Takeshima (Shiga)
Takeshima (多景島) is an island in Shiga, Japan. It is uninhabited and part of Biwako Quasi National Park. It is the smallest island of Lake Biwa and is administered by the city of Hikone which is 6.5 km east of the island. The island is formed of granite and it is the only place where the Biwamelania Takeshimensis, an endemic snail is found. History The island was first settled in 1655 when Nissei Shōnin, a monk from Nagahama founded Mitō ji which still functions as the island's main temple. He also carved the buddhist sutra, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō into a rock which still stands on the island however in 2018 the top half of the rock broke off due to weathering. The island's temple has since been renamed Ryomuzankento ji. Due to the fact that the island is uninhabited it lacks a chief monk and one can only receive the island's shuin by contacting a branch temple in Hikone. Transport Takeshima is accessible by ferry from Hikone 280px, Hikone City Hall is a city lo ...
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Lake Biwa
is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, 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 13th oldest lake in the world. Because of its proximity to Kyoto, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles. Name The name ''Biwako'' was established in the Edo period. There are various theories about the origin of the name ''Biwako'', but it is generally believed to be so named because of the resemblance of its shape to that of a stringed instrument called the '' biwa''. Kōsō, a learned monk of Enryaku-ji in the 14th century, gave a clue to the origin of the name ''Biwako'' in his writing: "The lake is the Pure land of the goddess Benzaiten because she lives on Chikubu Island and the shape of the lake is similar to that of the ''biwa'', her favorite instru ...
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Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the northeast, Mie Prefecture to the southeast, and Kyoto Prefecture to the west. Ōtsu is the capital and largest city of Shiga Prefecture, with other major cities including Kusatsu, Nagahama, and Higashiōmi. Shiga Prefecture encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, and 37% of the total land area is designated as Natural Parks, the highest of any prefecture. Shiga Prefecture's southern half is located adjacent to the former capital city of Kyoto and forms part of Greater Kyoto, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Japan. Shiga Prefecture is home to Ōmi beef, the Eight Views of Ōmi, and Hikone Castle, one of four national treasure castles in Japan. History Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before t ...
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Biwako Quasi-National Park
is a Quasi-National Park in Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 24 July 1950 and has an area of . In June 1993 an area of 65,984 ha beside Lake Biwa was designated a Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Hikone, Shiga
280px, Hikone City Hall is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hikone is located in central Shiga Prefecture, on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, and extending inland to the Ibuki Mountains. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Biwako Quasi-National Park. Neighboring municipalities Shiga Prefecture *Maibara *Higashiōmi *Taga * Kōra * Toyosato * Aishō Climate Hikone has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hikone is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1810 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.6 °C. The highest recorded temperature was 37.7 ° ...
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Granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or '' granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is ...
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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 ...
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Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
''Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'' () are Japanese words chanted within all forms of Nichiren Buddhism. In English, they mean "Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra" or "Glory to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra". The words refer to the Japanese title of the Lotus Sūtra. The mantra is referred to as () or, in honorific form, () meaning ''title'' and was first publicly declared by the Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren on 28 April 1253 atop Mount Kiyosumi, now memorialized by Seichō-ji temple in Kamogawa, Chiba prefecture, Japan. The practice of prolonged chanting is referred to as (). Believers claim that the purpose of chanting is to reduce suffering by eradicating negative karma along with reducing karmic punishments both from previous and present lifetimes, with the goal of attaining perfect and complete awakening. Early Buddhist proponents The Tendai monks Saicho and Genshin are said to have originated the , while the Buddhist priest Nichiren is known today a ...
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Shuin
---- A is a seal stamp given to worshippers and visitors to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. The seal stamps are often collected in books called that are sold at shrines and temples. The stamps are different from commemorative stamps in that they are made by people who work at the temples: Buddhist '' Hōshi'', or Shinto '' Kannushi''. To create the shuin, the writer presses down one or more large stamps, and then uses black ink to write, in his distinctive calligraphy, the name of the temple, the day of the visit, and other messages on and around the stamped portions. There are various theories about the origin of shuin, though the strongest is that it was a receipt for a dedicated copied sutra. There are still temples where one cannot receive a shuin without having donated a sutra or money, but the majority of the temples will now accept a small amount of money for a shuin. It usually costs 300 yen, though there are some places that charge up to 1000 yen. At ...
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Lakes Of Japan
The list of lakes in Japan ranked by surface area. 1) For lakes in the Hokkaidō region, Subprefecture is listed See also *List of lakes by area *List of lakes by depth *List of lakes by volume References *The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport - Significant Lakes of Japan* Wikipedia - List of lakes in Japan {{Asia topic, List of lakes of Japan * Lakes A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...