is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

located in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km². Shimane Prefecture borders

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

to the southwest,

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

to the south, and

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hirosh ...

to the east.

Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 (February 1, 2021) following the merger with Higashiizumo from Yatsuka District. Matsue is located at ...

is the capital and largest city of Shimane Prefecture, with other major cities including

Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo ...

Hamada A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev dese ...

, and

Masuda is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on August 1, 1952. As of December 2021, the city has a population of 44,976. As of December 2019, the city has a population of 46,209. As of March 2017, the city has a popula ...

. Shimane Prefecture contains the majority of the

Lake Shinji is a lake in the northeast area of the Shimane Prefecture in Japan. The lake is the seventh largest in Japan, with a circumference of . It is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north, and the Izumo and Matsue plains to the west and east re ...

Nakaumi is a brackish lake located between Tottori and Shimane prefectures in Japan. The lake is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north and Yumigahama Peninsula to the east. It is the fifth largest lake in surface area in Japan. Nakaumi conn ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

centered on Matsue, and with a population of approximately 600,000 is Japan's third-largest metropolitan area on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

coast after Niigata and Greater

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

. Shimane Prefecture is bounded by the Sea of Japan

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

on the north, where two-thirds of the population live, and the

Chūgoku Mountains is a mountain range in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately from Hyōgo Prefecture in the east to the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The range also reaches under the Pacific Ocean ...

on the south. Shimane Prefecture governs the

Oki Islands The is an archipelago in the Sea of Japan, the islands of which are administratively part of Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of . Only four of the around 180 islands are permanently inhabited. Much of the ...

in the Sea of Japan which juridically includes the disputed

Liancourt Rocks The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima,; ; . form a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two ...

(竹島, ''Takeshima''). Shimane Prefecture is home to

Izumo-taisha , officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , fam ...

, one of the oldest

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

s in Japan, and the Tokugawa-era

Matsue Castle is a Japanese castle located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. Matsue Castle was constructed from 1607 to 1611 by Horio Yoshiharu, the first ''daimyō'' of the Matsue Domain, during the early Edo period. Ownership was passed to the Izumo branch of ...

History

Early history

The history of Shimane starts with Japanese mythology. The Shinto god

Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi ( historical orthography: ''Ohokuninushi''), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (''Oho(a)namuchi'') or Ō(a)namochi (''Oho(a)namochi'') among other variants, is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle ...

was believed to live in

, an old province in Shimane. Izumo Shrine, which is in the city of

, honors the god.　At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided into three parts: Iwami,

, and

Oki Oki or Ōki may refer to: Places *Oki District, Shimane, a district in Shimane Prefecture, Japan *Oki Islands, an archipelago in the Sea of Japan *Oki Province, a former province of Japan *Ōki, Fukuoka, a town in southern Japan *Oki Airport, the ...

. That lasted until the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

took place in 1871. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本人麻呂 or 柿本人麿; – ) was a Japanese ''waka'' poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the ''Man'yōshū'', the oldest ''waka'' anthology, but ap ...

read a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governor. Later on in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

forced emperors

Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; an ...

and Godaigo into exile in Oki.

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

later escaped away from Oki and began rallying supporters against the shogunate, which succeeded.

Middle Ages

During the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

, Izumo and Oki were controlled by the Kyogoku clan. However, after the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

, the

Amago clan Amago (尼子) is a Japanese word meaning "child of a nun", and has various other uses: People * Amago clan, a Japanese daimyō clan * Amago Haruhisa (1514–1561), Japanese daimyō * Amago Katsuhisa (1553–1578), Japanese daimyō * Amago Kunih ...

expanded power based in

Gassantoda Castle Gassantoda Castle (月山富田城, ''Gassantoda-jō'') was a Japanese castle located in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture. History It is believed the castle was built in the Heian period but this is unclear. Later the castle served as the seat of the ...

and the Masuda clan dominated

Iwami Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Iwami bordered Aki, Bingo, Izumo, Nagato, and Suō provinces. In the Heian period (794–1192) the capital was at modern ...

. The

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine The was an underground silver mine in the city of Ōda, in Shimane Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, Japan. It was the largest silver mine in Japanese history. It was active for almost four hundred years, from its discovery in 1526 to its ...

was located between Amago territory and Masuda territory, so there were many battles between these clans for the silver. However, in 1566

Mōri Motonari was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...

conquered Izumo, Iwami, and Oki. After over 30 years of Mori control, in 1600 Horio Yoshiharu entered Izumo and Oki as the result of

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

, which Mori lost. Following the change, Horio Yoshiharu decided to move to build

instead of Gassan-Toda, and soon after Yoshiharu's death the castle was completed. Later in 1638, the grandson of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

Matsudaira Naomasa The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...

became the ruler because the Horio clan had no heir, and his family ruled until the abolition of the han system. The Iwami area was split into three regions: the mining district, under the direct control of the Shogunate, the Hamada clan region, and the Tsuwano clan region. The

Iwami Ginzan The was an underground silver mine in the city of Ōda, in Shimane Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, Japan. It was the largest silver mine in Japanese history. It was active for almost four hundred years, from its discovery in 1526 to its ...

, now a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

produced silver and was one of the nation's largest silver mine by the early 17th century. The Hamada clan was on the shogunate's side in the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, and the castle was burned down. The Tsuwano clan, despite then being ruled by the Matsudaira, was on the emperor's side in the restoration.History of Shimane Prefecture

Modern Age

In 1871, the abolition of the han system placed the old Shimane and Hamada Provinces in the current area of Shimane Prefecture. Later that year, Oki became part of Tottori. In 1876, Hamada Prefecture was merged into the Shimane Prefecture. Also, Tottori Prefecture was added in the same year. However, five years later, in 1881, the current portion of Tottori Prefecture was separated and the current border was formed.

Geography

Shimane Prefecture is situated on the

side of the

. Because of its mountainous landscape, rice farming is done mostly in the Izumo plain where the city of Izumo is located. Another major landform is the Shimane peninsula. The peninsula is located across the Sea of Japan from Izumo to

Sakaiminato is a city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. In 2016, it had an estimated population of 33,888. History An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Sakai as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. Sakaiminato was fou ...

, which is located in Tottori prefecture. Also, the peninsula created two brackish lakes,

and

. The island of Daikon is located in Nakaumi. Off the main island of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

, the island of

belongs to Shimane prefecture as well. The island itself is in the Daisen-Oki National Park. Shimane also claims the use of

, over which they are in dispute with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. As of 1 April 2012, 6% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely

Daisen-Oki National Park is a national park in the Chūgoku region, Honshū, Japan, and spans the prefectures of Okayama, Shimane, and Tottori. Mount Daisen is the focus of the park, which also includes the volcanic mountains and plains of Hiruzen, Mount Kenashi, Mo ...

; Hiba-Dōgo-Taishaku and Nishi-Chūgoku Sanchi Quasi-National Parks; and eleven Prefectural Natural Parks. Most major cities are located either on the seaside, or along a river.

Cities

Eight cities are located in Shimane Prefecture, the largest in population being Matsue, the capital, and the smallest being Gōtsu. The cities Masuda, Unnan, Yasugi, and Gōtsu had a slight population increase due to the mergers in the early 2000s.

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages of each

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. The number of towns and villages greatly decreased during the mergers. However, they hold about one-third of the prefecture's population.

Mergers

Climate

The prefecture has a sub-tropical climate. Winter is cloudy with a little snow, and summer is humid. The average annual temperature is . It rains almost every day in the rainy season, from June to mid-July. The highest average monthly temperature occurs in August with . The average annual precipitation is , higher than Tokyo's and

Obihiro is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi area. As of February 29, 2020, the city has an estimated population of 165,851. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the adj ...

with .

Transportation

Airports

Three airports serve Shimane. The Izumo Airport located in

is the largest airport in the prefecture in terms of passengers, which has regular flights to

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

, Osaka Airport,

Fukuoka Airport , formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka Airport is the principal airport on the island of Kyushu and is the fourth busiest passenger ...

, and

Oki Airport 240px, Aerial view of Oki Airport is an airport on Dōgo, one of the Oki Islands in the Shimane Prefecture of Japan. It is located approximately three kilometers south of the center of Okinoshima, the most populous town on these islands. Oki ...

. The Iwami Airport has two flights each day to Haneda and Osaka and 2 arrivals. Oki Airport has scheduled flights to Osaka and Izumo Airports. *

Izumo Airport is an airport in the Hikawa area of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, about 20–30 minutes by car from central Izumo or Matsue city centre. This airport is also known as ; meaning Izumo Airport of Romantic Fate. History The airport opened ...

Iwami Airport is an airport located Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is also known as Hagi-Iwami Airport due to its proximity to the city of Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is a 2 or 3 hour drive from the old town of Iwami, its primary namesake. Op ...

Rail

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

and

Ichibata Electric Railway Ichibata Electric Railway Co., Ltd. is the name of two related, yet different companies in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. was a railway operator until 2006, when it became a holding company of the Ichibata Group, spinning off its railway division to i ...

serves the prefecture in terms of rail transportation. The

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

goes through the prefecture on the

side going into major cities such as Matsue and Izumo.Route map for JR West
/ref> and stations are the major stops in the prefecture. The Kisuki line, which forks from

Shinji Station is a JR West railway station in Matsue, Shimane, Japan. It is located on the San'in Main Line and Kisuki Line. Layout Shinji Station has one side platform and one island platform. Platforms Adjacent stations West Japan Railway Company (JR We ...

on the Sanin Line, connects with the

Geibi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region in Japan. It begins at Bitchū Kōjiro Station on the west side of Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, connecting through Miyoshi St ...

, cutting into the

. Ichibata Electric Railway serve the Shimane peninsula from Dentetsu-Izumoshi Station and

Izumo Taisha-mae Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company, Ichibata Electric Railway and is the closest train station to the Izumo Taisha Shrine. The station feat ...

Matsue Shinjiko-Onsen Station is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 (February 1, 2021) following the merger with Higashiizumo from Yatsuka District. Matsue is located at ...

. JR West has three Limited Express trains to Shimane, which are ''

Super Matsukaze The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by JR West which runs from and to . Stops Trains stop at the following stations: - - - () - - () - - () - () - - () - - () - () - - () - - () - Stations in brackets () indic ...

'', ''

Super Oki The is a limited express train service in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 2001. It runs from Tottori and Yonago to Shin-Yamaguchi. The ''Super Oki'' is one of the furthest travelling limited express servic ...

'', and '' Yakumo''. Additionally, the overnight limited express ''

Sunrise Izumo The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998. Operations The ''Sunrise Izumo'' runs daily between and in Shim ...

'' operates daily between

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and Izumoshi. *

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

Sankō Line The is a former railway line and current bus line in western Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 108.1 km (67.2 mi) line connected in Shimane Prefecture to in Hiroshima Prefecture and featured 30 tunnels. ...

Kisuki Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects in Matsue, Shimane with in Shōbara, Hiroshima. Stations Rolling stock * KiHa 120 series DMUs File:Kiha120-5 Kisuki.JPG, A Kisuki Line KiH ...

Yamaguchi Line The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi and Masuda Station in Masuda, Shimane. History The Ogori (now Shin-Yamaguchi) - Yamaguchi ...

Kita-Matsue Line The is a 22.9 km railway line owned by the Ichibata Electric Railway. The line connects Dentetsu-Izumoshi Station in Izumo with Matsue-Shinjiko-Onsen Station in Matsue, all within Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Tracks run parallel to JR West's ...

Taisha Line The is a 8.3 km railway line owned by the Ichibata Electric Railway. The line connects Kawato Station with Izumo Taisha-mae Station, all within Izumo, Shimane, Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. With the closure of JR West, JR West's Taish ...

Roads

General Roads

Japan National Route 9 is an important highway in the Kansai and Chūgoku regions. It connects the prefectural capitals of Kyoto, Tottori, Matsue ( Shimane Prefecture), and Yamaguchi. Other significant cities along the route include Yonago, Tottori and Shimonosek ...

Izumo Bypass Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo'' ...

** Gōtsu Road *

Japan National Route 54 National Route 54 is a national highway of Japan connecting Naka-ku, Hiroshima and Matsue, Shimane. Route data *Length: 174.5 km (108.43 mi). References 054 The Type 054 (NATO Codename Jiangkai I) is a class of People's Republi ...

Japan National Route 180 National Route 180 is a national highway of Japan connecting Okayama and Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 (February 1, 202 ...

Japan National Route 184 National Route 184 is a national highway of Japan connecting Izumo, Shimane and Onomichi, Hiroshima in Japan, with a total length of . See also * * References 184 __NOTOC__ Year 184 ( CLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (li ...

* Japan National Route 186 * Japan National Route 187 *

Japan National Route 191 National Route 191 is a national highway in Japan connecting Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and Naka-ku, Hiroshima is the heart of Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Naka-ku is home to Hiroshima's central business district and Peace Memorial Pa ...

Japan National Route 261 National Route 261 is a national highway of Japan connecting Naka-ku, Hiroshima and Gōtsu, Shimane is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is the smallest and least populous city in Shimane Prefecture. The city was founded on Ap ...

Japan National Route 314 National Route 314 is a national highway of Japan connecting Fukuyama, Hiroshima and Unnan, Shimane is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The city belonged to Ohara District, which dissolved in 2004 after Unnan was established. ...

* Japan National Route 375 *

Japan National Route 431 National Route 431 is a national highway of Japan connecting Izumo, Shimane and Yonago, Tottori is a city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan and making up part of the boundary of Lake Nakaumi. It is adjacent to Shi ...

Japan National Route 432 National Route 432 is a national highway of Japan connecting Takehara, Hiroshima and Matsue, Shimane is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 202,008 ( ...

* Japan National Route 485 * Japan National Route 488

Highways

The four expressways in the prefecture connect major cities with other prefectures. The Matsue expressway connects Matsue with Unnan and Yonago in Tottori prefecture. Hamada Expressway forks from the Chūgoku Expressway at Kita-Hiroshima and stretches to Hamada. * Sanin Expressway * Matsue Expressway *

Hamada Expressway The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in the Chūgoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by West Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The expressway is officially referred to as the Chūgoku-Ōdan Expressway Hiroshima Hamada R ...

Chūgoku Expressway The (part of Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, which extends from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai and Chūgoku regions in western Honshu, Japan's main island. Other major cities along the expressway ...

Ferry/High Speed Boats

* Oki Kisen File:IzumoStationbuilding 2018-1-5.jpg,

JR Izumo Station JR, J. R. or Jr. may refer to: * Jr. or Junior (suffix), a name suffix Arts and entertainment * J.R. (album), ''J.R.'' (album), an album by Jim Bob * ''J R'', a 1975 novel written by William Gaddis * "Jr.", a song by Codeine on the album ''Barely ...

File:Kiha187-Sanin-Line.jpg, Super Oki Express in Sanin Line File:Ichibata-Taisya-line Series7000.jpg,

File:Izumoenmusubi.jpg, Izumo Enmusubi (Marriage) Airport File:Terminal building in port of Saigo (Shimane).JPG, Oki Saigo Port

Economy

In Shimane, the largest employer is the retail industry, employing over 60,000 workers. The supermarket, Mishimaya, and the hardware store, Juntendo, are examples of companies based in Shimane. The manufacturing industry has the second number of employees with 49,000 workers.

Companies based in Shimane

Manufacturing

* Izumo Murata Manufacturing *

Shimane Fujitsu is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...

Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery {{nihongo, Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., 三菱農機株式会社, Mitsubishi Nōki Kabushiki-Gaisha is a Japanese agricultural machinery manufacturing company. Its products include tractors, combine harvesters, rice transplanters ...

Financial

* The Shimane Bank * The San-in Godo Bank

Others

Network Applied Communication Laboratory Network Applied Communication Laboratory Ltd. is an open source systems integrator located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is specialized in systems consulting and the development of web sites and open source software. It is one of the employers of ...

* Mishimaya * Juntendo *

Major factories

Hitachi Metals () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Demographics

One-third of the prefecture's population is concentrated in the

area. Otherwise, over two-thirds of the population is on the

. The reason is that the Chūgoku Mountains make the land inland harder to inhabit. The capital, Matsue, has the smallest population out of all the 47 prefectural capitals. Shimane has also the largest percentage of the elderly. The province had an estimated 743 centenarians per million inhabitants in September 2010, the highest ratio in Japan, overtaking

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

(667 centenarians per million).

Population by age

Total Population in age groups
2007 Estimated Population
Unit: Thousands

Population in age groups by gender
2007 Estimated population
Unit: Thousands

*Source�
Graph 10/Prefectures Age（In Age groups）, Gender divided population－Total Population
br/>(Ministry of Internal Affairs Statistics Bureau)

Culture

Cultural Assets

;World Cultural Heritage * The Historic Remains of Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Background (Ōda City) ;National Treasures *

Main Shrine (Izumo City) * Kamosu Shrine Main Shrine (Matsue City) * Toiletry case with autumn field and deer design (Izumo-taisha) * Armour Laced with white thread (

Hinomisaki Shrine Hinomisaki Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Izumo, Shimane a few miles away from Izumo-taisha dedicated to Amaterasu and Susanoo-no-Mikoto. It is a branch shrine of Izumo Taisha, and has a document identifying Susanoo with Matarajin. Amago ...

) *

Bronze bells from the Kamo-Iwakura site Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

Unearthed bronze bell-shaped vessel (Unnan City) * Kojindani Ruins Unearthed ruins (Izumo City) ;Important Traditional Building Preservation Area * Ōmori (Ōda City) * Yunotsu (Ōda City)

Languages (Dialects)

* Unpaku dialect (Izumo dialect, Oki dialect, etc.) *

Iwami dialect Iwami may refer to: * Iwami Province (石見国), an old province of Japan * Iwami, Shimane (石見町), a former town in Shimane, Japan * Iwami, Tottori (岩美町), a town in Tottori, Japan * Iwami Airport in Shimane, Japan * Iwami Ginzan Silver ...

Universities in Shimane Prefecture

Shimane University — colloquially known as — is a national university in Japan. Although formally established as a university in 1949, Shima-dai's origins date back to the late 19th century. In 2003 it merged with the Shimane Medical University (established ...

, Matsue and Izumo (National university) * The

University of Shimane The is a public university in Hamada, Shimane, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1993, and it was chartered as a university in 2000. External links Official website
Educational institutions established in 1993 Public u ...

, Hamada (Prefectural university)

Tourism

Shimane Vogel Park Shimane Vogel Park, or Matsue Vogel Park ( ja, 松江フォーゲルパーク), is an aviary park in Shimane Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan. Amid pleasant green hills on the north shore of Lake Shinji, it has paved walkways between four aviaries h ...

Adachi Museum of Art The opened in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan in 1970. It houses a collection of modern Japanese art, including paintings by Taikan Yokoyama, and has a celebrated garden. Its six gardens and around 1,500 exhibits of Japanese paintings, p ...

* Aquas Aquarium *

Izumo Province was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region. History During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this region was independent an ...

Shimane Art Museum The opened in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan in 1999. Designed by Kiyonori Kikutake and with a total floor area of 12,500 square metres, it houses a collection of Japanese and Western art, including Momoyama folding screens and paintings by ...

Iwami Art Museum opened in Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, in 2005. Together with it forms part of the , also known as , the French for "large roof". The collection includes works by , Unkoku Tōgan, Kuroda Seiki, Fujishima Takeji was a Japanese painte ...

* Mt. Sanbe *

Tamatsukuri Onsen is an onsen hot spring located in Tamayu, Shimane Prefecture. The closest large city to the onsen is Matsue, which can be accessed by car, bus, or rail. Tamatsukuri is a noted sulfate spring with water temperatures between . Tamatsukuri Onsen i ...

Prefectural symbols

The prefectural flower is the mountain

peony The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

. On the island of Daikonjima, they were grown from at least the 18th century.Symbols of Shimane Prefecture: From Shimane Prefecture website

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

* National Archives of Japa
... Shimane map (1891)

Sightseeing In Shimane
{{Coord, 35, 13, N, 132, 40, E, scale:500000, display=title Chūgoku region Prefectures of Japan