Lake Biwa

Japanese: 琵琶湖 (biwa ko)

Lake Biwa, located within Shiga prefecture, is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, covering some 670 square kilometers in area.^[1] Named after the supposed resemblance of its shape to that of a biwa (a lute-like musical instrument), the lake is the subject of numerous notable literary and artistic references throughout Japanese history.

Lake Biwa was often compared to Lake Dongting in China, in poetry and literature, and serves as the center of the thematic set of "Eight Views of Ômi."^[2]

↑ Lee Jeong Mi, "Cultural Expressions of Tokugawa Japan and Choson Korea: An Analysis of the Korean Embassies in the Eighteenth Century," PhD dissertation, University of Toronto (2008),158.
↑ An adaptation or borrowing of the classical Chinese theme, "Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang."

[1] Lee Jeong Mi, "Cultural Expressions of Tokugawa Japan and Choson Korea: An Analysis of the Korean Embassies in the Eighteenth Century," PhD dissertation, University of Toronto (2008),158.

[2] An adaptation or borrowing of the classical Chinese theme, "Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang."

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