Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s news bits for January-December 2011. Compiled by Philbert Ono.
Jan. 9, 2011: The first episode of NHK TV’s year-long Taiga Drama called Go–Himetachi no Sengoku (Go–Noble Ladies of Feudal Japan) is broadcast. The weekly series centers on the three Azai sisters born in Odani in Nagahama.
Jan. 9, 2011: Newly-promoted sumo wrestler Nionoumi (鳰の湖) from Otsu makes his Juryo debut at the Hatsu Basho. His ring name (shikona) means Lake of the Grebe (“Nio” means grebe), in reference to Shiga’s official bird and Lake Biwa.
Jan. 15, 2011: In concert with NHK TV’s year-long Taiga Drama called Go–Himetachi no Sengoku (Go–Noble Ladies of Feudal Japan), Nagahama opens a year-long mini expo called Go and Azai Sister Trio Expo (Go–Azai Sanshimai Hakurankai 江・浅井三姉妹博覧会) from Jan. 15 to Dec. 4, 2011. The expo spotlights the three Azai sisters (Chacha, Ohatsu, and Go).
Feb. 22, 2011: Ishibashi Takatoshi (石橋貴俊) is fired as the head coach of the Shiga Lakestars, one of the bj league’s pro basketball teams in the Western Conference. His dismissal is not explained.
Feb. 22, 2011: A large earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand kills Hirabayashi Yuko (平林祐子), a 28-year-old woman from Nagahama (Kinomoto). She was studying English with the aim of obtaining a nurse’s license in New Zealand. Her body was identified in March.
Mar. 2011: In the wake of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, numerous companies, organizations, and local governments send donations, provisions, and rescue personnel to the stricken areas. Public housing is also made available to people evacuating the Tohoku region. Details here.
Mar. 18, 2011: The 43 students studying Japanese at The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) in Hikone are ordered to return to the U.S. by March 25, 2011. The 2011 Spring semester students had been in Shiga since September 2010. The misinformed JCMU head office in Lansing, Michigan suspended the spring semester and gave the evacuation order based on a US State Department travel advisory issued after the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami/radiation threat. This travel advisory was soon revised and it no longer said that all Americans should leave Japan. It recommended evacuation only within the 80km (50 mi.) radius from the nuclear plant in Fukushima. Shiga was totally unaffected by the Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and radioactive leaks. Radiation levels in Shiga never increased. Yet, those students had to interrupt their education and leave a perfectly safe and serene Shiga, far from the troubled area.
April: Many festivals in Japan are canceled in consideration of the Tohoku disaster. The Kusatsu Shukuba Matsuri festival scheduled for April 23-24 is canceled.
June 4-12, 2011: The FISA World Rowing Tour is held on Lake Biwa with about 40 rowers from Europe, Australia, and the US rowing completely around Lake Biwa. Hosted by the Seta Rowing Club in Otsu.
July 30-31, 2011: Shiga’s 1st B-class Gourmet Battle (第1回 滋賀B級グルメバトル) is held in Otsu on the Hama-Otsu lakefront. B-class gourmet (B-kyu in Japanese) is food that is cheap and aimed at the working class.
