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|settlement_type= City |image_skyline= Genkyu-en-r.jpg |imagesize= |image_caption= Genkyu-en garden and Hikone castle |image_map= Hikone in Shiga prefecture Ja.svg |region= Kansai |prefecture= Shiga Prefecture |district= |area_km2= 196.84 |population_as_of= October 1, 2010 |population= 111,799 |density_km2= 567.97 |lat_deg= 35 |lat_min= 16 |lat_sec= |lon_deg= 136 |lon_min= 16 |lon_sec= |tree= Tachibana Orange |flower= Iris |bird= |image_flag = Flag of Hikone, Shiga.svg |mayor= Takashi Okubo (since May 2013) |city_hall_postal_code= 522-8501 |city_hall_address= 4-2 Motomachi, Hikone-shi, Shiga-ken |website= }} is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It is on the eastern shore of the Lake Biwa. The city was incorporated on February 11, 1937. As of October 1, 2014, the city has an estimated population of 113,124 and a population density of 574.70 persons per km². The total area is 196.84 km². The key industries of Hikone are the manufacturing of butsudan, textiles, and valves. Bridgestone has a tire manufacturing plant here. Fujitec, Ohmi Railway, and Heiwadō (the largest supermarket chain in Shiga) are headquartered in Hikone. In 2003, meetings were held to discuss the merger of Hikone with the towns of Toyosato, Kōra, and Taga (all from Inukami District). However, a survey conducted by the city in February 2004, revealed that most of the citizens opposed the merger, leading the city government to shelve the proposal for the time being. File:JapanShigaHikoneCastle.jpg|Hikone Castle File:ShigaUniv Hikone AssemblyHall01.jpg|Shiga University File:Nakasendo in Tsuzuracho Hikone 20110809.jpg|Nakasendo in Hikone ==History== Hikone's most famous historical site is Hikone Castle. Its construction was begun in 1603 by Ii Naokatsu, son of the former lord, Ii Naomasa, but was not completed until 1622. Naokatsu's lands had been taken from him in the interval by the Tokugawa shogunate, and when his brother Naotake assumed control of Ōmi Province, he was able to complete the castle by collecting stones from the former Sawayama Castle. When the Meiji period began in 1868, many castles were scheduled to be dismantled and only a request from the Emperor Meiji himself, touring the area, kept Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest original-construction castles in Japan. In 1999, a small area south of the castle, called the Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road, was built in the old style and attracts visitors keen to see modern construction fused with traditional looks. Even the Kansai Urban Bank in this district has remodeled itself to fit in with the surrounding structures. The Chōsenjin Kaidō and the Nakasendō were passed through Hikone. The Nakasendo was one of the most important trading routes during the Edo period, and is home to two former post stations, Toriimoto-juku and Takamiya-juku. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hikone, Shiga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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