270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Shiga Prefecture,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 343,991 in 153,458 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

History

Ōtsu is part of ancient

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

and has been settled since at least the

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

. It was an important center of inland water transportation on Lake Biwa and was referred to in the

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

as and . It was also on the main land routes, the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō connecting the eastern provinces with the ancient capitals of Japan. Additionally, the ancient Hokurikudō, which connected Kyoto to the provinces of northern

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, ran through Ōtsu. From 667 to 672, the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace was founded by Emperor Tenji was the capital of Japan. Following the Jinshin War Ōtsu was renamed . A new capital, Heian-kyō, (now

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

), was established in the immediate neighborhood in 794, and Ōtsu (meaning "big port") was revived as an important traffic point and satellite town of the capital. With the establishment of the new capital, the name of the city was restored to "Ōtsu". Ōtsu prospered during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

because of its port on Lake Biwa and as Ōtsu-juku, a major ''

shukuba were Stage station, staging post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called ''shuku-eki'' (宿駅). These stage stations, or "" developed around them, ...

'' on the Tōkaidō and Nakasendō highways. The city was under direct administration of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, both for its strategic location and for its role as a center of travel and trade. Zeze Domain was based in Zeze, a neighboring

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

, and the smaller Katada Domain occupied the northern area of the present-day city from 1698 to 1826.

Modern period

The

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

of 1868 saw the establishment of a new central government in Tokyo and the abolition of the han system. Numerous prefectures under control of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

were created, and part of the old province of Ōmi was designated as Ōtsu Prefecture in 1868. Several smaller prefectures were merged into Ōtsu Prefecture in 1871, which became part of present-day Shiga Prefecture on January 1, 1872. Ōtsu was named the prefectural capital of Shiga. The town of Ōtsu was established on 1 April 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on 1 October 1898. The Ōtsu incident, a failed

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

attempt on

Tsarevich Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''. Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...

Nicholas Alexandrovich of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1868 – 1918, later Tsar Nicholas II), occurred on 11 May 1891. Nicholas, returning to Kyoto after a day trip to

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

, was attacked with a saber by Tsuda Sanzō (1855 – 1891), an escort policeman. Nicholas survived the assassination attempt, but the incident was seen as a crisis in Japanese-Russian relations. For a while the local populace considered renaming the city to avoid the stigma associated with the scandal, but the idea was eventually shelved. The Lake Biwa Canal () was constructed in the 1890s between Ōtsu and Kyoto. The canal, which was later expanded during the Taishō period, played an important role in connecting the cities, facilitating water and passenger transportation, and providing electrical energy to power Japan's first

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

railroad services. The canal was designated a Historic Site in 1996. The city area gradually expanded by annexation of the village of Shiga in 1932, towns of Zeze and Ishiyama in 1933, villages of Sakamoto, Ogoto, Sakashita-honmachi, Oishi and Shimoda-kamimura in 1951, and towns of Katata and Seta in 1967. On March 20, 2006, the town of Shiga (from Shiga District) ceased to exist after merging into Ōtsu.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōtsu has grown steadily over the past century.

Geography

Ōtsu is located on the southern and western shore of

and occupies most of the southwestern portion of Shiga Prefecture. The city is L-shaped and stretches along the southwest shore of

, Japan's largest lake. Ōtsu ranges from the densely populated

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

depressions near the shore of Lake Biwa to sparsely populated hilly and mountainous areas to the west ( Hira Mountains and Mount Hiei) and south of the city. Mount Hiei to the west encompasses much of the border of the city and Shiga Prefecture with

Neighboring municipalities

Kyoto Prefecture *

* Uji * Ujitawara Shiga Prefecture * Kōka * Kusatsu * Rittō * Takashima

Climate

Ōtsu has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōtsu is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1430 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C.

Government

Ōtsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 38 members, who serve a term of four years. Ōtsu contributes two members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Shiga 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. The city hall of Ōtsu is located in the central Goryō-chō district of the city. The mayor of Ōtsu is Kenji Sato, who became the 24th mayor of the city in 2020.

Economy

Ōtsu was historically noted for the production of several products, including '' Ōtsu-e'', a form of folk drawing purchased by travelers in the Edo period; the '' Ōtsu soroban'', an abacus used widely in Japan from the early 17th century; '' Zeze-yaki'' and '' Konan-yaki,'' forms of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s produced in the Edo period; and ''Zeze-cha'', the first Japanese tea to be exported to the United States. Ōtsu, while not an agricultural city, is home to the production of edible

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

s, used in

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

in tempura and decoratively on platters of

sashimi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or Raw meat, meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means 'pierced body', i.e., "wikt:刺身, 刺身" = ''sashimi'', whe ...

Education

Universities and colleges

* Biwako Seikei Sport College * Seian University of Art and Design * Shiga Junior College * Shiga University of Medical Science

Primary and secondary education

Ōtsu has 37 public elementary schools and 18 public middle schools operated by the city government and one private elementary school and four private middle schools. There are nine public high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education and three private high schools. The prefecture also operates three special education schools for the handicapped. On April 1, 1963 Shiga Prefectural Ishiyama High School was established. International schools: The city has a North Korean school, . The Finnish School in Japan, nicknamed ''Jasuko'', was formerly in operation in Otsu.

Transportation

Railway

Ōtsu Station is the central railroad station of the city, but the busiest station of the city is Ishiyama Station: 48 thousands users per a day . Ōtsu and Ishiyama are major stations of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Biwako Line, a subsection of the Tōkaidō Main Line that runs between Maibara Station and Kyoto Station. The Keihan Electric Railway runs two

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

lines, the Keihan Keishin Line from Ōtsu to Kyoto, and the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line, which runs entirely within Ōtsu. The JR Central

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...

runs through areas of Ōtsu, but stops at no stations in the city.

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

– Biwako Line ( Tōkaidō Main Line) * - - -

– Kosei Line * - - - - - - - - - - - 20px Keihan Keishin Line * - - - 20px Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sakamoto Cable ( Cable Sakamoto Station to Cable Enryakuji Station, all within Ōtsu) * - - -

Highway

Meishin Expressway * JP Expressway E1A

Shin-Meishin Expressway The or simply ''Shin-Meishin'' for short is an expressway, linking Mie prefecture to Hyōgo Prefecture, which is partially open and partially under construction. The expressways current length as of February 2008 is 49.7 km. It connects t ...

* * *

Sister cities

* Gumi, North Gyeongsang, South Korea * Interlaken, Switzerland *

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, United States, since 1969. Both Lansing and Ōtsu are capitals of their respective states/prefectures, which have been sister states since 1968. * Mudanjiang,

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

, China *

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

, Coahuila, Mexico *

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany

Arts and culture

Ōtsu is home to numerous museums. The Shiga Prefectural Lake Biwa Culture Museum, founded in 1948, has exhibits on the culture of the Lake Biwa region. The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, was founded in 1984 and is located in the Setaminamigaya-chō district of the city. The Ōtsu City Museum of History houses exhibits on the history of the city, as well as operating as a repository for cultural assets of Ōtsu. The museum is in the central Goryo-chō district directly north of Mii-dera. The city is home to two major libraries. The Shiga Prefectural Library, which houses approximately 1.2 million volumes, is located in the Setaminamigaya-chō district and operates as the central prefectural library. The library opened in 1943. The Ōtsu Municipal Library operates as a general public library for the city. The Municipal Library has a main building in the Hama-Ōtsu district, as well as three branch libraries and several

bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

Local attractions

Hiroshige Evening view of a temple in the hills

Ōtsu is home to numerous historical sites, temples, shrines, and other buildings, many of them designated as National Treasures of Japan.

Lake Biwa

Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, covers and is located at the center of the Shiga Prefecture. The north part of the lake reaches a depth of , and the south part of the lake near Ōtsu is much shallower and reaches a depth of . Lake Biwa provides water for the industrial areas of the Kansai Region, irrigation and drinking water in the Shiga area. The lake has been a travel destination since ancient times, and continues to support the tourism industry of the prefecture. The lake is protected as part of Biwako Quasi-National Park. Lake Biwa is home to the

Lake Biwa Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-08 ...

, which started in Osaka in 1946, and moved to Lake Biwa in 1962. It is considered to be the oldest marathon in Japan.

Yodo River

The Yodo River () emerges from the south of Lake Biwa. The portion of the river that emerges from the lake is called the Seta River; the portion of the river in Kyoto is referred to as the Uji River; and the portion in Osaka as the Yodo River. The Setagawa Dam was constructed in 1961 to regulate the level of Lake Biwa, is located in the Nangō district of Ōtsu. The Yodo River is noted for having the largest number of

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of any river in Japan, and for supplying water for the Hanshin Industrial Region.

National Historic Sites

* Anō temple ruins * Chausuyama Kofun * Dōnoue Site * Enman-in Gardens, also a Place of National Scenic Beauty * Gichū-ji * Hiyoshi Taisha * Kasugayama Kofun Cluster * Kinugawa temple ruins * Kōjō-in Gardens, also a Place of National Scenic Beauty * Minamishigachō temple ruins * Ōjiyama Kofun * Ōmi Kokuchō ruins * Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, the site of the imperial court under the Emperor Tenji (626 – 672) and capital of Japan from 672 to 794, is in the Nishikori district of Ōtsu. The site is adjacent to the Ōmi Shrine. * Seta Hills Production Sites * Sūfuku-ji ruins * Zenpō-in Gardens, also a Place of National Scenic Beauty Ōtsu was the site of at least four

castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...

: Sakamoto Castle, Ōtsu Castle, Zeze Castle, Ōsakanoseki Castle. None of the castle structures remain.

Temples and shrines

Ōtsu is home to three temples with structures designated as National Treasures. * Enryaku-ji is a Tendai

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

is located on Mount Hiei and overlooks Kyoto. The temple was founded by Saichō (767 – 822), and remains both the headquarters of the Tendai sect and part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

" Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)". * Mii-dera, formally known as Onjō-ji, is the head temple of the Tendai Jimon sect. Mii-dera, which sits near the central area of the city, is one of the four largest temples in

. It has 40 buildings within its sprawling temple precinct. Ishiyama-dera, a

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

temple, was founded in 749 by the monk Rōben (689 – 773). *Ishiyama-dera is traditionally thought to be the site where

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, Japanese poetry#Age of Nyobo or court ladies, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial court in the Heian period. She was best known as the author of ''The Tale of Genji'', widely considered t ...

(c. 973 – c. 1014 or 1025) began writing ''

The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have wo ...

''. The temple is noted for its large collection of early Buddhist manuscripts. * Takebe taisha, the '' ichinomiya'' of former Ōmi Province * Hiyoshi Taisha, whose east and west main shrine buildings, the and are designated as National Treasures, and many of the structures in the precincts are designated as National Important Cultural Properties.

Eight Views of Ōmi

The Eight Views of Ōmi refer to a series of scenic views of

, the present-day Shiga Prefecture. The eight views were chosen in 1500 by a court noble and poet of the Muromachi period, Konoe Masaie (1444 – 1505). The views were inspired by the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, China, and are located at the southern end of Lake Biwa. Six of the sites are within the city of Ōtsu, and two are located just beyond the borders of the city. The sights were depicted by Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) in several different series of

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

pictures, and served as an inspiration for other artists and literary figures.

Ōtsu Matsuri

The Ōtsu Matsuri is the largest

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

in the city. It begins Saturday, October 6 and ends on Sunday, October 7 and is connected to the Tenson Shrine in the Kyō-machi district of the city. The Ōtsu Matsuri is similar to the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto, and features thirteen tall lantern floats, which resemble those of the Gion. The floats feature ''karakuri ningyō'', or mechanical dolls which operate via special mechanisms. The thirteen floats each have their own tradition, customs, and lineage, and are paraded through the city from 9:30 am until 5 pm on the day of the festival. The Ōtsu Matsuri is thought to have begun in the early Edo period, and the first written record of the festival dates to 1624. Many of the ''hikiyama'' in use today date from the Edo period, and are accompanied by ''matsuri-bayashi'' festival music unique to the city. The Ōtsu Matsuri is designated a Prefectural Intangible Folk Treasure by Shiga Prefecture.

Notable people from Otsu

* Saori Anou, professional wrestler * Yosuke Furukawa,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player * Satoru Mochizuki, former

player, current manager of Indonesia women's national football team * Koji Nakata, former

player * Hikaru Takahashi, actress and model * Yuji Takahashi,

player * Takashi Uchino, former

player

References

External links

Ōtsu City official website

Biwako Otsu Travel Guide
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otsu, Shiga Cities in Shiga Prefecture