Shiga Prefecture

History

Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established. Omi was a neighbor of Nara and Kyoto, at the junction of western and eastern Japan. During the period 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 the north of Otsu and founded Enryaku-ji, the center of Tendai and a UNESCO World Heritage Site and monument of Ancient Kyoto now.

During the Heian period, the Sasaki clan ruled Omi, and afterward, the Rokkaku clan, Kyōgoku clan, and Azai clans ruled Omi. While during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, 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 Omi notables during this period.

In 1600, Ishida Mitsunari, born in the 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. Naomasa established the Hikone Domain, later known for Ii Naosuke. 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 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 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.

Geography

Shiga borders Fukui Prefecture in the north, Gifu Prefecture in the east, Mie Prefecture in the southeast, and Kyoto Prefecture 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 Osaka 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 in Omihachiman, and it was selected as the first Important Cultural Landscapes in 2006.

The lake divides the prefecture into four different areas: centered Nagahama, centered Imazu, centered Hikone and centered Otsu.

Plains stretch to the eastern shore 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, a small lake known for the legend of the heavenly robe of an angel, which is similar to a western Swan 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 m in 1936.

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.

Municipalities

Cities

Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:

Towns

These are the towns in each district:

Mergers

Main article: List of mergers in Shiga Prefecture

Politics

Taizō Mikazuki, a former member of the House of Representatives from Shiga, was narrowly elected governor in July 2014 with center-left support against ex-METI-bureaucrat Takashi Koyari (supported by the center-right national-level ruling parties) to succeed governor Yukiko Kada. In June 2018, he was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term against one challenger, a communist.

The prefectural assembly has 44 members from 16 electoral districts, and is elected in unified local elections. As of July 2019, the assembly was composed by caucus as follows: LDP 20 members, Team Shiga (CDP, DPP, former Kada supporters etc.) 14, JCP 4, Sazanami Club (of independents) 3, Kōmeitō 2, "independent"/non-attached 1.

In the National Diet, 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 national elections of 2016, 2017 and 2019, the directly elected delegation to the Diet from Shiga consists of (as of August 1, 2019):

• in the House of Representatives
  • for the 1st district in the west: Toshitaka Ōoka, LDP, 3rd term,
  • for the 2nd district in the northeast: Ken'ichirō Ueno, LDP, 4th term,
  • for the 3rd district on the southern shores of Lake Biwa: Nobuhide Takemura, LDP, 3rd term,
  • for the 4th district in the southeast: Hiroo Kotera, LDP, 1st term,
• in the House of Councillors (Shiga At-large district)
  • in the class of 2016 (term ends 2022): Takashi Koyari, LDP, 1st term,
  • in the class of 2019 (term ends 2025): Yukiko Kada, independent sitting with the Hekisuikai caucus, 1st term.

Economy

According to the Cabinet Office's statistics in 2014, the manufacturing sector accounted for 35.4% of Shiga's economic production, the highest proportion in Japan.

Demographics

| 1920 |651050 | 1930 |691631 | 1940 |703679 | 1950 |861180 | 1960 |842695 | 1970 |889768 | 1980 |1079898 | 1990 |1222411 | 2000 |1342832 | 2010 |1410777 | 2015 |1412916 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 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 settled in Shiga to work in nearby factories. 25,040 foreigners live in Shiga and 30% of foreigners were Brazilians as of December 2016.

Culture

Biwa Town (a part of Nagahama) is a home of The Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe.

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.

Education

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

• Biwako-Gakuin University (Higashiomi)
• Biwako Seikei Sport College (Otsu)
• Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology (Nagahama)
• Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto and Kusatsu)
• Ryukoku University (Kyoto and Otsu)
• Seian University of Art and Design (Otsu)
• Seisen University (Hikone)
• Shiga Bunkyo Junior College (Nagahama)
• Shiga Junior College (Otsu)
• Shiga University (Hikone and Ōtsu)
• Shiga University of Medical Science (Otsu)
• University of Shiga Prefecture (Hikone) An example of the educational content that is unique to Shiga Prefecture is Biwako Floating School, also known as Uminoko. Biwako Floating School is the project for running an educational cruise program in which fifth grade pupils of elementary schools living in Shiga board a ship Uminoko on Lake Biwa and learn about the environment and ecosystem of the lake.

Sports

The following sports teams are based in Shiga.

• Basketball: Shiga LakeStars
• Football (soccer): Lagend Shiga (Moriyama), MIO Biwako Kusastsu (later Reilac Shiga) (Kusatsu), Sagawa Shiga F.C. (Moriyama).
• Tennis: SHRIGGA AKA UVEAL
• Volleyball: Toray Arrows (women's volleyball team) (Otsu)

Transport

There are no airports within the prefecture itself. However, airports such as Chubu Centrair International Airport, Itami Airport, and Kansai International Airport are also used by air travellers from the prefecture.

Tourism

In 2000 sixty-five thousand tourists visited Shiga.

Festivals include the festival, held in ten areas including Nagahama each April, one of the three major hikiyama festivals in Japan, which was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1979. During the festival ornate floats are mounted with miniature stages on which boys (playing both male and female roles) act in kabuki plays.

Notable people

• Gentaro Kawase, president of Nippon Life Insurance.
• Hizaki, musician and songwriter.
• Kakuzo Kawamoto, business executive and politician.
• Kizo Yasui, business executive.
• Sōsuke Uno, the 75th Prime Minister of Japan.
• Takanori Nishikawa, singer and actor.

Sister states/provinces

Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states or provinces in other countries.

• People's Republic of China Hunan, China
• USA Michigan, United States, since 1968
• Brazil Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 58053128
• Shiga-ken hyakka jiten [Encyclopedia Shiga] (滋賀県百科事典, 1984). Tokyo: Yamato Shobo.

References

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4. Nussbaum, "Ōtsu" at {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 765
5. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 780
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9. (1 April 2014). "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture". [[Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
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11. [[The Japan Times]], July 14, 2014: [https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/14/national/politics-diplomacy/ldp-candidate-flounders-shiga-gubernatorial-elections/ LDP candidate flounders in Shiga governor race], retrieved August 1, 2019.
12. [[NHK]] Senkyo Web, June 24, 2018: [https://www.nhk.or.jp/senkyo/database/local/2018/shiga-chiji.html 2018滋賀県知事選], retrieved August 1, 2019.
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