| Shiga Prefecture | |||||||||||
| Settlement Type: | Prefecture | ||||||||||
| Translit Lang1: | Japanese | ||||||||||
| Translit Lang1 Type: | Japanese | ||||||||||
| Translit Lang1 Info: | Japanese: 滋賀県 | ||||||||||
| Translit Lang1 Type1: | Rōmaji | ||||||||||
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | Japanese: Shiga-ken | ||||||||||
| Flag Size: | 100px | ||||||||||
| Image Blank Emblem: | Emblem of Shiga Prefecture.svg | ||||||||||
| Blank Emblem Size: | 80px | ||||||||||
| Blank Emblem Type: | Symbol | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | Kansai | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type2: | Island | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name2: | Honshu | ||||||||||
| Seat Type: | Capital | ||||||||||
| Seat: | Ōtsu | ||||||||||
| Parts Type: | Subdivisions | ||||||||||
| Parts Style: | para | ||||||||||
| P1: | Districts 3 | ||||||||||
| P2: | Municipalities 19 | ||||||||||
| Leader Title: | Governor | ||||||||||
| Leader Name: | Taizō Mikazuki | ||||||||||
| Area Total Km2: | 4,017.38 | ||||||||||
| Area Water Percent: | 14.0 | ||||||||||
| Area Rank: | 38th | ||||||||||
| Population Total: | 1,412,916 | ||||||||||
| Population As Of: | October 1, 2015 | ||||||||||
| Population Rank: | 28th | ||||||||||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||||||||
| Demographics Type2: | GDP | ||||||||||
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] | ||||||||||
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total | ||||||||||
| Demographics2 Info1: | JP¥ 7,006 billion US$ 51.7 billion (2022) | ||||||||||
| Iso Code: | JP-25 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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| Anthem: | Shiga kenmin no uta | ||||||||||
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu.[2] Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the northeast, Mie Prefecture to the southeast, and Kyoto Prefecture to the west.
Ōtsu is the capital and largest city of Shiga Prefecture, with other major cities including Kusatsu, Nagahama, and Higashiōmi.[3] Shiga Prefecture encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and 37% of the total land area is designated as Natural Parks, the highest of any prefecture. Shiga Prefecture's southern half is located adjacent to the former capital city of Kyoto and forms part of Greater Kyoto, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Japan. Shiga Prefecture is home to Ōmi beef, the Eight Views of Ōmi, and Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in Japan.
See also: Historic Sites of Shiga Prefecture. Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established.[4] 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.[5]
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 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, which is similar to a western Swan maiden.[6]
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 in 1936.[7]
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.[8]
See also: List of cities in Shiga Prefecture by population.
Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Population density (per km2) | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rōmaji | Kanji | |||||
| Higashiōmi | 東近江市 | 388.58 | 113,460 | 291.99 | ||
| Hikone | 彦根市 | 196.84 | 113,349 | 575.84 | ||
| Kōka | 甲賀市 | 481.62 | 89,202 | 185.21 | ||
| Konan | 湖南市 | 70.4 | 54,240 | 770.46 | ||
| Kusatsu | 草津市 | 67.82 | 141,945 | 2092.97 | ||
| Maibara | 米原市 | 250.46 | 38,473 | 153.61 | ||
| Moriyama | 守山市 | 55.73 | 80,768 | 1449.27 | ||
| Nagahama | 長浜市 | 680.79 | 119,043 | 174.86 | ||
| Ōmihachiman | 近江八幡市 | 177.45 | 82,116 | 462.76 | ||
| Ōtsu (capital) | 大津市 | 464.51 | 341,187 | 734.51 | ||
| Rittō | 栗東市 | 52.75 | 67,149 | 1272.97 | ||
| Takashima | 高島市 | 693 | 49,168 | 70.95 | ||
| Yasu | 野洲市 | 80.15 | 50,233 | 626.74 | ||
These are the towns in each district:
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Population density (per km2) | District | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rōmaji | Kanji | ||||||
| Aishō | 愛荘町 | 37.98 | 20,730 | 545.81 | Echi District | ||
| Hino | 日野町 | 117.63 | 21,677 | 184.28 | Gamō District | ||
| Kōra | 甲良町 | 13.66 | 6,932 | 507.47 | Inukami District | ||
| Ryūō | 竜王町 | 44.52 | 12,130 | 272.46 | Gamō District | ||
| Taga | 多賀町 | 135.93 | 7,382 | 54.31 | Inukami District | ||
| Toyosato | 豊郷町 | 7.78 | 7,588 | 975.32 | Inukami District | ||
See main article: List of mergers in Shiga Prefecture.
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.[9] [10] [11]
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.[12]
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):
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.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15]
Ten universities, two junior colleges, and a learning center of The Open University of Japan operate in Shiga.[16]
An example of the educational content that is unique to Shiga Prefecture is Biwako Floating School, also known as Uminoko.[17] 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.
The following sports teams are based in Shiga.
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.
In 2000 sixty-five thousand tourists visited Shiga.[18]
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.[19]
Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states or provinces in other countries.[20]
Michigan, United States, since 1968
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil