Shimane Prefecture Explained

Shimane Prefecture
Settlement Type:Prefecture
Translit Lang1:Japanese
Translit Lang1 Type:Japanese
Translit Lang1 Info:Japanese: 島根県
Translit Lang1 Type1:Rōmaji
Translit Lang1 Info1:Japanese: Shimane-ken
Flag Size:100px
Image Blank Emblem:Emblem of Shimane Prefecture.svg
Blank Emblem Size:80px
Blank Emblem Type:Symbol
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Japan
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Chūgoku (San'in)
Subdivision Type2:Island
Subdivision Name2:Honshu
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Matsue
Parts Type:Subdivisions
Parts Style:para
P1:Districts

5

P2:Municipalities

19

Leader Title:Governor
Leader Name:Tatsuya Maruyama
Area Total Km2:6,708.26
Area Water Percent:2.7
Area Rank:19th
Population Total:665205
Population As Of:February 1, 2021
Population Rank:46th
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type2:GDP
Demographics2 Footnotes:[1]
Demographics2 Title1:Total
Demographics2 Info1:JP¥ 2,689 billion
US$ 24.7 billion (2019)
Iso Code:JP-32
Module:
Embedded:yes
Country:Japan
Bird:Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus)
Fish:Flying Fish
Flower:Moutan peony (Paeonia suffruticosa)
Tree:Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)
Anthem:Usu-murasaki no yamanami

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu.[2] 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 to the southwest, Hiroshima Prefecture to the south, and Tottori Prefecture to the east.

Matsue is the capital and largest city of Shimane Prefecture, with other major cities including Izumo, Hamada, and Masuda.[3] Shimane Prefecture contains the majority of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan 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.

History

Early history

See also: Historic Sites of Shimane Prefecture.

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.[4] At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided into three parts: Iwami, Izumo, and Oki.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

Middle Ages

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. 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 Ieyasu 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.[8]

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.

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. 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.[9] Shimane also claims the use of Liancourt Rocks, over which they are in dispute with South Korea.[10]

As of 1 April 2012, 6% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Daisen-Oki National Park; Hiba-Dōgo-Taishaku and Nishi-Chūgoku Sanchi Quasi-National Parks; and eleven Prefectural Natural Parks.[11]

Most major cities are located either on the seaside, or along a river.[9]

Cities

See also: List of cities in Shimane Prefecture by population. 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. The number of towns and villages greatly decreased during the mergers. However, they hold about one-third of the prefecture's population.

NameArea (km2)PopulationDistrictTypeMap
RōmajiKanji
Ama海士町33.52,293Oki DistrictTown
Chibu知夫村13.7657Oki DistrictVillage
Iinan飯南町242.844,908Iishi DistrictTown
Kawamoto川本町106.393,331Ōchi DistrictTown
Misato美郷町282.924,712Ōchi DistrictTown
Nishinoshima西ノ島町55.982,923Oki DistrictTown
Okinoshima隠岐の島町242.9714,422Oki DistrictTown
Okuizumo奥出雲町368.0612,655Nita DistrictTown
Ōnan邑南町419.2910,922Ōchi DistrictTown
Tsuwano津和野町307.097,478Kanoashi DistrictTown
Yoshika吉賀町336.296,231Kanoashi DistrictTown

Mergers

See main article: List of mergers in Shimane Prefecture.

April 1976 !! January 2011 !! January 2012
Izumo RegionMatsue City (Old System) Matsue City (New System) 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 RegionŌda 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 RegionOki 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 . 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 with .

Average Year
(Month)!colspan="3"
OkiIzumo (Coastal)Izumo (Inland)
Okinoshima
Saigo Cape
IzumoIinan
Akana 
Average
Temperature
(°C)
Warmest Month25.6
(Aug)
25.8
(Aug)
25.6
(Aug)
26.3
(Aug)
25.8
(Aug)
24.0
(Aug)
24.5
(Aug)
23.4
(Aug)
Coldest Month3.9
(Feb)
4.5
(Feb)
4.4
(Feb)
4.2
(Jan)
4.5
(Feb)
0.7
(Feb)
2.3
(Feb)
0.4
(Jan, Feb)
Rainfall
(mm)
Heaviest Month211.6
(Sept)
227.0
(July)
218.0
(Sept)
240.5
(July)
236.2
(July)
234.2
(July)
257.1
(July)
282.2
(July)
Driest Month110.4
(Oct)
96.4
(Feb)
104.7
(April)
114.5
(April)
96.3
(Feb)
103.4
(April)
120.7
(April)
116.5
(Oct)
Average Year
(Month)
Iwami (Coastal)Iwami (Inland)
HamadaŌnan
Yoshika
Muikaichi 
Average
Temperature
(°C)
Warmest Month26.5
(Aug)
26.2
(Aug)
26.8
(Aug)
24.2
(Aug)
23.9
(Aug)
23.6
(Aug)
25.7
(Aug)
24.5
(Aug)
Coldest Month4.9
(Jan, Feb)
5.8
(Feb)
5.4
(Jan, Feb)
2.7
(Jan)
0.8
(Jan)
1.5
(Jan)
3.0
(Jan)
1.9
(Jan)
Rainfall
(mm)
Heaviest Month246.3
(July)
257.7
(July)
223.9
(June)
260.2
(July)
260.6
(July)
340.0
(July)
285.6
(July)
337.4
(June)
Driest Month98.3
(Feb)
90.9
(Feb)
87.9
(Feb)
112.5
(Feb)
109.2
(Nov)
130.4
(April)
99.7
(Dec)
76.8
(Dec)

Transportation

Airports

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.[12]

Rail

JR West and Ichibata Electric Railway serves the prefecture in terms of rail transportation. The Sanin Main Line goes through the prefecture on the Sea of Japan side into major cities such as Matsue and Izumo.[13] and stations are the major stops in the prefecture. The Kisuki line, which forks from Shinji Station on the Sanin Line, connects with the Geibi Line in Hiroshima Prefecture, cutting into the Chūgoku Mountains. Ichibata Electric Railway serve the Shimane peninsula from Dentetsu-Izumoshi Station and Izumo Taisha-mae Station to Matsue Shinjiko-Onsen Station.[14]

JR West has three Limited Express trains to Shimane, which are Super Matsukaze, Super Oki, and Yakumo.[15] Additionally, the overnight limited express Sunrise Izumo operates daily between Tokyo and Izumoshi.

Roads

General Roads

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.

Ferry/High Speed Boats

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 highest number of employees with 49,000 workers.

Companies based in Shimane

Manufacturing

Financial

Others

Major factories

Demographics

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.[16] 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).[17]

Population by age

Total Population in age groups
2007 Estimated Population
Unit: Thousands

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

Culture

Cultural Assets

World Cultural Heritage
National Treasures
Important Traditional Building Preservation Area

Languages (Dialects)

Universities in Shimane Prefecture

Tourism

Prefectural symbols

The prefectural flower is the mountain peony. On the island of Daikonjima, they have been grown from at least the 18th century.[20]

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020年度国民経済計算(2015年基準・2008SNA) : 経済社会総合研究所 - 内閣府 . 2023-05-18 . 内閣府ホームページ . ja.
  2. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Shimane Province" in ; "Chūgoku" at
  3. Nussbaum, "Matsue" at
  4. Web site: Izumo Shrine website . August 22, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070823070951/http://www.izumooyashiro.or.jp/kamigami/izumo/index.html . August 23, 2007 . dead . mdy-all .
  5. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at
  6. http://www.pref.shimane.jp/profile/kisojoho/rekisi.html Shimane Prefecture introduction
  7. Book: スーパー日本史 Super Nihon-shi. 古川清行 Furukawa Kiyoyuki. 2003. 講談社 Kōdansha. 4-06-204594-X.
  8. http://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/kochokoho/profile/aramasi.html History of Shimane Prefecture
  9. Book: 新編 中学校社会科地図 Updated Social studies map for Junior High school. 2007. 帝国書院 Teikoku Shoin. 978-4-8071-4091-6.
  10. [Liancourt Rocks]
  11. Web site: General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture . . 1 April 2012 . 10 August 2014.
  12. http://www.town.okinoshima.shimane.jp/event/schedule.html Flight schedule of Oki Airport
  13. http://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/pdf/index_all.pdf Route map for JR West
  14. http://www.ichibata.co.jp/railway/ Route map of Ichibata Electric Railway
  15. http://www.jr-odekake.net/train/category/ra.html JR West website on limited express trains
  16. Book: 113. 考える社会科地図 Kangaeru Shakaika Chizu. 2005. 四谷大塚出版 Yotsuya-Ōtsuka Shuppan.
  17. Japan Times “Centenarians to Hit Record 44,000”. The Japan Times, Sept. 15, 2010. Okinawa Prefecture also had the largest loss of young and middle-aged population during the Pacific War.
  18. http://www.shimane-u.ac.jp/ Shimane University
  19. http://www.u-shimane.ac.jp/ University of Shimane
  20. http://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/kochokoho/profile/kenshou.html Symbols of Shimane Prefecture: From Shimane Prefecture website