Ōmi Province in the context of "Azuchi Castle"

The Shigaraki Palace (紫香楽宮, Shigaraki-no-miya; also written 信楽宮) was an imperial palace built by Emperor Shōmu, initially as a villa, later named by himself as the capital of Japan in 744 AD. It was located in Kōka District of Ōmi Province in what is now part of the city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The capital-palace is also referred to as Kōka Palace (甲賀宮, Kōka-no-miya) in the Shoku Nihongi. Its ruins were designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1974.

Tanba Province (丹波国, Tanba no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [taꜜm.ba (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima. Tango, Wakasa, and Yamashiro provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Tanshū (丹州). In terms of the Gokishichidō system, Tanba was one of the provinces of the San'indō circuit. Under the Engishiki classification system, Tanba was ranked as one of the "superior countries" (上国) in terms of importance, and one of the "near countries" (近国) in terms of distance from the capital. The provincial capital is believed to have been located in what is now the city of Kameoka, although the exact location remains uncertain. The ichinomiya of the province is the Izumo-daijingū also located in Kameoka. The province had an area of 1,283.43 square kilometres (495.54 sq mi).

Ii clan (Japanese: 井伊氏, Hepburn: Ii-shi) is a Japanese clan which originates in Tōtōmi Province. It was a retainer clan of the Imagawa family, and then switched sides to the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province at the reign of Ii Naotora. A famed 16th-century clan member, Ii Naomasa, adopted son of Ii Naotora, was Tokugawa Ieyasu's son-in-law and one of his most important generals. He received the fief of Hikone in Ōmi Province as a reward for his conduct in battle at Sekigahara. The Ii and a few sub-branches remained daimyō for the duration of the Edo period. Ii Naosuke, the famed politician of the late Edo period, was another member of this clan.

The clan claims descent from Fujiwara no Yoshikado, who had been one of the Daijō daijin during the ninth century.

Ōmi beef (近江牛, Ōmi ushi, Ōmi gyū) is a regional variety of wagyū (Japanese beef) originating in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The Ōmi in “Ōmi beef” refers to Ōmi Province, the traditional name for the area which became Shiga prefecture. Ōmi beef is generally considered one of the three top brands of wagyū, along with Kobe beef and Matsusaka beef.

Ōmi beef is said to be the oldest beef brand in Japan. In the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Takayama Ukon, who was associated with Ōmi Province, treated the warlords to beef. In the Edo period, miso-marinated beef was sold and presented to the Tokugawa shogunate as a sustaining medicine by the Hikone Domain. In 1880s, Ōmi beef was sold as "Kobe beef" because it was shipped to Tokyo via Kobe Port. Since the completion of the Tōkaidō Main Line railway between Shiga and Tokyo, the "Ōmi beef" brand has gradually established itself as a brand distinct from Kobe beef.

The Eight Views of Ōmi (in Japanese: 近江八景 or Ōmi hakkei) are traditional scenic views of Ōmi Province which is now Shiga Prefecture in Japan.

They were inspired by the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang in China which were first painted in the 11th century and then brought to Japan as a popular theme in the 14–15th centuries. The theme was then used to describe Ōmi province in poetry by Prince Konoe Masaie and his son, Prince Hisamichi, in the 15–16th centuries. The Eight Views of Ōmi then became a popular subject for artists such as Suzuki Harunobu and Utagawa Hiroshige. The theme continued to develop, being transposed to other locations and settings in a process which the Japanese called mitate, such as in Harunobu's Zashiki Hakkei series.

Wakasa Province (若狭国, Wakasa no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [waꜜ.ka.sa (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area that is today the southwestern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Wakasa bordered on Echizen, Ōmi, Tanba, Tango, and Yamashiro Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form name was Jakushū (若州). Under the Engishiki classification system, Wakasa was ranked as a "medium country" (中国) and a near country (近国) in terms of its importance and distance from the capital.

The Nakasendō (中山道, Central Mountain Route), also called the Kisokaidō (木曾街道), was one of the centrally administered five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. There were 69 stations (staging-posts) between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about 534 km (332 mi).

Unlike the coastal Tōkaidō, the Nakasendō traveled inland, hence its name, which can be translated as "中 = central; 山 = mountain; 道 = route" (as opposed to the Tōkaidō, which roughly meant "eastern sea route"). Because it was such a well-developed road, many famous persons, including the haiku master Matsuo Bashō, traveled the road. In the late 1830s Hiroshige also walked the Nakasendo, contributing 46 designs to a series of 69 views of the Nakasendo, which was later completed by Keisai Eisen.