742, Emperor Shōmu founded a palace in Shigaraki. In the early Heian Period, Saichō was born in north of Otsu and founded Enryaku-ji, the center of Tendai and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) now.
In the Medieval Period, Sasaki clan ruled Omi, and afterward Rokkaku clan, Kyōgoku clan and Azai clan ruled Omi. In 1570s, Oda Nobunaga subjugated Omi and built Azuchi Castle on the eastern shores of Lake Biwa in 1579. Tōdō Takatora, Gamō Ujisato, Oichi, Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo were important persons from Omi in Sengoku Period. In this times, Ninja was active in Kōka (See also Kōga-ryū).
In 1600, Ishida Mitsunari, born in east of Nagahama and based in Sawayama Castle, made war against Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sekigahara, Gifu. After the battle, Ieyasu made Ii Naomasa a new lord of Sawayama, and Naomasa established the Hikone Domain. The Hikone Domain is famous for Ii Naosuke, who became the Tokugawa shogunate's Tairō and concluded commercial treaties with the Western powers and thus broke 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 han system, eight prefectures was formed in Omi, and they were unified into Shiga Prefecture in September 1872. "Shiga Prefecture" was named after "Shiga District" because Otsu belonged the district until 1898. From August 1876 to February 1881, southern Fukui Prefecture had been incorporated into 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 (湖北, north of lake), Kosei (湖西, west of lake), Kotō (湖東, east of lake), and Konan (湖南, 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 Seta River flows out from Lake Biwa to Osaka Bay through Kyoto. This is the only natural river which flows out from the lake. All of the other natural rivers flow into the lake. There were many lagoons around Lake Biwa, but most of them were reclaimed in 1940s. An example of preserved lagoon is the wetland in Omihachiman, and it was selected as Important Cultural Landscapes in 2006.
Plains stretch to the eastern coast of Lake Biwa. The prefecture is enclosed by mountain ranges with the Hira Mountains and Mount Hiei in the west, the Ibuki Mountains in the northeast, and the Suzuka Mountains in the southeast. Mount Ibuki is the highest mountain in Shiga. In Yogo, there is a small lake which is famous for a legend of Swan maiden.[4]
The climate of Shiga makes a sharp contrast between northern and southern. Southern Shiga is usually warm, but northern Shiga is substantially cold with high snowfall and there are many skiing grounds. In Nakanokawachi, the northernmost village of Shiga, snow laid 5.6 meter deep on the ground in 1936.[5]
Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:
These are the towns in each district.
The cultivated areas occupy nearly one-sixth the total area of Shiga. Rice is the principal crop of Shiga, and over 90 percent of the farmlands are rice fields. The average numbers of management farmland and farm income per household are small scale, so almost farmers depend on another business income. Eastern Shiga is famous for breeding of cattle, and southeastern Shiga is famous for cultivation of green tea. In villages on Lake Biwa, some people are engaged in fishery and freshwater pearl farming.
Since the Medieval Period, especially in Edo period, many Shiga people have been active in Japanese commercial fields and have been called Ōmi merchants (近江商人 Ōmi shōnin, Ōmi akindo). For example, Nippon Life, Itochu, Marubeni, Takashimaya, Wacoal and Yanmar are founded by people from Shiga. Ōmi merchants were often called Ōmi thieves (近江泥棒 Ōmi dorobō) by other jealous merchants. In their home towns such as Omihachiman, Hino, Gokashō and Toyosato, their mansions are preserved as tourist attraction now.
Since 1960s, Shiga developed its industry rapidly, a number of major companies have factories in Shiga such as IBM Japan, Canon, Yanmar Diesel, Mitsubishi, and Toray now. According to Cabinet Office's stastics in 2007, Secondary sector of the economy accounted for 44.8 % of Gross Shiga Product, it is the highest proportion in Japan.[6] The traditional industry of Shiga includes textiles, Shigaraki ware, Butsudan in Hikone and Nagahama, medicines in Koka, fan ribs in Adogawa.
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. The lake's western and northern shores are more rural and resort-oriented with white sand beaches. In recent years, many Brazilians have settled in Shiga to work in nearby factories. 26,471 foreigners live in Shiga and 36% of foreigners are Brazilians as of December 2010.[7] Shiga Prefecture services a weekly information program in Portuguese on Biwako Broadcasting from April 2011.[8]
Biwa town (now a part of Nagahama) is a home of The Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe. Founded in the 1830s, the Tonda Puppet Troupe is one of the most active traditional Bunraku puppet theaters in Japan outside the National Theater in Osaka. Toyosato and Higashiomi are known to a mecca of Goshu ondo.
There is 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.[9]
Since ancient times, Shiga people have made use of fishery resources from Lake Biwa for their eating habits. The most famous lake-food of Shiga is funa-zushi (crucian carp sushi). It retains ancient style of sushi and has peculiar favor. Shiga is also famous for high quality wagyū, Omi beef. The Hikone Domain presented beef as medicinal food to shoguns.[10] In addition, tsukemono of root crops, mallard sukiyaki in northern Shiga, red konnyaku in Omihachiman, salty-sweet cooked sōmen with mackerel in Nagahama and lightly seasoned champon in Hikone are examples of specific cuisine in Shiga.
Biwako Broadcasting services local TV programs and NHK has a Broadcasting Station in Otsu. Shiga is the only prefecture which has no own regional newspapers, and Kyoto Shimbun is a de facto regional newspaper of Shiga.
There are ten universities, two junior colleges, and a learning center of The Open University of Japan in Shiga.[11]
The following sports teams are based in Shiga.
Shiga has a lot of tourism resources, but Shiga is overshadowed by its much more famous neighbor Kyoto, so many foreign tourists have never heard of Shiga. Over four million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2000, but only sixty-five thousand foreign tourists visited Shiga.[12]
The main gateways to Shiga are the Maibara Station in northern Shiga and the city of Otsu in the south.
Shiga's most prominent feature is Lake Biwa. The northern shore is especially scenic such as cherry blossom of Kaizu Osaki in spring. The western shore has white sand beaches, popular among Kyotoites during the summer. The scenery of southern shore was selected as Omi Hakkei or Eight Views of Omi, popularized by Hiroshige's ukiyo-e. Unfortunately, most of the original eight views are now almost gone or changed from what they were centuries ago. One of them is the Ukimido temple in Katata, northern Otsu. It was reconstructed with concrete in 1937, but still has tasteful scene — a small temple stands on the lake near the shore, accessible by a short bridge.
Beautiful views of the lake can also be had from mountain roads like the Oku-Biwako Parkway road up north and the Hiei-zan Driveway and Oku-Hiei Driveway overlooking the southwestern shore. In Otsu, the Otsu Prince Hotel's Top of Otsu restaurant provides a superb high, panoramic view of the lake and city.
Besides being natural beauty, there are historical buildings and festivals persons that rank among those of national importance. Shiga has 807 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, that ranks the fourth large number in Japan.[6]
Like other prefectures, festivals abound in Shiga. Unique festivals of Shiga include the hikiyama festival (floats parade festival). The hikiyama festival is held in ten areas such as Nagahama, Otsu, Maibara, Hino, Minakuchi and so on. The Nagahama hikiyama festival held each April is known as one of the three major hikiyama festivals in Japan, and was selected as Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1979. During this festival ornate floats are mounted with miniature stages on which highly skilled boys (playing both male and female roles) act in kabuki plays.[13] Meanwhile, Higashiomi (formerly Yōkaichi) city holds a Giant Kite Festival every May along the riverbank. Ordinary people are invited to pull the rope that sends the kites aloft.
Shiga's most famous historical building is Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in Japan. The castle tower is well preserved and also has many cherry trees. Other famous building is Ishiyama Temple in Otsu. It has a room where one of Japan's most famous novels, Tale of Genji was written.
Meishin Expressway, Shin-Meishin Expressway and Hokuriku Expressway pass through Shiga. National highway Route 1, 8, 21, 8, 161, 303, 306, 307, 365, 367, 421, 422 and 477 connect with neighbouring prefectures. Two toll 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 are popular now.
Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states.[14]
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