Shiga Prefecture, home to Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan.
It has a long north–south shape, and the climate differs greatly between the north and south.
Even east and west across Lake Biwa have their own distinct local character and culture.
In this article, we introduce a number of songs themed around Shiga, a prefecture with such a rich variety of expressions.
If you’re a resident or live nearby, it might stir a sense of nostalgia.
Take this opportunity to rediscover the charms of Shiga Prefecture.
Also keep an eye on works related to Mount Hiei, which are second only to those about Lake Biwa in number.
- [Local Songs] Recommended tracks packed with Japan’s nationwide classics and hometown pride
- Musicians, singers, and bands from Shiga Prefecture
- [Hyogo Songs] A Collection of Local and Love Songs Set in Hyogo
- [Song of Osaka] A selection of passionate, warm-hearted Osaka tunes
- Famous songs and local tunes that sing of Wakayama: melodies that carry on the spirit of our hometown.
- Songs related to Mie Prefecture. Beloved local tunes of Mie that continue to be cherished.
- [Song of Shimane] Izumo, Matsue, Tsuwano... Exquisite masterpieces depicting Shimane
- [Kyoto Songs] Masterpieces that sing about Kyoto — songs themed on the ancient capital. The enduring heart of our hometown passed down in song.
- The soul’s cry woven into Japanese elegies: unraveling supreme masterpieces that resonate with the heart.
- A roundup of regional enka songs: classic hits that feature places from all across Japan in their lyrics.
- A classic song that celebrates Fukui. The enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.
- [Songs of Gunma] Exquisite masterpieces that sing of Gunma’s nature and the spirit of its people
- A classic song about Nagano. The enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.
A classic song about Shiga. The heart of our hometown passed down through song (1–10)
Song of Circumnavigating Lake BiwaKatō Tokiko
This song is widely known through Tokiko Kato’s rendition, but its origins go back to 1917, when Taro Oguchi wrote lyrics to a then-popular tune called “Hitsujigusa” and first sang it at an inn in Imazu.
It was a song born among friends who loved boating.
The boat club of the Third High School—now Kyoto University—then passed it down as their dormitory song.
Today it is beloved as a song often sung by the people of Shiga Prefecture.
If you drive on the side of the Biwako Ohashi Bridge that runs from Katata to Moriyama, the melody of this song will play from beneath your tires.
Be sure to try it.
Lake Biwa YearningMita Yoshiko
Keiko Mita’s “Biwa-ko Bojo” likens a woman’s sorrow to the scenery of Lake Biwa.
Released in 1971, the song was used as the theme for the Shiga-set TV drama “Botejako Monogatari,” in which Mita starred.
Because Lake Biwa is also known as the Mother Lake, the song seems to carry the hope that it might understand and gently embrace a woman’s feelings.
If you ever want the Mother Lake to soothe your pain, why not listen to this song?
Tag and hopscotchHikone Jidō Gasshōdan
This is the image song of Heiwado, the go-to local supermarket for Shiga residents.
Most people from Shiga probably know this tune.
It made waves when Omi High School, representing Shiga, used it as their cheering song at the 2014 summer Koshien.
Listening to it might just make you want to go shopping, don’t you think?
Lament of Lake BiwaYamamoto Aki
Biwa-ko Elegy, performed by enka singer Aki Yamamoto, features a variety of scenes from around Lake Biwa.
Released in 2015, it is a cover of a memorial song originally released in 1941, inspired by a boating accident that occurred on Lake Biwa.
Despite being called an elegy, the lyrics contain no direct references to the accident; instead, they depict many of the landscapes visible from Lake Biwa.
The melody, which richly incorporates themes from The Lake Biwa Rowing Song, unfolds in a bright triple meter.
Along with celebrating the lake’s magnificent scenery, it may also carry the hope that we never forget those who lost their lives.
Girl of Lake BiwaAida Kenji
Kenji Aida’s signature song, “The Girl of Lake Biwa,” is also a heartbreak song, yet it’s brimming with the freshness of youthful memories.
You can picture the man standing by Lake Biwa in the season when the Hiei-oroshi winds blow, reminiscing about the time he rode a boat on the lake with his first love—whose name he never even knew.
Yacchikure OndoShiga Kuni Tenju Shishō
At the summer evening festival held every year at Shingu Shrine in Nagano, Shigaraki-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, they sing the local folk song Yacchikure Ondo.
The melody and phrasing are very simple, but once you hear it, it sticks in your head—an extremely memorable ondo.
Awami-bushiShitaya Fumiko
It is one of the folk songs that represent Shiga Prefecture.
In 1917, Shiganoya Tankai performed the “Yoishokosho-bushi” during a play at the Yamato-za theater in Kumamoto, and it came to be known as the “Tankai-bushi.” It is a slightly sultry, kouta-style tune.
Today, it is beloved around the Katata area of Otsu City in Shiga Prefecture.