Matsue is the capital and largest city of Shimane Prefecture, with other major cities including Izumo, Hamada, and Masuda.[4] Shimane Prefecture contains the majority of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumimetropolitan area centered on Matsue, and with a population of approximately 600,000 is Japan's third-largest metropolitan area on the Sea of Japan coast after Niigata and Greater Kanazawa. Shimane Prefecture is bounded by the Sea of Japan coastline on the north, where two-thirds of the population live, and the Chūgoku Mountains on the south. Shimane Prefecture governs the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan which juridically includes the disputed Liancourt Rocks (竹島, Takeshima). Shimane Prefecture is home to Izumo-taisha, one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, and the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle.
The history of Shimane starts with Japanese mythology. The Shinto god Ōkuninushi was believed to live in Izumo, an old province in Shimane. Izumo Shrine, which is in the city of Izumo, honors the god.[5] At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided into three parts: Iwami, Izumo, and Oki.[6] That lasted until the abolition of the han system took place in 1871. During the Nara period, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro wrote a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governor.[7]
Later on in the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the Kamakura shogunate forced emperors Go-Toba and Godaigo into exile in Oki. Emperor Go-Daigo later escaped from Oki and began rallying supporters against the shogunate, which proved successful.[8]
Middle Ages
A view of Shimizudani silver mine refinery ruin, a part of UNESCO World Heritage area
During the Muromachi period (1336–1573), Izumo and Oki were controlled by the Kyōgoku clan. However, after the Ōnin War, the Amago clan expanded power based in Gassantoda Castle and the Masuda clan dominated Iwami Province. The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was located between Amago territory and Masuda territory, and there were many battles between the clans for the silver. In 1566 Mōri Motonari conquered Izumo, Iwami, and Oki.[8] In 1600, after over 30 years of Mori control, Horio Yoshiharu entered Izumo and Oki as the result of Battle of Sekigahara, which Mori lost. Following the change, Horio Yoshiharu decided to move to build Matsue Castle instead of Gassan-Toda, and soon after Yoshiharu's death the castle was completed. In 1638, the grandson of Tokugawa IeyasuMatsudaira Naomasa[ja] 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, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, produced silver and was one of the nation's largest silver mines by the early 17th century. The Hamada clan was on the shogunate's side in the Meiji Restoration, 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.[9]
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 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.[9]
Geography
Shimane Prefecture is situated on the Sea of Japan side of the Chūgoku region. Because of its mountainous landscape, rice farming is done mostly in the Izumo plain where the city of Izumo is located.[10] Another major landform is the Shimane peninsula. The peninsula is located across the Sea of Japan from Izumo to Sakaiminato, which is located in Tottori prefecture. Also, the peninsula created two brackish lakes, Lake Shinji and Nakaumi. The island of Daikon is located in Nakaumi. Off the main island of Honshū, the island of Oki belongs to Shimane prefecture as well. The island itself is in the Daisen-Oki National Park.[10] Shimane also claims the use of Liancourt Rocks, over which they are in dispute with South Korea.[11]
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.[13]
These are the towns and villages of each district. The number of towns and villages greatly decreased during the mergers. However, they hold about one-third of the prefecture's population.[13]
Matsue City (August 1, 2011 Merger with Higashiizumo Town)
Yatsuka District
Kashima Town
Shimane Town
Mihonoseki Town
Yakumo Village
Tamayu Town
Shinji Town
Yatsuka Town
Higashiizumo Town
Yasugi City (Old System)
Yasugi City (New System)
Yasugi City
Nogi District
Hirose Town
Hakuta Town
Nita District
Yokota Town
Okuizumo Town
Nita Town
Izumo City (Old System)
Izumo City (New System)
Izumo City (October 1, 2011 Merger with Hikawa Town)
Hirata City
Hikawa District
Taisha Town
Koryo Town
Taki Town
Sada Town
Hikawa Town
Ōhara District
Daitō Town
Unnan City
Kamo Town
Kisuki Town
Iishi District
Mitoya Town
Kakeya Town
Yoshida Village
Tonbara Town
Iinan Town
Akagi Town
Iwami Region
Ōda City (Old System)
Ōda City (New System)
Ōda City
Nima District
Yunotsu Town
Nima Town
Gōtsu City (Old System)
Gōtsu City (New System)
Gōtsu City
Ōchi District
Sakurae Town
Ōchi Town
Misato Town
Daiwa Village
Iwami Town
Ōnan Town
Mizuho Town
Hasumi Village
Kawamoto Town
Hamada City (Old System)
Hamada City (New System)
Hamada City
Naka District
Asahi Town
Kanagi Town
Misumi Town
Yasaka Village
Masuda City (Old System)
Masuda City (New System)
Masuda City
Mino District
Mito Town
Hikimi Town
Kanoashi District
Tsuwano Town (Old System)
Tsuwano Town (New System)
Tsuwano Town
Nichihara Town
Muikaichi Town
Yoshika Town
Kakinoki Village
Oki Region
Oki District
Saigō Town
Okinoshima Town
Fuse Village
Goka Village
Tsuma Village
Nishinoshima Town
Ama Town
Chibu Village
Climate
Shimane prefecture has a sub-tropical climate. Winter is cloudy with a little snow, and summer is humid. The average annual temperature is 14.6°C (58.3°F). It rains almost every day in the rainy season, from June to mid-July. The highest average monthly temperature occurs in August with 26.3°C (79.3°F). The average annual precipitation is 1,799 millimetres (70.8in), higher than Tokyo's 1,467mm (57.8in) and Obihiro with 920mm (36.2in).[13]
Three airports serve Shimane. The Izumo Airport located in Izumo is the largest airport in the prefecture in terms of passengers and has regular flights to Haneda Airport, Osaka Airport, Fukuoka Airport, and Oki Airport. 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.[14]
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.[10]
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 highest number of employees with 49,000 workers. [citation needed]
One-third of the prefecture's population is concentrated in the Izumo-Matsue area. Otherwise, over two-thirds of the population is on the coastline. A reason for the population distribution is that the Chūgoku Mountains make the land inland harder to inhabit. The capital, Matsue, has the smallest population of all 47 prefectural capitals. Shimane has also the largest percentage of elderly people.[13] The province had an estimated 743 centenarians per million inhabitants in September 2010, the highest ratio in Japan, overtaking Okinawa Prefecture (667 centenarians per million).[18]
Population by age
Total Population in age groups 2007 Estimated Population Unit: Thousands
Age
Population
0 - 4
30
5 - 9
33
10 - 14
35
15 - 19
37
20 - 24
32
25 - 29
38
30 - 34
44
35 - 39
41
40 - 44
38
45 - 49
44
50 - 54
51
55 - 59
66
60 - 64
44
65 - 69
45
70 - 74
50
75 - 79
45
80 and over
64
Population in age groups by gender 2007 Estimated population Unit: Thousands
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