Flag of Shiga
Officially Shiga Prefecture
Locally Shiga-ken · 滋賀県
What the flag looks like
A white emblem on a light blue field: the katakana シガ (Shiga) drawn as a ring with wings.
What it means
The ring stands for harmony, the circle inside it for Lake Biwa and the wings for the prefecture taking flight.
How to remember it
Shiga's
white ring with wings on blue spells シガ (Shiga); the hole in the middle is Lake Biwa.
Fun facts
- Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, covers about a sixth of Shiga.
- Hikone Castle is one of only a handful of Japanese castles with its original keep.
Shiga at a glance
- Type
- Prefecture (ken)
- Island
- Honshū
- Capital
- Ōtsu
- Region
- Kansai
- Population
- 1.4 million
- Area
- 4,017 km²
- Languages
- Japanese
- Currency
- Japanese yen (¥)
- Flag adopted
- 1968
Flags often confused with Shiga
- Ishikawa: Ishikawa and Shiga both have a white emblem on light blue. Ishikawa's is slanting strokes spelling 石川; Shiga's is a ring with a pair of wings.