Shiga Prefecture

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

STUNNING - HIKONE UFO SIGHTING (Shiga Prefecture, Japan)

PINOY SA JAPAN-MINI EB SA SHIGA KEN, OMIHACHIMAN

Making Mochi in Nagahama Shiga Prefecture | よもぎもち

GIANMARCO JAPAN TOUR 2012 EN SHIGA KEN - ( JASU - ART - PERU )

fukui-ken and shiga-ken JAPAN 2010 beach fall SUMMER SONY HDR CX-12

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Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture (愛知県, Aichi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.
Originally, the region was divided into the two provinces of Owari and Mikawa. After the Meiji Restoration, Owari and Mikawa were united into a single entity. In 1871, after the abolition of the han system, Owari, with the exception of the Chita Peninsula, was established as Nagoya Prefecture, while Mikawa combined with the Chita Peninsula and formed Nukata Prefecture. Nagoya Prefecture was renamed to Aichi Prefecture in April 1872, and was united with Nukata Prefecture on November 27 of the same year.
The government of Aichi Prefecture is located in the Aichi Prefectural Government Office in Nagoya, which is the old capital of Owari.
The Expo 2005 World Exposition was held in Seto and Nagakute.
In the third volume of the Man'yōshū there is a poem by Takechi Kurohito 'The cry of the crane, calling to Sakurada; it sounds like the tide, draining from Ayuchi flats, hearing the crane cry'. Ayuchi is the original form of the name Aichi, and the Fujimae tidal flat is all that remains of the earlier Ayuchi-gata. It is now a protected area.

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Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu.
Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and the Ōu and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes.^{[citation needed]}
The first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor of Koshi Province (the northwest part of Honshū bordering the Sea of Japan), established a fort on the Mogami River, and thus began the Japanese settlement of the region.
In 733, a new military settlement—later renamed Akita Castle—was built in modern-day Akita city at Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were developed. The region was used as a base of operations for the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from northern Honshū.

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Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture (青森県, Aomori-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The prefecture came into existence in 1871. Aomori Town was established in 1889. The town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000. On May 3, 1910 a fire broke out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents. It destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. At 10:30 p.m. on July 28, 1945 a squadron of American B29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city.
Radio Aomori (RAB) made its first broadcast in 1951. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held. 1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizen's Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a rail connection with Minmaya Village at the tip of the peninsula.

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Brazil
Brazil ⁱ/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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Chūbu region
The Chūbu region (中部地方, Chūbu-chihō^?) is the central region of Honshū, Japan's main island. Chūbu has a population of 21,715,822 as of 2010.
Chūbu, which means "central region", encompasses nine prefectures (ken): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi, and often Mie.
It is located directly between the Kantō region and the Kansai region and includes the major city of Nagoya as well as long Pacific and Sea of Japan coastlines, extensive mountain resorts, and Mount Fuji.
The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, known as the front of Japan, or Omote-Nihon (表日本^?) sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, or Ura-Nihon (裏日本^?), the back of Japan, snowy in winter.
The Chūbu region covers a large and geographically diverse area of Honshū which leads to it generally being divided into three distinct subregions: Tōkai, Kōshin'etsu, and Hokuriku.

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Chūgoku region
The Chūgoku region (中国地方, Chūgoku-chihō^?), also known as the San'in-San'yō region (山陰山陽地方, San'in san'yō-chihō^?), is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. As of 2010 it has a population of 7,563,428.
“Chūgoku” literally means “middle country”, but the origin of the name is unclear. Historically, Japan was divided into a number of provinces called koku, which were in turn classified according to both their power and their distances from the administrative center in Kansai. Under the latter classification, most provinces are divided into “near countries” (近国 kingoku), “middle countries” (中国 chūgoku), and “far countries” (遠国 ongoku). Therefore, one explanation is that Chūgoku was originally used to refer to the collection of “middle countries” to the west of the capital. However, only five (less than half) of the provinces normally considered part of Chūgoku region were in fact classified as middle countries, and the term never applied to the many middle countries to the west of Kansai. Therefore, an alternative explanation is that Chūgoku referred to provinces between Kansai and Kyūshū, which was historically important as the link between Japan and mainland Asia.

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Ehime Prefecture
Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県, Ehime-ken^?) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo Province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongol invasions.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama.
The name Ehime comes from the Kojiki and means "beautiful maiden."
In 2012, a research group from the University of Tokyo and Ehime University said they had discovered rare earth deposits in the City of Matsuyama in Ehime-ken Prefecture,Japan.
Located in the northwestern part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto Inland Sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east and Kōchi in the south.
The prefecture includes both high mountains in the inland region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the narrowest peninsula in Japan.

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Enryaku-ji
Enryaku-ji (延暦寺, Enryaku-ji^?) is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was founded during the early Heian period. The temple complex was established by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayana Buddhism to Japan from China. Enryaku-ji is the headquarters of the Tendai sect and one of the most significant monasteries in Japanese history. As such, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)". The founders of Jōdo-shū, Sōtō Zen, and Nichiren Buddhism all spent time at the monastery. Enryaku-ji is also the home of the "marathon monks."
With the support of Emperor Kammu, the Buddhist monk Saichō ordained a hundred disciples in 807. Maintaining a strict discipline on Mt. Hiei, his monks lived in seclusion for twelve years of study and meditation. After this period, the best students were retained in positions in the monastery and others graduated into positions in the government. At the peak of its power, Enryaku-ji was a huge complex of as many as 3,000 sub-temples and a powerful army of warrior monks (僧兵, sōhei^?). In the tenth century, succession disputes broke out between Tendai monks of the line of Ennin and Enchin. These disputes resulted in opposing Tendai centers at Enryaku-ji and at Mii-dera, known respectively as the Mountain Order (山門, sanmon^?) and the Temple Order (寺門, jimon^?). Warrior monks were used to settle the disputes, and Tendai leaders began to hire mercenary armies who threatened rivals and even marched on the capital to enforce monastic demands.

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Fukui Prefecture
Fukui Prefecture (福井県, Fukui-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.
The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid and a new sauropod. It also shows the coexistence of pterosaurs and birds, in the forms of comingled tracks.^{[citation needed]}
Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871.
During the Edo period, the daimyō of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The province faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The mountain side of the eastern part has much snow in winter.
As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park.

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Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (福島県, Fukushima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The Shirakawa Barrier and the Nakoso Barrier were built around the 5th century to protect 'civilized Japan' from the 'barbarians' to the north. Fukushima became a Province of Mutsu after the Taika Reforms were established in 646.
In 718, the provinces of Iwase and Iwaki were created, but these areas reverted to Mutsu some time between 722 and 724.
The province of Fukushima was conquered by Prince Subaru in 1293. This region of Japan is also known as Michinoku and Ōshū.
The Fukushima Incident took place in the prefecture after Mishima Michitsune was appointed governor in 1882.
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the tsunami that followed, and the resulting Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused significant damage to the prefecture, primarily but not limited to the eastern Hama-dōri region.

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Gunma Prefecture
Gunma Prefecture (群馬県, Gunma-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.
The remains of a Paleolithic man^{[citation needed]} were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.
Japan was without horses until around the fifth century CE. The ancient province of Gunma was a center of the horsebreeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples. The arrival of horses and the remains of horse-tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.
When Mount Haruna erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.

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Hikone Castle
Hikone Castle (彦根城, Hikone-jō^?) is the most famous historical site in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, and the most famous historical building in Shiga. This Edo period castle traces its origin to 1603 when Ii Naokatsu, son of the former daimyo Ii Naomasa, ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in 1575, as part of Ōtsu Castle, and was moved to Hikone by the Ii clan. Other parts of the castle were moved from Nagahama Castle. Hikone Castle was completed in 1622. Naokatsu's lands had been taken from him in the interval by the Tokugawa shogunate, and when his brother Naotake assumed control of the area around Ōmi Province, he was able to complete the castle by collecting stones from the former Sawayama Castle.
Hikone is one of only 12 Japanese castles with its original keep, and one of only 4 castles listed as a national treasure. When the Meiji era began in 1868, many castles were scheduled to be dismantled, and only a request from the emperor himself, touring the area, kept Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest original-construction castles in Japan. The main keep of Hikone Castle was designated a National Treasure by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in 1952. Hikone Castle also has several parts which are designated Important National Cultural Assets : Umaya (Stable), Tenbin Yagura (Balance Scale Turret), Taikomon Yagura (Drum Gate Turret) and Nishinomaru Sanju Yagura (West Fort Wing Three-story Turret).

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Hiyoshi Taisha
Hiyoshi Taisha shrine (日吉大社^?, the same characters used to be pronounced Hie Taisha) is a Shinto shrine located in Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan. The West Hall of Worship (西本宮,, nishi hon-gū^?) and the East Hall of Worship (東本宮, , higashi hon-gū^?) have been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as National Treasures in the category shrines. This shrine heads the seventh largest shrine network in Japan, at about 4,000 shrines.
Hiyoshi Taisha was first recorded in Kojiki, written in the 8th century. In the Middle Ages, the Enryaku-ji temple influenced the shrine to include some Buddhist essence.
The buildings of the shrine were burnt when Oda Nobunaga destroyed Enryaku-ji in 1571. The existing buildings were constructed in the last quarter of the 16th century.
Usagu
Shirayamahime-jinja
Hiyoshi Toshogu
Torii on the Momiji Matsuri evening (Maple Festival)
Coordinates: 35°4′24.4″N 135°51′53.9″E / 35.073444°N 135.864972°E / 35.073444; 135.864972

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Hokkaido
Hokkaido (help·info) (北海道, Hokkaidō^?, literally "Northern Sea Circuit"), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectures. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.
Hokkaido was settled by Ainu, Nivkh, and Orok 20,000 years ago. The Nihon Shoki, finished in 720, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido in recorded history. According to the text, Abe no Hirafu led a large navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with the Mishihase and Emishi. One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima (渡島), which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaido. However, many theories exist in relation to the details of this event, including the location of Watarishima and the common belief that the Emishi in Watarishima were the ancestors of the present-day Ainu people.

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Honshu
Honshu (本州, Honshū^?, literally "Main Province") ([hoɴɕuː] ( listen)) is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. It is the seventh largest island in the world, and the second most populous after Java in Indonesia.
It has a population of 103 million in 2005, (98,352,000 as of 1990; in 1975 it was 89,101,702), mostly concentrated in the available lowlands, notably in the Kantō plain where 25% of the total population reside in the Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki, Saitama and Chiba cities. Most of the nation's industry is located along the belt running from Tokyo along Honshu's southern coastal cities, including Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Hiroshima, part of the Taiheiyo Belt.
The economy along the northwestern coast by the Sea of Japan is largely fishing and agriculture;Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples.

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Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県, Hyōgo-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.
The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.
Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.
In 1180, near the end of the Heian Period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.
Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.
Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka prefecture, killing nearly 6,500 people.
Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Inland Sea. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Awaji Island is an island in the Inland Sea, lying between Honshū and Shikoku.

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Ibuki Mountains
The Ibuki Mountains (伊吹山地, Ibuki Sanchi^?) are a mountain range straddling the border between Gifu and Shiga prefectures in Japan. After lowering and nearly disappearing in Shiga Prefecture, the range continues as the Suzuka Mountains. During the winter, the winds from the Ibuki Mountains are a cause of much of the snowfall on the Nōbi Plain covering Gifu and Aichi prefectures.
Coordinates: 35°25′04″N 136°24′22″E / 35.41778°N 136.40611°E / 35.41778; 136.40611

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Ishiyama-dera
Ishiyama-dera (石山寺^?, lit. "Stony Mountain Temple") is a Shingon temple in Ōtsu in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. This temple is the thirteenth of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage.
It was constructed around 762 CE, and is said to have been founded by Rōben. The temple contains a number of cultural assets. According to literature available at the temple complex, the guardian carvings at Sanmon/Todaimon are by Tankei and Unkei. Allegedly, Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyama-dera during a full moon night in August 1004. In commemoration, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki and displays a statue in her honor.
The temple features in one of the Eight Views of Omi, originally drawn by Hiroshige. The print featuring the temple is called "The autumn moon at Ishiyama" (石山の秋月).

Coordinates: 34°57′37.51″N 135°54′20.25″E / 34.9604194°N 135.905625°E / 34.9604194; 135.905625

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Japan
Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

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Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県, Kagoshima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.
Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands. Surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, at least since 1879 by Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people there are less than 2 million in this prefecture.
The prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, roughly the size of a basketball. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the southwestern tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel.

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Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.
The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period (around 400 BC). About 3,000 years ago, Mount Hakone produced a volcanic explosion which resulted in Lake Ashi on the western area of the prefecture.
It is believed^{[by whom?]} that the Yamato Dynasty ruled this area from 5th century onwards. In the ancient era, its plains were very sparsely inhabited.
Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the Kamakura period (1185–1333).
In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami and Musashi.
During the Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyo of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo (Tokyo).
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854 and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the United States. Yokohama, the largest deep-water port in Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet operations of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. After the Meiji Period, many foreigners lived in Yokohama City, and visited Hakone. The Meiji Government developed the first railways in Japan, from Shinbashi (in Tokyo) to Yokohama in 1872.

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Kantō region
The Kantō region (関東地方, Kantō-chihō^?) is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. In official census count on October 1, 2010 by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population was 42,607,376 s amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan.
The heartland of feudal power during the Kamakura period and again in the Edo period, Kantō became the center of modern development. Within the Greater Tokyo Area and especially the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, Kantō houses not only Japan's seat of government but also the nation's largest group of universities and cultural institutions, the greatest population, and a large industrial zone. Although most of the Kantō plain is used for residential, commercial, or industrial construction, it is still farmed. Rice is the principal crop, although the zone around Tokyo and Yokohama has been landscaped to grow garden produce for the metropolitan market.

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Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県, Kumamoto-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.
Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system. The current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means "bear root/origin", or "origin of the bear".
Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. It is bordered by the Ariake inland sea and the Amakusa archipelago to the west, Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture to the north, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.
Mt. Aso (1592 m), an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the center of the Aso caldera.
There are nine districts and 45 municipalities.
As of 31 March 2008, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Aso Kujū and Unzen-Amakusa National Parks; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Parks; and Ashikita Kaigan, Itsuki Gokanoshō, Kinpōzan, Misumi-Ōyano Umibe, Okukuma, Shōtaisan, and Yabe Shūhen Prefectural Natural Parks.

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Kyoto
Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi^?, "Capital City") (Japanese pronunciation: [kʲoːto] ( listen)) is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.
Although archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, relatively little is known about human activity in the area before the 6th century AD, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. Emperor Kammu selected the village of Uda, at the time in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province, for this honor.
The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Chang'an, became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as Kamakura (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still a legal capital: see Capital of Japan.)

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Kyushu
Kyushu (九州, Kyūshū^?, lit. "Nine Provinces") is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国^?, "Nine States"), Chinzei (鎮西^?, "West of the Pacified Area"), and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島^?, "Island of Tsukushi"). The historical regional name is Saikaidō (西海道^?, lit. West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands.
In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.
As of 2006, Kyushu has a population of 13,231,995 and covers 35,640 square kilometres (13,760 sq mi).
The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres (5,220 ft), is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso, in central Kyushu.
The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

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Maibara Station
Maibara Station (米原駅, Maibara-eki^?) is a train station in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is the southern terminus of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Hokuriku Main Line, and the boundary of control between JR West and JR Central over the Tōkaidō Main Line.
The station opened on July 1, 1889. Since 1987, its main operator has been JR West, although JR Central administers the Shinkansen tracks.
There are three island platforms with six tracks for the Tōkaidō Line and the Hokuriku Line. There are an island platform, a side platform with five tracks for the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.
There is an island platform with two tracks.

Coordinates: 35°18′51.05″N 136°17′25.76″E / 35.3141806°N 136.2904889°E / 35.3141806; 136.2904889

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Michigan
Michigan (ⁱ/ˈmɪʃɨɡən/) is a state located in the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern United States. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake". Michigan is the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area. Its capital is Lansing, and the largest city is Detroit. Michigan was admitted into the Union on January 26, 1837 as the 26th state.
Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair. Michigan is one of the leading U.S. states for recreational boating. The state has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. A person in the state is never more than six miles (9.7 km) from a natural water source or more than 85 miles (137 km) from a Great Lakes shoreline. It is the largest state by total area east of the Mississippi River.
Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is often noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula (often referred to as "the U.P.") is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, a five-mile (8 km) channel that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. The two peninsulas are connected by the Mackinac Bridge. The Upper Peninsula is economically important due to its status as a tourist destination. There is also a variety of natural resources to be found there, including a sizable amount of iron ore.

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Miho Museum
The Miho Museum is located southeast of Kyoto, Japan, near the town of Shigaraki, in Shiga Prefecture. The museum was the dream of Mihoko Koyama (after whom it is named), the heiress to the Toyobo textile business, and one of the wealthiest women in Japan. In 1970 Koyama founded the Shinji Shumeikai spiritual movement which is now said to have some 300,000 members worldwide. Furthermore, in the 1990s Koyama commissioned the museum to be built close to the Shumei temple in the Shiga mountains.
The Miho Museum houses Mihoko Koyama's private collection of Asian and Western antiques, as well as other pieces with an estimated value of between US$300 million to US$1 billion,^{[citation needed]} bought on the world market by the Shumei organisation in the years before the museum was opened in 1997. There are over two thousand pieces in total, of which approximately 250 are displayed at any one time.
Many of the items in the collection have no provenance.
The architect I. M. Pei had earlier designed the bell tower at Misono, the international headquarters and spiritual center of the Shumei organization. Mihoko Koyama and her daughter, Hiroko Koyama, again commissioned Pei to design the Miho Museum. The bell tower can be seen from the windows of the museum.

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Miyazaki Prefecture
Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県, Miyazaki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Miyazaki.
Historically, after the Meiji Restoration, Hyūga Province was renamed Miyazaki Prefecture.
Miyazaki Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the island of Kyushu. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the south and east, Ōita Prefecture to the north, and Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures to the west. It is one of only two locations on Earth where the fungus Chorioactis geaster is found. Miyazaki is also the home of the hyuganatsu fruit.
As of 31 March 2008, 12% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Kirishima-Yaku National Park; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi, Nichinan Kaigan, Nippō Kaigan, and Sobo-Katamuki Quasi-National Parks; and Mochio-Sekinoo, Osuzu, Saitobaru-Sugiyasukyō, Sobo Katamuki, Wanitsuka, and Yatake Kōgen Prefectural Natural Parks.
Nine cities, 14 towns, and three villages are located in Miyazaki Prefecture:

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Moriyama, Shiga
Moriyama (守山市, Moriyama-shi^?) is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
As of August 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 77,384 and the density of 1,390 persons per km². The total area is 55.73 km².
The city was founded on July 1, 1970. Its sister city is Adrian, Michigan, United States.
Media related to Moriyama, Shiga at Wikimedia Commons

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Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県, Nagasaki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.
Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki. Facing China and Korea, the region around Hirado was a traditional center for both traders and pirates.
During the 16th century, Catholic missionaries and traders from Portugal arrived and became active in Hirado and Nagasaki, which became a major center for foreign trade. After being given free rein in Oda Nobunaga's period, the missionaries were forced out little by little, until finally, in the Tokugawa era, Christianity was banned under the Sakoku national isolation policy, during which time, Japanese foreign trade was restricted to Chinese and Dutch traders based at Dejima in Nagasaki; however, Kirishitan (Japanese Christian) worship continued underground. These Kakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians) were tried at every step, forced to step on fumi-e ("trample pictures", images of the Virgin Mary and saints) to prove that they were non-Christian. With the banishment of all Catholic missionaries, traders from Catholic countries were also forced out of the country. Along with them, their children, half Japanese and half European, were also forced to leave the country. The majority was sent to Jagatara (Jakarta) and are still remembered by the locals as the people who wrote the poignant letters which were smuggled across the sea to their homeland. Today, Nagasaki has a prominent Chinatown and Catholic churches - and the Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki have been proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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NHK
NHK (日本放送協会, nippon housou kyoukai; official English name: Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestrial television services (NHK General TV and NHK Educational TV), two satellite television services (NHK BS-1 and NHK BS Premium, both now high-definition television services), and three radio networks (NHK Radio 1, NHK Radio 2, and NHK FM).
NHK also provides an international broadcasting service, known as NHK World. NHK World is composed of NHK World TV, NHK World Premium, and the shortwave radio service NHK World Radio Japan. World Radio Japan also makes some of its programs available on the internet.
Until the 1940s, NHK was a national radio broadcasting monopoly.
On 22 March 1925, one and a half years after the Great Kantō earthquake, Radio Japan produced the first radio broadcast in the country, transmitting from Atago Hill just north of the Tokugawa Tombs in Shiba Park. The first programme included Beethoven, classical Japanese music, and a play by Ōyō. In the same year, there were also broadcasts from Ōsaka and Nagoya.

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Okinawa Prefecture
Okinawa Prefecture (沖縄県, Japanese: Okinawa-ken^?, Okinawan: Uchinaa-ken) is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū (the southwesternmost of Japan's main four islands) to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island. The disputed Senkaku Islands (Mandarin: Diaoyu Islands) are administered as part of Okinawa Prefecture.
The oldest evidence of human existence in the Ryukyu islands was discovered in Naha and Yaese. Some human bone fragments from the Paleolithic era were unearthed, but there is no clear evidence of Paleolithic remains. Japanese Jōmon influences are dominant in the Okinawa Islands, although clay vessels in the Sakishima Islands have a commonality with those in Taiwan.
The first mention of the word Ryukyu was written in the Book of Sui. This Ryukyu might refer to Taiwan, not the Ryukyu islands.^{[citation needed]}Okinawa was the Japanese word depicting the islands, first seen in the biography of Jianzhen, written in 779. Agricultural societies begun in the 8th century slowly developed until the 12th century. Since the islands are located in the center of the East China Sea relatively close to Japan, China and South-East Asia, the Ryūkyū Kingdom became a prosperous trading nation. Also during this period, many Gusukus, similar to castles, were constructed. The Ryūkyū Kingdom had a tributary relationship with the Chinese Empire beginning in the 15th century.

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Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay (大阪湾 Ōsaka-wan) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. Its western shore is formed by Awaji Island, and its northern and eastern shores are part of the Kansai metropolitan area.
Major ports on Osaka Bay include Osaka, Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sakai, Amagasaki, and Hannan.
A number of artificial islands have been created in Osaka Bay in past decades, including Kansai International Airport, Port Island, and Rokko Island.
Several islands at the south end of Osaka Bay are part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park.
Industries locate around Osaka Bay because there is a skilled and plentiful workforce, many port facilities, efficient linkages (from small to medium to large firms). There are good transport links (including the Shinkansen), room for expansion (land reclaimed form the sea), and a large local market (9 million).
There has been a recent economic change in Osaka Bay: The decline of older 'heavy' industries such as Nippon Steel, and the expansion of 'new tech' companies such as ICT. There has been a growth in the quaternary industries — research, development, and information. There has also been a development in the science parks and the building of new motorways; this has meant the loss of the countryside.

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Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiw ˈɡɾɐ̃dʒi du suw] ( listen); lit. "Great Southern River") is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine producing center in Brazil, the attraction is Italian gastronomy. Besides the European influence, the gaúchos, or inhabitants of Rio Grande do Sul, strongly cultivate the traditions of the Pampas — region of the border with Uruguay and Argentina — such as drinking mate (known as chimarrão drunk in special gourd cups), eating the typical barbecue, known as churrasco, and the traditional clothes are the bombachas (baggy trousers), boots and large hats. Although the majority of the population dresses non-traditionally, there is^{[citation needed]}^{[says who?]} a widespread value for tradition and culture, which renders the image of "cultural zealots" sometimes attributed^{[by whom?]} to the gaúchos.

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Rittō, Shiga
Rittō (栗東市, Rittō-shi^?) is a city located in Shiga, Japan. It is well known for Japanese horse racing fans because there is the Japan Racing Association's training center and a famous jockey brothers, Yutaka Take and Koshiro Take, were born in Ritto.
As of June 30, 2006, the city has an estimated population of 62,285. The total area is 52.75 km².
The kanji characters for Rittō are "chestnut" (栗) and "East" (東), despite the fact that Rittō is both in the west region of Japan and it has no particularly chestnut trees. Actually, "栗" in Rittō doesn't mean chestnuts but Kurita District (栗太郡), a former district which contained Rittō, and Rittō was located in east of the district.
Media related to Rittō, Shiga at Wikimedia Commons

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Sawayama Castle
Sawayama Castle (佐和山城, Sawayama-jō^?) is a castle in the city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
This castle was an important military stronghold of Ōmi Province. The Azai clan held this castle in the Sengoku Period. Ishida Mitsunari held it at the end of the 16th century after the ruin of the Azai clan. This castle was attacked by Kobayakawa Hideaki after the Battle of Sekigahara. The castle surrendered at half a day though the brother of Mitsunari, Ishida Masazumi, defended it. Afterwards, Ii Naomasa occupied Sawayama Castle. However, he destroyed it, and moved to Hikone Castle.
Coordinates: 35°16′46.2″N 136°16′8.13″E / 35.2795°N 136.268925°E / 35.2795; 136.268925

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Seta River
The Yodo River (淀川, Yodo-gawa^?), also called the Seta River (瀬田川 Seta-gawa) and the Uji River (宇治川 Uji-gawa) at portions of its route, is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshū, Japan. The source of the river is Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture to the north.
The Yodo River, usually called the Seta River in Shiga Prefecture, begins at the southern outlet of the lake in Ōtsu. There is a dam there to regulate the lake level. Further downstream, the Seta flows into Kyoto Prefecture and changes its name to the Uji River, and then merges with two other rivers, namely the Katsura River and the Kizu River in Kyoto Prefecture. The Katsura has its headwaters in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, while the Kizu comes from Mie Prefecture. From the three-river confluence, the river is called the Yodo River, which flows south, through Osaka, and on into Osaka Bay. In Osaka, part of the river has been diverted into an artificial channel; the old course in the heart of Osaka is called the Kyū-Yodo River (literally, 'Former Yodo River').

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Shikoku
Shikoku (四国^?, "four provinces") is the smallest (225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi wide) and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005) of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima (伊予之二名島), Iyo-shima (伊予島), and Futana-shima (二名島). The current name refers to the four former provinces which made up the island: Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo.
The Shikoku region, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islets, covers about 18,800 square kilometres (7,259 sq mi) and consists of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and Tokushima. Across the Inland Sea lie Wakayama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshū. To the west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyūshū.
The 50th largest island by area in the world, Shikoku is smaller than Sardinia and Bananal, but larger than Halmahera and Seram. By population, it ranks 23rd, having fewer inhabitants than Sicily or Singapore, but more than Puerto Rico or Negros.

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Taga-taisha
Taga-taisha (多賀大社^?) is a Shinto shrine located in Taga, Shiga Prefecture, Japan dedicated to Izanagi and Izanami. It is associated with long life, successful marriage and good fortune. The shrine is frequently referred to as O-taga-san (お多賀さん^?) by local residents. The gardens of the inner shoin are a nationally-designated Place of Scenic Beauty.
This ancient shrine is old to have been mentioned in the Kojiki. According to that text it dates from 620, having been built during a time when Buddhism and Shinto were both doing very well. It contains both a Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. The shrine has beautiful garden and a stone bridge, which were constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi as an offering for his mother's long life. It is next to the study attached to the Shrine offices.
About 20 minutes walk from Taga Taisha-mae Station on the Ohmi Railway Taga Line, or about 10 minutes by bus from Minami-Hikone Station on the JR West Biwako Line.
Coordinates: 35°22′54″N 136°29′10″E / 35.38167°N 136.48611°E / 35.38167; 136.48611

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Tokyo
Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō^?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to^?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu^?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi^?).
The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.

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Tokyo Station
Tokyo Station (東京駅, Tōkyō-eki^?) is a railway station in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district.
It is the main intercity rail terminal in Tokyo, the busiest station in Japan in terms of number of trains per day (over 3,000), and the fifth-busiest in Eastern Japan in terms of passenger throughput. It is the starting point and terminus for most of Japan's Shinkansen high-speed rail lines, and is served by many local and regional commuter lines of Japan Railways, as well as the Tokyo Metro network.
The following lines pass through or terminate at Tokyo Station:
The station is linked by underground passageways to the Ōtemachi underground (subway) station complex served by the Tōzai, Chiyoda, Hanzōmon, and Mita subway lines.
It is also possible to walk to the Nijūbashimae, Hibiya, Yūrakuchō, Ginza, and Higashi-ginza Stations completely underground (the last a distance of over 2 km), but these stations can usually be reached more quickly by train.

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Tōhoku region
The Tōhoku region (東北地方, Tōhoku-chihō^?) is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures (ken): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata.
Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote region, offering breathtaking scenery but a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.
The area was historically known as the Michinoku region or province. a term first recorded in Hitachi-no-kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記^?) (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku".
Tōhoku's initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. The last stronghold of the indigenous Emishi on Honshu and the site of many battles.
The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels through Tōhoku.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Ōita Prefecture
Ōita Prefecture (大分県, Ōita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.
Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, Kumaso-no-kuni (熊襲国^?) and Toyo no kuni. Present day Oita was part of Toyo-no-kuni, which means "Abundant Land".
Toyo-no-kuni was later divided into two regions, upper and lower Toyo-no-kuni, called Bungo Province and Buzen Province.
After the Meiji Restoration, districts from Bungo and Buzen provinces were combined to form Ōita Prefecture. These provinces were divided among many local daimyo and thus a large castle town never formed in Ōita. From this time that whole area became known as "Toyo-no-kuni", which means "Land of Abundance".
The origins of the name Ōita are documented in a report from the early 8th century called the Chronicles of Bungo (豊後国風土記, bungonokuni-fudoki^?) . According to the document, when Empress Keikō visited the Kyushu region, stopping first in Toyo-no-kuni, she exclaimed that 'This is a vast land, indeed. It shall be known as Okita-Kuni!' Okita-Kuni, meaning "Land of the Great Fields", later came to be written as "Ōita". Present day interpretations based on Ōita's topography state that Oita's name comes from "Okita", meaning "many fields", rather than "vast" or "great" field, because of Ōita's complex terrain.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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Emperor Shōmu
Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇 (Shōmu-tennō, 701 – June 4, 756^?) was the 45th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749.
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) is not clearly known, but he was known as Oshi-hiraki Toyosakura-hiko-no-mikoto.
Shōmu was the son of Emperor Mommu and Fujiwara no Miyako, a daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito.
Shōmu had four Empresses and six Imperial sons and daughters.
Shōmu was still a child at the time of his father's death; thus, Empresses Gemmei and Gensho occupied the throne before he acceded.
Shōmu continued to reside in the Hezei Palace.
Shōmu is known as the first emperor whose consort was not born into the imperial household. His consort Kōmyō was a non-royal Fujiwara commoner. A ritsuryo office was created for the queen-consort, the Kogogushiki; and this bureaucratic innovation continued into the Heian period.
Shōmu, a devout Buddhist, is best remembered for commissioning, in 743, the sixteen-meter high statue of the Vairocana Buddha (the Daibutsu) in Tōdai-ji of Nara. At the time, this was such a massive undertaking that later chroniclers accuse him of having completely exhausted the country's reserves of bronze and precious metals. In 752, the Shōmu held the Eye-opening Ceremony of the Great Buddha.

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Emperor Tenji
Emperor Tenji (天智天皇, Tenji-tennō^?, 626 – January 7, 671), also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Tenji's reign spanned the years from 661 through 671.
He was the son of Emperor Jomei, but was preceded as ruler by his mother Empress Saimei.
Prior to his accession, he was known as Prince Naka-no-Ōe (中大兄皇子, Naka-no-Ōe no Ōji^?).
As prince, Naka no Ōe played a crucial role in ending the near-total control the Soga clan had over the imperial family. In 644, seeing the Soga continue to gain power, he conspired with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro to assassinate Soga no Iruka in what has come to be known as the Isshi Incident. Although the assassination did not go exactly as planned, Iruka was killed, and his father and predecessor, Soga no Emishi, committed suicide soon after. Following the Isshi Incident, Iruka's adherents dispersed largely without a fight, and Naka no Ōe was named heir apparent. He also married the daughter of his ally Soga no Kurayamada, thus ensuring that a significant portion of the Soga clan's power was on his side.

wn.com/Emperor_Tenji
Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重^?, 1797 – October 12, 1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige (安藤広重) (an irregular combination of family name and art name) and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige (一幽斎廣重).
Hiroshige was born in 1797 and named "Andō Tokutarō" (安藤徳太郎) in the Yayosu barracks, just east of Edo Castle in the Yaesu area of Edo (present-day Tokyo). His father was Andō Gen'emon, a hereditary retainer (of the dōshin rank) of the shōgun. An official within the fire-fighting organization whose duty was to protect Edo Castle from fire, Gen'emon and his family, along with 30 other samurai, lived in one of the 10 barracks; although their salary of 60 koku marked them as a minor family, it was a stable position, and a very easy one — Professor Seiichiro Takahashi characterizes a fireman's duties as largely consisting of revelry. The 30 samurai officials of a barracks, including Gen'emon, oversaw the efforts of the 300 lower-class workers who also lived within the barracks. A few scraps of evidence indicate he was tutored by another fireman who taught him in the Chinese-influenced Kanō school of painting.

wn.com/Hiroshige
Hizaki
Hizaki (stylized as HIZAKI) is a Japanese visual kei musician, best known as guitarist for the symphonic metal band Versailles. Before forming Versailles he was in several independent bands and had a solo career.
Hizaki debuted as guitarist for the Kyoto based band Garnet Grave in 1997. After two years, Hizaki and bassist Hizumi departed from Garnet Grave to form Crack Brain with guitarist Airi (Madeth Gray'll).
In 2002, Crack Brain disbanded and Hizaki and Airi formed the band Gurotesuku Romantikkaa (グロテスクロマンティッカー^?), who in May 2003 changed their name to Schwardix Marvally. They released two EPs, one composed of cover songs from various bands. Soon after releasing the two EPs, Schwardix Marvally disbanded in 2004.
Hizaki then proceeded to start a solo career that same year and released Maiden Ritual. He published two more EPs: Dance with Grace and Maiden Ritual -Experiment Edition- with a variety of musicians in the visual kei scene. In 2005 he put his solo work on hold and joined Sulfuric Acid, staying until they disbanded in October 2006. On October 31, Hizaki supported Lareine at their last concert.

wn.com/Hizaki
Ii Naomasa
Ii Naomasa (井伊直政^?, March 4, 1561 – March 24, 1602) was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa along with Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu.
Ii Naomasa was born in Hōda Village of Tōtōmi Province. His family, like Tokugawa's, had originally been retainers of the Imagawa clan, but following the death of the clan's leader, Imagawa Yoshimoto, in the Battle of Okehazama (1560), confusion and general chaos ensued. Naomasa's father, Naochika, was falsely convicted of treason by Yoshimoto's paranoid successor, Imagawa Ujizane, and was subsequently killed. Naomasa, then a very small child, was personally lucky to escape his father's fate and was later taken in by the Tokugawa.
Ii Naomasa joined the ranks of the Tokugawa clan in the mid-1570s, rising swiftly through the ranks to eventually become the master of a sizable holding in Ōmi Province, following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). His court title was Hyōbu-dayū.

wn.com/Ii_Naomasa
Ii Naosuke
Ii Naosuke (井伊直弼^?, November 29, 1815 – March 24, 1860) was daimyo of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858 until his death on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and extraterritoriality to American citizens. He was also an enthusiastic and accomplished practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony, in the Sekishūryū style, and his writings include at least two works on the tea ceremony.
Under Naosuke Ii’s guidance, the Tokugawa shogunate navigated past a particularly difficult conflict over the succession to the ailing and childless Tokugawa Iesada. Ii Naosuke managed to coerce the Tokugawa Shogunate to its last brief resurgence of its power and position in Japanese society before the starting of the Meiji period. Ii was assassinated in the Sakuradamon incident by a group of 17 Mito and 1 Satsuma samurai on the 24th of March 1860.

wn.com/Ii_Naosuke
Ishida Mitsunari
Ishida Mitsunari (石田三成 1560 – November 6, 1600) was a samurai who led the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 17th century. Also known by his court title, Jibunoshō (治部少輔)
He was born in the north of Ōmi Province (which is now Nagahama, Shiga prefecture), and was the second son of Ishida Masatsugu, who was a retainer for the Azai clan. His childhood name was Sakichi (佐吉). The Ishida withdrew from service after the Azai's defeat in 1573. According to legend, he was a monk in a Buddhist temple before he served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but the accuracy of this legend is doubted since it only came about during the Edo period.
Mitsunari met Toyotomi Hideyoshi when the former was still young and the latter was the daimyo of Nagahama. When Hideyoshi engaged in a campaign in the Chūgoku region, Mitsunari assisted his lord in attacks against castles like the Tottori Castle and Takamatsu Castle (in present-day Okayama).
After Hideyoshi seized power, Mitsunari became known as a talented financial manager due to his knowledge and skill at calculation. From 1585 onward, he was the administrator of Sakai, a role he took together with his elder brother Ishida Masazumi. He was appointed one of the five bugyo, or top administrators of Hideyoshi's government. Hideyoshi made him a daimyo of Sawayama in Ōmi Province, a five hundred thousand koku fief (now a part of Hikone). Sawayama Castle was known as one of the best-fortified castles during that time.

wn.com/Ishida_Mitsunari
Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga (織田信長, Oda Nobunaga (help·info)^?, June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582) was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo (military governor) with land holdings in Owari Province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japan before his death in 1582. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a loyal Oda supporter, would become the first man to unify all of Japan, and was thus the first ruler of all Japan since the Ōnin War.
Oda Nobunaga was born on June 23, 1534, and was given the childhood name of Kippōshi (吉法師^?). He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide. Through his childhood and early teenage years, he was well known for his bizarre behavior and received the name of Owari no Ōutsuke (尾張の大うつけ^?, The Fool of Owari). With the introduction of firearms into Japan, though, he became known for his fondness of Tanegashima firearms. He was also known to run around with other youths from the area, without any regard to his own rank in society. He is said to be born in Nagoya Castle, although this is subject to debate. It is however certain that he was born in the Owari domain. In 1574 Nobunaga accepted the title of Kuge (or Court Noble), then in 1577 he was given the title of Udaijin (or Minister of the Right), the third highest position in the Imperial court.

wn.com/Oda_Nobunaga
Oeyo
Oeyo (於江与^?), Gō (江^?), Ogō (小督^?) or Satoko (達子^?) : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a prominently-placed female figure in late-Sengoku period. She married three times, first to Saji Kazunari, her cousin, then to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew Toyotomi Hidekatsu. She had a daughter named Sada with Hidekatsu, but he died due to an illness during the Korean War. Her third and last husband Tokugawa Hidetada became the second Tokugawa shogun. She was also the mother of his successor Iemitsu, the third shogun. She had Senhime, Tamahime, Katsuhime, Hatsuhime, Takechiyo (Iemitsu), and Tadanaga. Hatsuhime was adopted by Oeyo's sister Ohatsu, who is the wife of Kyogoku Takatsugu.
Hidetada's changing fortunes affected Oeyo's life as well. Surviving record books from merchants of luxury goods provide insight into patterns of patronage and taste amongst the privileged class of women like Oeyo and her sisters.
Oeyo, also known as Ogō, was the third and youngest daughter of the Sengoku period daimyo Azai Nagamasa. Her mother, Oichi was the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga.Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the adoptive father and protector of Oeyo in the period before her marriage.

wn.com/Oeyo
Ohatsu
Ohatsu (お初^?) or Ohatsu-no-kata (お初の方^?) (1570–September 30, 1633) was a prominently placed figure in the late Sengoku period. After her husband's death in 1609, Ohatsu remained active in the political intrigues of her day.
Ohatsu's close family ties to both the Toyotomi clan and the Tokugawa clan uniquely positioned her to serve as a conduit between the rivals. She acted as a liaison until 1615, when the Tokugawa eliminated the Toyotomi.
When she married Kyōgoku Takatsugu in 1587, her husband was a daimyo in Omi province, holding Ōtsu castle for the Toyotomi. At this point, Takatsugu was a fudai (hereditary vassal) daimyo of the Toyotomi with a stipend of 60,000 koku annually. After 1600, Takatsugu's allegiances had been transferred to the Tokugawa; and he was rewarded with the fief of Obama in Wakasa Province and an enhanced income of 92,000 koku annually.
Her husband's changing fortunes affected Ohatsu's life as well. Surviving record books from luxury goods merchants provide insight into patterns of patronage and taste.

wn.com/Ohatsu
Oichi
Oichi (お市^?) or Oichi-no-kata (お市の方^?) (1547–1583) a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who married well – Yodo-dono,Ohatsu and Oeyo.
Oichi was the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga; and she was the sister-in-law of Nōhime, the daughter of Saitō Dōsan. Oichi was equally renowned for her beauty and her resolve. She was descended from the Taira and Fujiwara clans.
Following Nobunaga's conquest of Mino in 1567, in an effort to cement an alliance between Nobunaga and rival warlord Azai Nagamasa, Nobunaga arranged for Oichi, then twenty years old, to marry Nagamasa. Their marriage was through political means, ensuring an alliance between the Oda and the Azai clans. She bore Nagamasa one son (Manjumaru) and three daughters – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo.
In the summer of 1570, Nagamasa betrayed his alliance with Nobunaga and went to war with him on behalf of the Asakura family. A story relates that Oichi sent her brother a sack of beans tied at both ends, ostensibly as a good-luck charm but in reality a warning that he was about to be attacked from both front and rear by the Asakura and Azai clans. According to the story, Nobunaga understood the message and retreated from his brother-in-law's assault in time.

wn.com/Oichi
Saichō
Saichō (最澄^?, September 15, 767 – June 26, 822) was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school in Japan, based around the Chinese Tiantai tradition he was exposed to during his trip to China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei near Kyoto. He is also said to have been the first to bring tea to Japan. After his death, he was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師).
"Saichō was born into a family of devout Buddhists. At the age of twelve he went to study at the provincial temple in Omi. There he studied under Gyōhyō (722-797), a disciple of Tao-hsiian (702-760), the Chinese monk who had brought Northern School Ch'an, Kegon (Chin., Hua-yen) teachings, and the Fan wang precepts to Japan in 736. Saichō's studies of meditation and Kegon "one-vehicle" (Skt., ekayana; Jpn., ichijō) doctrines during this period influenced his lifelong doctrinal predilections. Shortly after he was ordained in 785, he decided to climb Mount Hiei. He remained there for approximately a decade to meditate and study. During his retreat, Saichō read about Chinese T'ien-t'ai meditation practice in Kegon texts and managed to obtain several T'ient'ai texts that had been brought to Japan by Chien-chen (Ganjin, 688-763) in 754 but had subsequently been ignored by Japanese monks."

wn.com/Saichō
Takanori Nishikawa
Takanori Nishikawa (西川貴教, Nishikawa Takanori^?, born September 19, 1970 in Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan) is a renowned Japanese singer and actor. He performs as T.M.Revolution (TMR), which stands for "Takanori Makes Revolution" (貴教が革命を起こす, Takanori ga kakumei o okosu^?) although the name stems from the famous 80s pop electronic band TM Network. Despite most of his songs being written by Akio Inoue and composed/arranged by Daisuke Asakura (also TMR’s former producer), T.M.Revolution is considered Nishikawa’s solo project.
Nishikawa debuted as TMR with the release of his first single "Dokusai (Monopolize)" (独裁 -monopolize-^?) in May 1996. Later that year, his third single "Heart of Sword (Yoake Mae)" (HEART OF SWORD ～夜明け前～^?) was used as the third ending song for the anime series Rurouni Kenshin, further expanding his fan base. He also contributed six songs to the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED franchise – three for Gundam SEED and three for Gundam SEED Destiny. Nishikawa has guest starred as a minor character in each of those anime series that featured his songs. In 2010, his single "Save the One, Save the All" was used as the ending theme song for the movie Bleach: The Hell Verse.

wn.com/Takanori_Nishikawa
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康^?, January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but remained in power until his death in 1616. His given name is sometimes spelled Iyeyasu, according to the historical pronunciation of we. Ieyasu was posthumously enshrined at Nikkō Tōshō-gū with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東照大権現^?).
Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle in Mikawa on the 26th day of the twelfth month of the eleventh year of Tenbun, according to the Japanese calendar. Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo (松平竹千代), he was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada (松平広忠), the daimyo of Mikawa of the Matsudaira clan, and Odainokata (於大の方), the daughter of a neighboring samurai lord Mizuno Tadamasa (水野忠政). His mother and father were step-siblings. They were just 17 and 15 years old, respectively, when Ieyasu was born. Two years later, Odainokata was sent back to her family and the couple never lived together again. As both husband and wife remarried and both went on to have further children, Ieyasu in the end had 11 half-brothers and sisters.

wn.com/Tokugawa_Ieyasu
Tōdō Takatora
Tōdō Takatora (藤堂高虎^?, February 16, 1556 – November 9, 1630) was a Japanese daimyo of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through Edo period. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a foot soldier) to become a daimyo. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master seven times and worked for ten people, but in the end he rendered loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became his last master.
He was promoted rapidly under Hashiba Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he participated in the invasions of Korea as a commander of Toyotomi's fleet. His fiefdom at that time was Iyo-Uwajima. During the Edo period, the wealth of each fiefdom was measured as a volume of rice production in koku. Iyo-Uwajima was assessed at 70,000 koku.
At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, although he was one of Toyotomi's main generals, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After war he was given a larger fiefdom, Iyo-Imabari, assessed at 200,000 koku. Later in life he was made lord of Tsu (with landholdings in Iga and Ise), a domain of 320,000 koku.

wn.com/Tōdō_Takatora

Shiga Trip

We went to Shiga prefecture to visit our friends J and Yuko. This is just the trip and fir...

published: 05 May 2012

author: superscheu

STUNNING - HIKONE UFO SIGHTING (Shiga Prefecture, Japan)

Amazing footage of a UFO that released multiple orbs into clouds above Hikone (Shiga Prefe...

published: 07 Jan 2010

author: SUVMadd

japan nagahama shiga ken part1

paseo lol...

published: 06 Mar 2011

author: seiyi1

PINOY SA JAPAN-MINI EB SA SHIGA KEN, OMIHACHIMAN

Forget all the bad memories, remember only the good. Please watch this video. Visit my hom...

published: 06 Jul 2009

author: baby ghi

japan shiga ken hahah

paseo porai...

published: 27 Mar 2011

author: seiyi1

Making Mochi in Nagahama Shiga Prefecture | よもぎもち

Making Yomogi Mochi in Nagahama Shiga Prefecture: mochi is traditionally eaten at New Year...

published: 17 Jun 2008

author: JapanFilms

GIANMARCO JAPAN TOUR 2012 EN SHIGA KEN - ( JASU - ART - PERU )

concierto de Gianmarco - SHIGA-KEN moriyama Shimin Hall 15 de abril 2012 - ARRIBA PERU !!...

published: 16 Apr 2012

author: JUAN SU Apellido

Shiga ken

Rio de Shiga...

published: 02 Aug 2008

author: gordo100juizo

Casting net in japan (shiga prefecture)

Casting net is very difficult......

published: 29 Jul 2006

author: aquarius13jp

bonus disco nagahama shiga-ken

festa de japa...

published: 13 Jun 2009

author: edson28

fukui-ken and shiga-ken JAPAN 2010 beach fall SUMMER SONY HDR CX-12

fukui e shiga verao 2010...

published: 02 Oct 2010

author: yamamoto758

Kusatsu Shukuba Festival, Shiga 草津宿場まつり

Daimyo Gyoretsu samurai procession with their women in waiting in beautiful kimono. Held o...

published: 26 Jul 2006

author: photojpn

Shiga-Ken Japan Jiu-Jitsu (1)

Campeonato Interno de Jiu-Jitsu-Japão-Shiga-ken- 011/09/18 Felipe,Rafael & Tayline...

published: 24 Nov 2011

author: thayfera

"Room of Genji" at Ishiyama-dera （石山寺） Temple, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

"Room of Genji" is located next the Main Worship Hall (Hondo) in Ishiyama-dera （石山寺） Templ...

published: 27 Jan 2012

author: EnchantingJapan

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photo: AP / Guang Niu, Pool

A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine sails during an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Liberation Army Navy Thursday, April 23, 2009 off Qingdao, China's Shandong Province. China on Thursday displayed for the first time its nuclear-powered submarines, a sign of the navy's growing confidence and its aspirations to become a major sea pow

Russian expert warns America about Chinese nukes

The Examiner

16 Dec 2012

Retired Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin yesterday wrapped up a visit to the United States during which he met with officials at the Pentagon, State Department as well as members of Congress warning about underestimating China’s tactical nuclear weapons buildup ... Yesin warns that U.S. and Western arms specialists are dramatically underestimating China’s nuclear arsenal ... Somewhere between the higher and lower estimates is no doubt the truth ... Mr ... Mr ... ....(size: 4.0Kb)

photo: AP / Jason DeCrow

Newtown Police Officer Maryhelen McCarthy carries flowers near a memorial for shooting victims Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 in Newtown, Conn.

Gunman forced his way into Connecticut school, governor says

Chicago Sun-Times

16 Dec 2012

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The gunman in the Connecticut shooting rampage committed suicide as first responders closed in, the governor said Sunday, raising the specter that Adam Lanza had planned an even more gruesome massacre and was stopped short. Lanza blasted his way into the building and used a high-power rifle to kill 20 children and six adults, including the principal who tried to stop him, authorities said ... Among the questions ... H ... The Rev....(size: 8.8Kb)

photo: AP / Newtown Bee, Shannon Hicks

In this photo provided by the Newtown Bee, police officers are on the scene outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where authorities say a gunman opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012.

No motive for attack by 'brilliant but remote' killer Adam Lanza in Connecticut

The Independent

15 Dec 2012

The massacre of 26 children and adults at an elementary school in the US state of Connecticut elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, a 20-year-old described as brilliant but remote, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims ... He paused for several seconds to keep his composure as he teared up and wiped an eye ... ... "I'm numb ... Yes, yeah....(size: 8.8Kb)

photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Egyptian women line up outside a polling station to cast their votes during a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Is No Longer a 'State Within a State'

WorldNews.com

16 Dec 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "Fundamentalism is good for protest, good for revolution, and good for war, but not so good for development.". After a century of being persecuted and driven underground, mainly for their vibrant nationalism and their anti-imperialist and pro-Palestinian views, Egypt's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood has finally taken center-state ... Such actions will have to be avoided....(size: 6.9Kb)

photo: AP / David Goldman

A police officer takes up a position behind the rectory of the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in response to a bomb threat as onlookers watch from a Starbucks parking lot, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.

Gun control debate begins to simmer after massacre

Denver Post

17 Dec 2012

WASHINGTON—Democrats say meaningful action in the wake of last week's elementary school shooting must include a ban on military-style assault weapons and a look at how the nation deals with individuals suffering from serious mental illness. Several Democratic lawmakers and Independent Sen ... Gun control was a hot topic in the early 1990s, when Congress enacted a 10-year ban on assault weapons ... He added ... Sen ... Rep ... ———....(size: 5.3Kb)

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Woman modifies koto to play jazz, world music

Asahi News

16 Dec 2012

NAGAHAMA, Shiga Prefecture ......(size: 0.1Kb)

Liberal Democrats Win Landslide Victory in Japan Elections

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

16 Dec 2012

TOKYO -- Japan's voters handed a landslide victory to the Liberal Democratic Party in parliamentary elections on Sunday, giving power back to the conservative party that had governed Japan for decades until a historic defeat three years ago ... Mr ... Abe told reporters on Sunday ... Mr ... But Mr ... "We had no time for our message to be absorbed by the public," said the party's founder, Yukiko Kada, the governor of Shiga Prefecture ... "Mr ... Abe ... ....(size: 7.4Kb)

Conservative party favoured as Japan voting begins

NZ Herald

16 Dec 2012

Japanese were voting in parliamentary elections that were expected to put the once-dominant conservatives back in power after a three-year break and bring in a more nationalistic government amid tensions with Japan's big neighbour, China ... Led by Yukiko Kada, the pro-green governor of western Japan's Shiga prefecture, the Tomorrow Party offers itself as a new alternative, drawing support from the grass-roots anti-nuclear movement ... -AP. ....(size: 9.8Kb)

Shift to the right likely in Japan polls

The Hindu

15 Dec 2012

Candidates made final appeals to Japanese voters on Saturday, a day before parliamentary elections that are likely to hand power back to the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ... Mr ... The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party, formed just two weeks ago, is led by Yukiko Kada, an environmental expert and the Governor of Shiga prefecture ... Keywords....(size: 2.3Kb)

Final appeals before Japanese polls

Belfast Telegraph

15 Dec 2012

Candidates are making final impassioned appeals to voters the day before Japanese parliamentary elections that are likely to hand power back to a conservative party that ruled the country for most of the post-war era ... "This isn't for the LDP ... The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party, formed just two weeks ago, is led by Yukiko Kada, an environmental expert and the governor of Shiga prefecture ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)

Final campaign push a day before Japanese vote

The Charlotte Observer

15 Dec 2012

TOKYO Candidates made final impassioned appeals Saturday to voters a day before Japanese parliamentary elections that are likely to hand power back to a conservative party that ruled the country for most of the post-war era ... "This isn't for the LDP ... The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party, formed just two weeks ago, is led by Yukiko Kada, an environmental expert and the governor of Shiga prefecture ... ....(size: 3.0Kb)

Final campaign push a day before Japanese vote - Wire World News - The Sacramento ...

Sacramento Bee

15 Dec 2012

TOKYO -- Candidates made final impassioned appeals Saturday to voters a day before Japanese parliamentary elections that are likely to hand power back to a conservative party that ruled the country for most of the post-war era ... "This isn't for the LDP ... The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party, formed just two weeks ago, is led by Yukiko Kada, an environmental expert and the governor of Shiga prefecture ... Order Reprint ....(size: 3.0Kb)

Platforms of key parties in Japan's election

The Charlotte Observer

15 Dec 2012

- DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN .. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's party, which swept to power in 2009, has made the main focus of its platform reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters ... - LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY. ... Led by Yukiko Kada, the pro-green governor of western Japan's Shiga prefecture, the Tomorrow Party offers itself as a new alternative, drawing support from the grass-roots anti-nuclear movement....(size: 3.7Kb)

Platforms of major political parties contesting Japan's parliamentary elections

Star Tribune

15 Dec 2012

_ DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN .. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's party, which swept to power in 2009, has made the main focus of its platform reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters ... _ LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY. ... Led by Yukiko Kada, the pro-green governor of western Japan's Shiga prefecture, the Tomorrow Party offers itself as a new alternative, drawing support from the grass-roots anti-nuclear movement....(size: 3.8Kb)

Platforms of key parties in Japan's election - Wire World News - The Sacramento Bee ...

Sacramento Bee

15 Dec 2012

Platforms of major political parties contesting Japan’s parliamentary elections

The Washington Post

15 Dec 2012

— DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN .. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s party, which swept to power in 2009, has made the main focus of its platform reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters ... Loading... Led by Yukiko Kada, the pro-green governor of western Japan’s Shiga prefecture, the Tomorrow Party offers itself as a new alternative, drawing support from the grass-roots anti-nuclear movement....(size: 5.6Kb)

Even more than meltdowns; this election is essentially about Japan's war-renouncing Constitution

Japan Times

15 Dec 2012

This is the 15th general election I have witnessed since coming to live in Japan in 1967, and by any standards it is the most crucial one of those for this country. Only once before have I regarded an upcoming general election in the same way, and that was in 2009 ... The conglomeration of small parties under the banner of the new Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party [JFP]), established late last month by Shiga Prefecture Gov ... Army Gen ... ....(size: 8.5Kb)

New parties pop up in Japan, confusing voters

US News

14 Dec 2012

By YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Press. TOKYO (AP) — The buzz over Japan's parliamentary elections this Sunday has been all about "the third force" — a clear sign of the prevailing disenchantment over both the party that ruled for decades after World War II and the rival party that took over in 2009 ... "I can't decide ... Leader Yukiko Kada, the governor of Shiga prefecture and an environmental expert, has a clean image ... ....(size: 4.4Kb)

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"Shiga" redirects here. For other uses, see Shiga (disambiguation).

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Shiga Prefecture

Japanese transcription(s)

• Japanese

滋賀県

• Rōmaji

Shiga-ken

Symbol of Shiga Prefecture

Country

Government

• Governor

Yukiko Kada

Area

• Total

4,017.36 km² (1,551.11 sq mi)

Area rank

38th

Population (August 1, 2009)

• Total

1,402,132

• Rank

28th

• Density

332/km² (860/sq mi)

ISO 3166 code

JP-25

Districts

Municipalities

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]

History [link]

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 Monuments of Ancient Kyoto 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.

Geography [link]

Map of 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.

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. Almost other natural rivers flow into the lake. There were many lagoons around Lake Biwa, but most of them were reclaimed in 1940s. One of preserved lagoons is the wetland (水郷, suigō^?) in Omihachiman, and it was selected as the first Important Cultural Landscapes in 2006.

Lake Biwa divides the prefecture into four different areas: Kohoku (湖北, north of lake) centered Nagahama, Kosei (湖西, west of lake) centered Imazu, Kotō (湖東, east of lake) centered Hikone, and Konan (湖南, south of lake) centered Otsu.

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 the heavenly robe of an angel (天女の羽衣, tennyo no hagoromo^?), which is similar to western 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]

Shiga Prefecture viewed from space

As of 31 March 2008, 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.^[6]

Municipalities [link]

Cities [link]

Thirteen cities are located in Shiga Prefecture:

Towns [link]

These are the towns in each district.

Echi District

Aishō

Gamō District

Hino

Ryūō

Inukami District

Kōra

Taga

Toyosato

Mergers [link]

Main article: List of mergers in Shiga Prefecture

Politics [link]

Shiga Gubernatorial election, 2006

Economy [link]

Merchant mansions in Omihachiman

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.^[7] The traditional industry of Shiga includes textiles, Shigaraki ware, Butsudan in Hikone and Nagahama, medicines in Koka, fan ribs in Adogawa.

Demographics [link]

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.^[8] Shiga Prefecture services a weekly information program in Portuguese on Biwako Broadcasting from April 2011.^[9]

Culture [link]

Sagawa Art Museum

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.^[10]

Cuisine [link]

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 fermented sushi of crucian carp (鮒寿司, funa-zushi^?). It retains ancient style of sushi and has a pungent odor and peculiar favor. Shiga is also famous for high quality wagyū, Omi beef. The Hikone Domain presented beef as medicinal food to shoguns.^[11] In addition, tsukemono of root crops, mallard nabe or mallard sukiyaki (鴨鍋 or 鴨すき, kamo-nabe or kamo-suki^?) in northern Shiga, red colored konjac (赤こんにゃく, aka konnyaku^?) in Omihachiman, sōmen with grilled mackerel (焼鯖素麺, yaki-saba sōmen^?) in Nagahama, and lightly seasoned champon in Hikone are examples of specific cuisine in Shiga.

Funa-zushi – fermented crucian carp
Nagahama yaki-saba sōmen
Hikone champon

Mass media [link]

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.

Education [link]

University of Shiga Prefecture

There are ten universities, two junior colleges, and a learning center of The Open University of Japan in Shiga.^[12]

Shiga University (Hikone and Otsu)
Shiga University of Medical Science (Otsu)
University of Shiga Prefecture (Hikone)
Seian University of Art and Design (Otsu)
Seisen University (Hikone)
Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology (Nagahama)
Biwako-Gakuin University (Higashiomi)
Biwako Seikei Sport College (Otsu)
Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto and Kusatsu)
Ryukoku University (Kyoto and Otsu)
Shiga Junior College (Otsu)
Shiga Bunkyo Junior College (Nagahama)

Sports [link]

The following sports teams are based in Shiga.

Basketball: Shiga LakeStars
Volleyball: Toray Arrows (women's volleyball team) (Otsu)
Football (soccer): MIO Biwako Kusatsu (Kusatsu), Sagawa Shiga F.C. (Moriyama).

Tourism [link]

File:Katata01.jpg

Ukimidō hall at Mangetsu-ji temple near Katata, Otsu

From Otsu port, the Michigan paddlewheel boat offers cruises on Lake Biwa

Hikone Castle

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.^[13]

The main gateways to Shiga are the Maibara Station in northern Shiga and the city of Otsu in the south. The Maibara Station is about 2 hours and 20 minutes away from the Tokyo Station by the Tokaido Shinkansen. It is easy to go to Otsu from Kyoto and Osaka by rapid service trains.

Shiga's most prominent feature is Lake Biwa. The northern shore is especially scenic such as cherry blossom of Kaizu Osaki in spring and a sacred island Chikubu-shima. The western shore has white sand beaches, popular among Kyotoites during the summer. The scenery of the southern shore, particularly around Otsu, 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 remaining view is the Ukimidō "floating temple" building at Mangetsu-ji temple in Katata, northern Otsu. It was reconstructed with concrete in 1937, but still has a tasteful scene — a small temple stands on the lake near the shore, accessible by a short bridge. Another scene features Ishiyama-dera temple in southern Otsu, which is also renowned for having a room where Lady Murasaki thought up the plan for some chapters of Tale of Genji.

Bacause there are many mountains around Lake Biwa, beautiful views of the lake can also be had from mountains. Mount Hira is a popular picnic spot with Kansai people. 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, and the Michigan paddlewheel boat offers cruises.

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.^[7]

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.^[14] 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. The neighboring city of Nagahama is also famous for tourism, and has a large number of sights, in addition to its hikiyama festival. Notable shrines include Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu and Taga-taisha in Taga, which respectively head the seventh and twentieth largest shrine networks in Japan, at about 4,000 shrines and 260 shrines, respectively.

Transportation [link]

JR West "Special Rapid" train on Biwako Line

Biwako Ohashi Bridge

Railways [link]

West Japan Railway Company
- Tōkaidō Main Line (Biwako Line), Hokuriku Main Line, Kusatsu Line and Kosei Line
Central Japan Railway Company
- Tōkaidō Shinkansen (Maibara Station) and Tōkaidō Main Line
Keihan Electric Railway
- Keishin Line and Ishiyama Sakamoto Line
Ohmi Railway
- Main Line, Yōkaichi Line and Taga Line
Shigaraki Kōgen Railway
Sakamoto Cable

Roads [link]

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.

Boats [link]

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.

Miscellaneous topics [link]

Sōsuke Uno - The 75th prime minister from Moriyama. He was one of the shortest-serving prime ministers in Japan, holding office for only three months (June–August 1989).
Takanori Nishikawa - A singer and actor from Hikone and Yasu. He is also active as the first Cultural Ambassador for Shiga.
Hizaki - A musician and songwriter, known for work as guitarist of Versailles.

Sister states [link]

Shiga has cooperative agreements with three states.^[15]

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Michigan, USA
Hunan, People's Republic of China

Notes [link]

^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Shiga-ken" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 853 at Google Books; "Kansai" at Japan Encyclopedia, p. 477 at Google Books.
^ Nussbaum, "Ōtsu" at Japan Encyclopedia, p. 765 at Google Books.
^ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at Japan Encyclopedia, p. 780 at Google Books.
^ Shiga Prefecture. "余呉湖・天女の衣掛柳 [Lake Yogo - a willow hung a celestial robe]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/minwa/41/41-01.html. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ Encyclopedia Shiga. p436.
^ "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture". Ministry of the Environment. http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/doc/files/np_6.pdf. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
^ ^a ^b Shiga Prefecture. "滋賀県の紹介（滋賀県なんでも一番） [Introduction of Shiga prefecture; Best scores of Shiga]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/profile/seikatsu/. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
^ Shiga Prefecture. "外国人登録者数国籍別人員調査結果　平成22年（2010年）12月31日末現在 [The investigation of the number of foreign registrations by nationality as of December 31, 2010]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/b/kokusai/shiryo/gaito/files/20101231gaito.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ Shiga Prefecture. "テレビ・ラジオによる広報番組 [The public information programs on TV and radio]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/a/koho/koho.html. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ Biwako Visitors Bureau. "Experiencing Ninjutsu (Ninja’s techniques) at the ninja’s native place – Koka Ninjutsu Yashiki". http://en.biwako-visitors.jp/reports/ninja2/. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ The promoting council of production and distribution of Omi beef. "近江牛の歴史 [The history of Omi beef]" (in Japanese). http://www.oumiushi.com/history.html. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
^ Shiga Prefecture. "滋賀県内の大学・短期大学 [Universities and junior colleges in Shiga prefecture]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/daigaku/. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
^ 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. Capter 2: present situation and problem about the Shiga tourism]" (in Japanese). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/kakuka/f/chushoukigyo/kokoku-vision-honpen-ch-2-1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ Biwako Visitors Bureau. "滋賀県観光情報：長浜曳山まつり [Shiga tourism information : Nagahama hikiyama festival]" (in Japanese). http://www.biwako-visitors.jp/search/event_182.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
^ 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). http://www.pref.shiga.jp/profile/kokusai/. Retrieved 2010-11-25.

References [link]

Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
Shiga-ken hyakka jiten [Encyclopedia Shiga] (滋賀県百科事典, 1984). Tokyo: Yamato Shobo.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shiga prefecture

v t e Shiga Prefecture

Cities	Higashiōmi Hikone Kōka Konan Kusatsu Maibara Moriyama Nagahama Ōtsu (capital) Ōmihachiman Rittō Takashima Yasu

Echi District	Aishō

Gamō District	Hino Ryūō

Inukami District	Kōra Taga Toyosato

See also: List of mergers in Shiga Prefecture

Regions and administrative divisions of

Japan

Regions

Prefectures

Hokkaido	Hokkaido

Tōhoku	Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima

Kantō	Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa

Chūbu	Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi

Kansai	Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama

Chūgoku	Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi

Shikoku	Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi

Kyushu	Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa

Coordinates: 35°7′N 136°4′E / 35.117°N 136.067°E / 35.117; 136.067

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiga_Prefecture

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2009)

Matsuri Hino 樋野まつり
Born	January 24 Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Area(s)	Story, art, illustration

Matsuri Hino (樋野まつり, Hino Matsuri^?) is a Japanese manga artist born in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. She made her professional debut in the September 10, 1995 issue of LaLa DX with the one-shot title Ko no Yume ga Same Tara (この夢が覚めたら, When This Dream is Over^?) . Hino Matsuri is also well known for her anime/manga series 'Vampire Knight.'

Bibliography [link]

(1999) Toraware no Mi no Ue (とらわれの身の上^?); English translation: Captive Hearts (2008)
(2002) MeruPuri Meruhen Purinsu (めるぷりメルヘン☆プリンス^?); English translation: MeruPuri (2005)
(2005) Wanted; English translation: Wanted (2008)^[1]
(2005) Vanpaia Naito (ヴァンパイア騎士(ナイト)^?); English translation: Vampire Knight (2006)
(2008) Vampire Knight: Ice Blue's Sin (ヴァンパイア騎士憂氷の罪, Vanpaia Naito: Aisu Burū no Tsumi) (light novel)
(2008) Vampire Knight: Noir's Trap (ヴァンパイア騎士凝黒の罠, Vanpaia Naito: Nowāru no Wana) (light novel)

References [link]

^ "Viz to Print Cat Eyed Boy, Black Lagoon, Tanemura Works". Anime News Network. 2008-01-24. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-24/viz-to-print-cat-eyed-boy-black-lagoon-tanemura-works. Retrieved 2008-11-09.

External links [link]

Profile at Hakusensha (Japanese)
Matsuri Hino at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
Hakusensha's Comicate issue 67 Interview with Matsuri Hino (Japanese)
Hakusensha's Comicate issue 63 Interview with Matsuri Hino (Japanese)

Persondata
Name	Hino, Matsuri
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Date of death
Place of death

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