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64-416: Ōtsu is part of ancient Ōmi Province and has been settled since at least the Yayoi period . It was an important center of inland water transportation on Lake Biwa and was referred to in the Man'yōshū as Shiga no Ōwada ( 志賀の大わだ ) and Shigatsu ( 志賀津 ) . It was also on the main land routes, the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō connecting the eastern provinces with the ancient capitals of Japan. Additionally,

128-584: A North Korean school , Shiga Korean Elementary School ( 滋賀朝鮮初級学校 ) . The Finnish School in Japan , nicknamed Jasuko , was formerly in operation in Otsu. 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 as of 2007. Ōtsu and Ishiyama are major stations of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Biwako Line ,

192-528: A largemouth bass weighing 10.12 kg (22 lb 5 oz) was caught from the lake by Manabu Kurita. It has been officially certified by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) to tie the largemouth bass world record held solely by George Perry for 77 years. The Awazu site, a submerged Shell midden , is an important archaeological site of the Jōmon period . It goes back to

256-549: A true loach ( Cobitis magnostriata ), two gobies ( Gymnogobius isaza and Rhinogobius biwaensis ), two silurid catfish ( Silurus biwaensis and S. lithophilus ) and a cottid ( Cottus reinii ). The Biwa trout is also endemic to the lake, but some maintain that it is a subspecies of the widespread masu salmon rather than a separate species. The remaining endemic fish are subspecies of Carassius auratus , Cobitis minamorii , Sarcocheilichthys variegatus and Squalidus (chankaensis) biwae . Lake Biwa

320-556: A center of travel and trade. Zeze Domain was based in Zeze, a neighboring castle town , and the smaller Katada Domain occupied the northern area of the present-day city from 1698 to 1826. The Meiji Restoration 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 were created, and part of

384-540: A date up to 500 years earlier, between ca. 1000 BC and 800 BC. During this period, Japan largely transitioned to a more settled, agricultural society, adopting methods of farming and crop production that were introduced to the country (initially in the Kyūshū region) from Korea. The earliest archaeological evidence of the Yayoi Period is found on northern Kyūshū, though that is still debated. Yayoi culture quickly spread to

448-468: A failed assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia (1868 – 1918, later Tsar Nicholas II ), occurred on 11 May 1891. Nicholas, returning to Kyoto after a day trip to Lake Biwa , 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

512-534: A main building in the Hama-Ōtsu district, as well as three branch libraries and several bookmobiles . Ōtsu is home to numerous historical sites, temples, shrines, and other buildings, many of them designated as National Treasures of Japan . Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, covers 673.9 square kilometres (260.2 sq mi) and is located at the center of the Shiga Prefecture. The north part of

576-596: A notably diverse ecosystem to evolve in the lake. Naturalists have documented more than 1000 species and subspecies in the lake, including about 60 endemics . Lake Biwa is an important place for water birds . About 5,000 water birds visit Lake Biwa every year. There are 46 native fish species and subspecies in the lake, including 11 species and 5 subspecies that are endemic or near-endemic. The endemic species are five cyprinids ( Carassius cuvieri , Gnathopogon caerulescens , Ischikauia steenackeri , Opsariichthys uncirostris and Sarcocheilichthys biwaensis ),

640-499: A sophisticated processing technology was mastered in order to remove the harmful tannic acid , and make this food safe for consumption. Ishiyama is another such site of the Early Jōmon period on Lake Biwa. Various environmental laws cover Lake Biwa: At the prefectural level, Eutrophication Control Ordinance was enacted in 1979. It was intended to control the use of synthetic detergents by companies and residents alike and followed

704-921: A subsection of the Tōkaidō Main Line that runs between Maibara Station and Kyoto Station . The Keihan Electric Railway runs two interurban 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 runs through areas of Ōtsu, but stops at no stations in the city. [REDACTED] JR West – Biwako Line ( Tōkaidō Main Line ) [REDACTED] JR West – Kosei Line [REDACTED] Keihan Keishin Line [REDACTED] Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line Sakamoto Cable ( Cable Sakamoto Station to Cable Enryakuji Station , all within Ōtsu) Ōtsu

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768-516: A successful citizens' campaign known as the Soap Movement, which had emerged from women's consumer groups earlier in the 1970s. Legislation to prevent eutrophication was enacted in 1981 and first enforced on July 1, 1982; therefore, this day is called "Lake Biwa Day ( びわ湖の日 , Biwako no Hi ) ". The legislation established standards for the nitrogen and phosphorus levels for agricultural, industrial, and household water sources emptying into

832-558: 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 (8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi)) 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 railroad services. The canal

896-593: 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. Ōtsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral 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,

960-746: Is about 670 km (260 sq mi). Small rivers drain from the surrounding mountains into Lake Biwa, and its main outlet is the Seta River , which later becomes the Uji River, combining with the Katsura and Kizu to become the Yodo River and flows into the Seto Inland Sea at Osaka Bay . It serves as a reservoir for the cities of Kyoto and Ōtsu and is a valuable resource for nearby textile industries. It provides drinking water for about 15 million people in

1024-477: Is also the home of a large number of molluscs , including 38 freshwater snails (19 endemic) and 16 bivalves (9 endemic). Recently the biodiversity of the lake has suffered greatly due to the invasion of foreign fish , the black bass and the bluegill . Bluegill were presented to the Emperor and later freed in the lake as a food source for other fish. Black bass were introduced as a sport fish . In July 2009,

1088-661: 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

1152-533: 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

1216-417: 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

1280-580: Is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era in the late 19th century. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new Yayoi pottery styles, improved carpentry and architecture, and the start of an intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields . A hierarchical social class structure dates from this period and has its origin in China. Techniques in metallurgy based on

1344-576: Is protected as part of Biwako Quasi-National Park . Lake Biwa is home to the Lake Biwa Marathon , which started in Osaka in 1946, and moved to Lake Biwa in 1962. It is considered to be the oldest marathon in Japan. The Yodo River (120 kilometres (75 mi)) 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

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1408-646: 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 of any river in Japan, and for supplying water for the Hanshin Industrial Region . Ōtsu was the site of at least four castles : Sakamoto Castle , Ōtsu Castle , Zeze Castle , Ōsakanoseki Castle . None of

1472-609: The Records of the Three Kingdoms compiled by the 3rd-century scholar Chen Shou . Early Chinese historians described Wo as a land of hundreds of scattered tribal communities rather than the unified land with a 700-year tradition as laid out in the 8th-century work Nihon Shoki , a partly mythical, partly historical account of Japan which dates the foundation of the country at 660 BC. Archaeological evidence also suggests that frequent conflicts between settlements or statelets broke out in

1536-649: The Ōtsu soroban , an abacus used widely in Japan from the early 17th century; Zeze-yaki and Konan-yaki , forms of ceramics 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 chrysanthemums , used in Japanese cuisine in tempura and decoratively on platters of sashimi . Ōtsu has 37 public elementary schools and 18 public middle schools operated by

1600-473: The Kansai region . Lake Biwa is a breeding ground for freshwater fish, including trout , and for the pearl culture industry. The Lake Biwa Canal , built in the late 1890s and later expanded during the Taishō period , played a role of great importance in the rekindling of Kyoto's industrial life, after a steep decline following the transfer of the capital to Tokyo. Lake Biwa is home to many popular beaches along

1664-992: The Chinese court of the Kingdom of Wei . When asked about their origins by the Wei embassy, the people of Wa claimed to be descendants of the Taibo of Wu , a historic figure of the Wu Kingdom around the Yangtze Delta of China. For many years, the location of Yamataikoku and the identity of Queen Himiko have been subject of research. Two possible sites, Yoshinogari in Saga Prefecture and Makimuku in Nara Prefecture have been suggested. Recent archaeological research in Makimuku suggests that Yamataikoku

1728-661: The Korean peninsula around 1500 BC and was brought to the Japanese archipelago by Yayoi wet-rice farmers at some time between 700 and 300 BC. Whitman and Miyamoto associate Japonic as the language family of both Mumun and Yayoi cultures. Several linguists believe that speakers of Koreanic/proto-Koreanic arrived in the Korean Peninsula at some time after the Japonic/proto-Japonic speakers and coexisted with these peoples (i.e.

1792-484: The Korean peninsula gains strength because Yayoi culture began on the north coast of Kyūshū, where Japan is closest to Korea. Yayoi pottery, burial mounds, and food preservation were discovered to be very similar to the pottery of southern Korea. However, some scholars argue that the rapid increase of roughly four million people in Japan between the Jōmon and Yayoi periods cannot be explained by migration alone. They attribute

1856-643: The Yayoi and the Jiangsu remains. Further links to the Korean Peninsula have been discovered, and several researchers have reported discoveries/evidence that strongly link the Yayoi culture to the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Mark J. Hudson has cited archaeological evidence that included "bounded paddy fields, new types of polished stone tools, wooden farming implements, iron tools, weaving technology, ceramic storage jars, exterior bonding of clay coils in pottery fabrication, ditched settlements , domesticated pigs, and jawbone rituals". The migrant transfusion from

1920-619: The Yayoi population increased, the society became more stratified and complex. They wove textiles , lived in permanent farming villages, and constructed buildings with wood and stone. They also accumulated wealth through land ownership and the storage of grain. Such factors promoted the development of distinct social classes. Contemporary Chinese sources described the people as having tattoos and other bodily markings which indicated differences in social status. Yayoi chiefs, in some parts of Kyūshū, appear to have sponsored, and politically manipulated, trade in bronze and other prestige objects. That

1984-458: The ancient Hokurikudō , which connected Kyoto to the provinces of northern Honshu , 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 Furutsu ( 古津 , "old port") . A new capital, Heian-kyō , (now Kyoto ), was established in the immediate neighborhood in 794, and Ōtsu (meaning "big port")

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2048-635: The beginning of the Initial Jōmon period (ca. 9300 BP ). It lies near the southern end of Lake Biwa, close to Otsu City , at a depth of 2 to 3 meters from the bottom. The site shows the use of plant and animal food resources by the Jōmon people . It also demonstrates the importance of nut consumption in this period. Shell Midden No. 3 is dated to the Middle Jōmon period . An abundance of horse chestnuts were uncovered here (about 40% of their total estimated diet). This indicates that, by this later period,

2112-536: The castle structures remain. Ōtsu is home to three temples with structures designated as National Treasures . The Eight Views of Ōmi refer to a series of scenic views of Ōmi Province , 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

2176-506: 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. Yayoi period The Yayoi period ( 弥生 時代 , Yayoi jidai ) started in

2240-479: 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

2304-448: The city is part of Shiga 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . 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. 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;

2368-595: The descendants of both the Mumun and Yayoi cultures) and possibly assimilated them. Both Koreanic and Japonic had prolonged influence on each other and a later founder effect diminished the internal variety of both language families. Most linguists and archaeologists agree that the Japonic language family was introduced to and spread through the archipelago during the Yayoi period. The earliest written records about people in Japan are from Chinese sources from this period. Wo ,

2432-486: 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 the country's historical capital Kyoto , references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles. The name Biwako was established in the Edo period . There are various theories about

2496-413: The increase primarily to a shift from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural diet on the islands, with the introduction of rice. It is quite likely that rice cultivation and its subsequent deification allowed for a slow and gradual population increase. Regardless, there is archaeological evidence that supports the idea that there was an influx of farmers from the continent to Japan that absorbed or overwhelmed

2560-609: The indigenous population, and between new cultural influences and existing practices. Chinese influence was obvious in the bronze and copper weapons, dōkyō , dōtaku , as well as irrigated paddy rice cultivation. Three major symbols of Yayoi culture are the bronze mirror, the bronze sword, and the royal seal stone. Between 1996 and 1999, a team led by Satoshi Yamaguchi, a researcher at Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science , compared Yayoi remains found in Japan's Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures with those from China's coastal Jiangsu province and found many similarities between

2624-575: The lake is similar to that of the biwa , her favorite instrument." The lake was formerly known as the Awaumi ( 淡海 , Freshwater Sea) or the Chikatsu Awaumi ( 近淡海 , Freshwater Sea Near [the Capital]) . Later the pronunciation Awaumi changed to the modern Ōmi as in the name of Ōmi Province . The lake is also called Nio no Umi ( 鳰の海 , " Little Grebe Lake") in literature. The area of this lake

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2688-516: The lake reaches a depth of 50 metres (160 ft), and the south part of the lake near Ōtsu is much shallower and reaches a depth of 5 metres (16 ft). 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

2752-466: The lake. They also banned people from using and selling synthetic detergents which contain phosphorus. The lake was designated as a UNESCO Ramsar Wetland (1993) in accordance with the Ramsar Convention . The object of this treaty is to protect and sensibly use internationally valuable wetlands . The Kushiro marsh ( 釧路湿原 , Kushiro Shitsugen) in Japan is under this treaty now. Reed colonies on

2816-570: The late Neolithic period in Japan , continued through the Bronze Age , and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age . Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon period should be reclassified as Early Yayoi. The date of the beginning of this transition is controversial, with estimates ranging from the 10th to the 3rd centuries BC. The period

2880-524: The main island of Honshū , mixing with native Jōmon culture. The name Yayoi is borrowed from a location in Tokyo , where pottery of the Yayoi period was first found. Yayoi pottery was simply decorated and produced, using the same coiling technique previously used in Jōmon pottery. Yayoi craft specialists made bronze ceremonial bells ( dōtaku ), mirrors, and weapons. By the 1st century AD, Yayoi people began using iron agricultural tools and weapons. As

2944-447: The native hunter-gatherer population. Some pieces of Yayoi pottery clearly show the influence of Jōmon ceramics. In addition, the Yayoi lived in the same type of pit or circular dwelling as that of the Jōmon. Other examples of commonality are chipped stone tools for hunting, bone tools for fishing, shells in bracelet construction, and lacquer decoration for vessels and accessories. According to several linguists, Japonic or proto-Japonic

3008-561: The north-western shore, in particular Shiga Beach and Omi-Maiko . The Mizunomori Water Botanical Garden and the Lake Biwa Museum in Kusatsu are also of interest. The Lake Biwa Marathon took place annually in Ōtsu, the city at the southern end of the lake, from 1962 until 2021. Lake Biwa is of tectonic origin and is one of the world's oldest lakes , dating to at least 4 million years ago. This long uninterrupted age has allowed for

3072-439: The northern part of Kyūshū. Contacts between fishing communities on this coast and the southern coast of Korea date from the Jōmon period, as witnessed by the exchange of trade items such as fishhooks and obsidian. During the Yayoi period, cultural features from Korea and China arrived in this area at various times over several centuries, and later spread to the south and east. This was a period of mixture between immigrants and

3136-434: 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 ,

3200-448: 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

3264-614: The other hand, averaged 2.5–5 cm (0.98–1.97 in) taller, with shallow-set eyes, high and narrow faces, and flat brow ridges and noses. By the Kofun period , almost all skeletons excavated in Japan except those of the Ainu are of the Yayoi type with some having small Jōmon admixture, resembling those of modern-day Japanese. The origin of Yayoi culture and the Yayoi people has long been debated. The earliest archaeological sites are Itazuke or Nabata in

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3328-879: The period. Many excavated settlements were moated or built at the tops of hills. Headless human skeletons discovered in Yoshinogari site are regarded as typical examples of finds from the period. In the coastal area of the Inland Sea , stone arrowheads are often found among funerary objects. Third-century Chinese sources reported that the Wa people lived on raw fish, vegetables, and rice served on bamboo and wooden trays, clapped their hands in worship (something still done in Shinto shrines today), and built earthen-grave mounds. They also maintained vassal-master relations, collected taxes, had provincial granaries and markets, and observed mourning. Society

3392-440: The population of Ōtsu has grown steadily over the past century. Ōtsu is located on the southern and western shore of Lake Biwa and occupies most of the southwestern portion of Shiga Prefecture. The city is L-shaped and stretches along the southwest shore of Lake Biwa , Japan's largest lake. Ōtsu ranges from the densely populated alluvium depressions near the shore of Lake Biwa to sparsely populated hilly and mountainous areas to

3456-701: The pronunciation of an early Chinese name for Japan, was mentioned in 57 AD; the Na state of Wo received a golden seal from the Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han dynasty . This event was recorded in the Book of the Later Han compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū in the 18th century. Wo was also mentioned in 257 in the Wei zhi , a section of

3520-431: The shore form give Lake Biwa its characteristic scenery. The reeds play an important role in purifying water as well as providing habitat for birds and fish. At one time there were large areas of reeds along the shores of Lake Biwa, which local government surveys recently found to have halved in size due to encroaching development. This Shiga Ordinance for the Conservation of Reed Vegetation Zones to protect, grow, and utilize

3584-431: 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 pictures, and served as an inspiration for other artists and literary figures. The Ōtsu Matsuri is the largest festival in the city. It begins Saturday, October 6 and ends on Sunday, October 7 and

3648-669: The use of bronze and iron were also introduced from China via Korea to Japan in this period. The Yayoi followed the Jōmon period and Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū . Archaeological evidence supports the idea that during this time, an influx of farmers (Yayoi people) from the Korean Peninsula to Japan overwhelmed and mixed with the native predominantly hunter-gatherer population ( Jōmon ). The Yayoi period is, generally, accepted to date from circa 300 BC to 300 AD. However, although highly controversial, radiocarbon evidence, from organic samples attached to pottery shards, may suggest

3712-424: 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 Kyoto . Kyoto Prefecture Shiga Prefecture Ōtsu has a Humid subtropical climate (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

3776-416: 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. Per Japanese census data,

3840-402: Was characterised by violent struggles. The Wei Zhi ( Chinese : 魏志 ), which is part of the Records of the three Kingdoms, first mentions Yamataikoku and Queen Himiko in the 3rd century. According to the record, Himiko assumed the throne of Wa, as a spiritual leader, after a major civil war . Her younger brother was in charge of the affairs of state, including diplomatic relations with

3904-407: Was located in the area. Some scholars assume that the Hashihaka kofun in Makimuku was the tomb of Himiko. Its relation to the origin of the Yamato polity in the following Kofun period is also under debate. Lake Biwa Lake Biwa ( 琵琶湖 , Biwa-ko ) is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu ), northeast of

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3968-544: Was made possible by the introduction of an irrigated, wet-rice agriculture from the Yangtze estuary in southern China via the Ryukyu Islands or Korean Peninsula . Direct comparisons between Jōmon and Yayoi skeletons show that the two peoples are noticeably distinguishable. The Jōmon tended to be shorter, with relatively longer forearms and lower legs, more deep-set eyes, shorter and wider faces, and much more pronounced facial topography. They also have strikingly raised brow ridges, noses, and nose bridges. Yayoi people, on

4032-422: Was present on large parts of the southern Korean peninsula. These Peninsular Japonic languages, now extinct, were eventually replaced by Koreanic languages . Similarly Whitman suggests that the Yayoi are not related to the proto-Koreans but that they (the Yayoi) were present on the Korean peninsula during the Mumun pottery period . According to him and several other researchers, Japonic/proto-Japonic arrived in

4096-439: 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 because of its port on Lake Biwa and as Ōtsu-juku , a major shukuba on the Tōkaidō and Nakasendō highways. The city was under direct administration of the Tokugawa shogunate , both for its strategic location and for its role as

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