is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in Hikawa District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 15,733 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 376.39 persons per km². The total area was 41.80 km². On March 22, 2005, Taisha, along with the city of Hirata, the towns of Koryō, Sada and Taki (all from Hikawa District), was merged into the expanded city of

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 ...

. Taisha is famous for being the location of

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 , ...

shrine, the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan. Izumo Taisha, along with

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

in Ise, Mie prefecture are considered two of the most important sites in Shinto. Taisha has one active train station,

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 ...

owned and run by the

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 ...

. This station and other locations within Taisha, including the Izumo Taisha were featured in the 2008

Asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...

television drama ''Dandan'', which was partly set in and around the Matsue and Izumo area of Shimane prefecture. Taisha was formerly connected to Izumo by a

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, an ...

line, however the station and line from Izumo to Taisha was closed in 1990. Taisha old JR station remains as a historic building and museum.

Notable people

* Kazuhiko Aoki, politician * Mikio Aoki, politician *

Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Regarded as an influential figure in the city pop genre, she is one of the best-selling music artists in Japan, having sold over 16 million records, and has received several accolades. Her husband is Tatsu ...

, singer and songwriter

References

External links

Website Of Former Taisha Station
Dissolved municipalities of Shimane Prefecture {{Shimane-geo-stub

Notable people

See also

References

External links