Nagahama, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 116,043 in 46858 households and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Nagahama is located on the northern shore of Lake Biwa and occupies most of the northern portion of Shiga Prefecture. It is generally bounded by the Ibuki Mountains to the east, the Nosaka Mountains to the north and Lake Biwa to the south. The city is the second largest in the prefecture in terms of land area, after Takashima. The inland areas of the city are noted for very heavy snow accumulation in winter

Neighboring municipalities

Shiga Prefecture
*Maibara
* Takashima
Gifu Prefecture
* Ibigawa
Fukui Prefecture
*Tsuruga
* Echizen

Climate

Nagahama has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nagahama is 12.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2052 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nagahama has remained relatively stable over the past 70 years.

History

Nagahama is part of ancient Ōmi Province and has been settled since at least the Yayoi period. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested between the Kyogoku clan, Azai clan and Asakura clan. The city center was developed and renamed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi when Hideyoshi moved the center of his administration from Odani Castle. Kunitomo ( 国友), the northeast of the city center, had been known for the production of arquebuses and guns since 1544. The settlement was originally called Imahama (今濱), but Hideyoshi renamed it "Nagahama", taking one ''kanji'' from the name of his overlord, Oda Nobunaga. It is not related to the area of the same name in Fukuoka City and same name town in Ehime Prefecture. In the Edo period, it was largely under the control of Hikone Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate; however, the '' jin'ya'' of Ōmi-Miyagawa Domain, a 13,000 ''koku'' feudal holding under a cadet branch of the Hotta clan was located in what is now southeastern Nagahama. After the Meiji restoration, the town of Nagahama was established within Sakata District, Shiga with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

On April 1, 1943, Nagahama annexed the neighboring villages of Kamiteru, Rokusho, Minamigori, Kitagori, Nishikuroda and Kanda to form the city of Nagahama. On February 13, 2006, the towns of Azai and Biwa (both from Higashiazai District) were merged into Nagahama. On January 1, 2010, the towns of Kohoku and Torahime (both from Higashiazai District), and the towns of Kinomoto, Nishiazai, Takatsuki and Yogo (all from Ika District) were merged into Nagahama. Both districts were thereby dissolved as a result of this merger.

The current city thus consists of areas once within three former districts; Sakata District, Higashiazai District and Ika District.

Government

Nagahama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 26 members. Nagahama contributes four members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Shiga 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Nagahama is centered on agriculture and light manufacturing.

Education

Nagahama has 23 public elementary schools and ten public middle schools and two combined elementary/middle schools operated by the city government. There are five public high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

International schools:
* Colégio Sun Family - Brazilian primary schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.

Transportation

Railway

JR West – Hokuriku Main Line
* - - - - -
JR West – Kosei Line
* -

Highway

* Hokuriku Expressway
*
*
*

Sister city

Within Japan

* Nishinoomote, Kagoshima
* Tatsuno, Hyōgo

Outside Japan

* Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany
* Verona, Veneto, Italy
* Holland, Michigan (informal)

Sightseeing

* Central Nagahama
** Nagahama Castle
** Kurokabe Square (aka "Black Wall Square"), shopping streets centered a black wall glasswork shop which made use of an old bank building.
** The Old Nagahama Station Museum, built in 1882 and the oldest preserved railroad station in Japan.
** The Nagahama Roman Beer Brewery
** Nagahama Flintlock Gun Museum
** Nagahama Hachimangu Shrine
** Daitsū-ji Temple, the largest temple in central Nagahama
** Shana-in Temple
** Soji-ji Temple
** Jinsho-ji Temple
** Chizen-in Temple
** Hōkoku Shrine
** Nagahama Hikiyama Festival event on April 13–16, every year, since Azuchi-Momoyama period.
** Nagahama Bonbai (bonsai of ume) event on January 20 to March 10, every year, since 1952.
* Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe
* Lake Biwa
** Chikubu Island
* Odani Castle
* Anegawa River
* Mount Shizugatake

Cuisine

In addition to the usual Shiga Prefecture cuisine, most famously ''funa-zushi,'' Nagahama has a local specialty of , related to its historical position on the "mackerel highway" connecting the fishing ports on the Sea of Japan with Kyoto..

Noted people from Nagahama

* Kenichiro Ueno, politician

Gallery

File:Houkouen Sakura.JPG, Nagahama Castle in the spring
File:Kurokabe square04s3200.jpg, Kurokabe Square

File:Nagahama tetudo square07s3200.jpg, Old Nagahama Station
File:Daitsuji01s3200.jpg, Daitsu-ji Temple
File:Chikubu island03s3200.jpg, Chikubu Island
File:Chikubu Island and Lake Biwa.jpg, View of Lake Biwa and Chikubu Island
File:Lake Yogo01s3200.jpg, Lake Yogo

References

External links

*

Nagahama Tourism Association

{{Authority control

Cities in Shiga Prefecture
Nagahama, Shiga