In 1600,Ishida Mitsunari, born in the east of Nagahama and based inSawayama Castle, made war againstTokugawa Ieyasu inSekigahara, Gifu. After the battle, Ieyasu madeIi Naomasa a new lord of Sawayama. Naomasa established theHikone Domain, later known forIi Naosuke. Ii Naosuke became the Tokugawa shogunate'sTairō 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 asZeze.
Map of Shiga Prefecture, 1880
With theabolition 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 GovernorTaizō 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.[6]
Lake Biwa, Japan's largest, is located at the center of this prefecture. It occupies one-sixth of its area. TheSeta River flows from Lake Biwa toOsaka Bay throughKyoto. 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 (水郷,suigō) in Omihachiman, and it was selected as the firstImportant Cultural Landscapes in 2006.
The lake divides the prefecture into four different areas:Kohoku (湖北; north of lake) centered Nagahama,Kosei (湖西; west of lake) centeredImazu,Kotō (湖東; east of lake) centered Hikone andKonan (湖南; south of lake) centered Otsu.
Plains stretch to the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. The prefecture is enclosed by mountain ranges with theHira Mountains andMount Hiei in the west, theIbuki Mountains in the northeast, and theSuzuka Mountains in the southeast.Mount Ibuki is the highest mountain in Shiga. InYogo, a small lake known for the legend of the heavenly robe of an angel (天女の羽衣,tennyo no hagoromo), which is similar to a westernSwan maiden.[7]
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 metres (18 ft) in 1936.[8]
Theprefectural 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.[13]
In theNational Diet, Shiga is represented by four directly elected members of theHouse of Representatives and two (one per ordinary election) of theHouse of Councillors. For the proportional representation segment of the lower house, the prefecture forms part of theKinki block. After the national elections of2016,2017 and2019, the directly elected delegation to the Diet from Shiga consists of (as of August 1, 2019):
According to theCabinet Office's statistics in 2014, the manufacturing sector accounted for 35.4% of Shiga's economic production, the highest proportion in Japan.[14]
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 arewithin 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.[16]
Ukimidō hall atMangetsu-ji temple near Katata, ŌtsuFrom Otsu port, the Michigan paddlewheel boat offers cruises on Lake BiwaHikone Castle
In 2000 sixty-five thousand tourists visited Shiga.[19]
Festivals include thehikiyama matsuri (曳山祭; floats parade) festival, held in ten areas includingNagahama 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 inkabuki plays.[20]
^Shiga Prefecture.滋賀県内の大学・短期大学 [Universities and junior colleges in Shiga prefecture] (in Japanese). Retrieved2011-05-08.
^Shiga Prefecture.湖国観光交流ビジョン 第２章 滋賀県観光の現状と課題 [The vision for tourism and exchange of the Lake Country. Chapter 2: present situation and problem about the Shiga tourism] (in Japanese). Retrieved2011-05-13.
^Shiga Prefecture.滋賀県の紹介（滋賀県の国際交流 姉妹・友好都市） [Introduction of Shiga prefecture; International exchanges of Shiga, friendship sister cities] (in Japanese). Retrieved2010-11-25.
