Ōtsu

關於Ōtsu

Ōtsu (大津市, Ōtsu-shi) is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2021, the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153,458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 464.51 square kilometres (179.35 sq mi).

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, the ancient Hokurikudō, which connected Kyoto to the provinces of northern Honshu, ran through Ōtsu. From 667 to 672, the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, founded by Emperor Tenji, was the capital of Japan. Following the Jinshin War Ōtsu was renamed Furutsu. A new capital, Heian-kyō, (now Kyoto), 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...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.