is located in the
Chūgoku region on
Honshū island,
Japan. The capital is
Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, next to the
Tottori Prefecture that is a neighboring prefecture on the east side. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the on the south side and to the
Sea of Japan on the north side. Most of the cities are near the shoreline of the Sea of Japan. There is
Izumo Taisha in
Izumo City, which is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan.
The
Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are also part of Shimane Prefecture, which also claims to have jurisdiction over the
South Korea-controlled island of
Liancourt Rocks (''Takeshima'').
History
Matsue Castle
Early History
The history of Shimane starts with the Japanese mythology. Shinto god
ÅŒkuninushi was believed to be living in
Izumo, a old province in Shimane. The Izumo Shrine, which is in the city of
Izumo, honors the god
[1].　At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided in to 3 parts,
Iwami,
Izumo, and
Oki. That lasted until the
abolition of the han system took place in 1871. During the
Nara period,
Kakimoto no Hitomaro read a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governer.
[2]
Later on in the
Kamakura period,
Kamakura Shogunate forces
emperors Gotoba and Emperor Godaigo to exile to Oki.
Emperor Godaigo later gets away from Oki and begins rallying against the shogunate, which later succeeds.
Middle Ages
During the
Muromachi period, Izumo and Oki were controled by the Kyogoku clan. However, after the
ÅŒnin War, the
Amago clan expanded power based in
Gassan-Toda castle. However, in 1566
Mori Motonari conquered Izumo, Iwami, and Oki. After over 30 years of Mori control, in
1600 Horio Yoshiharu enters Izumo and Oki as the result of
Battle of Sekigahara which Mori lost. Following the change, Horio Yoshiharu decides to move to build
Matsue castle instead of Gassan-Toda, and soon after Yoshiharu's death the castle is completed. Later in
1638, the grandson of
Tokugawa Ieyasu,
Matsudaira Naomasa enters the castle since the Horio clan had no heir, and his family ruled until the abolition of the han system.
Modern times
In
1871, abolition of the han system places the old Shimane and Hamada provinces in the current area of Shimane Prefecture. Later that year, Oki becomes part of Tottori. In
1876, Hamada Prefecture merges with Shimane and is named Shimane Prefecture. Also, Tottori Prefecture merges in the same year. However, five years later, in
1881, the current portion of Tottori Prefecture separates and the current border is formed.
Geography
Map of Shimane Prefecture.
Tsuwano, Shimane
Shimane prefecture is situated on the
Sea of Japan side of the
Chugoku 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 on the Sea of Japan from Izumo to Sakaiminato, which apparently is located in Tottori prefecture. Also, the peninsula created two sea water lakes
Lake Shinji and
Nakaumi. The island of Daikon is located in Nakaumi. Off from the island of
Honshu, The is land of
Oki is in Shimane prefecture as well. The island it self is in the Daisen-Oki National Park.
[3] Shimane also claims the use of
Liancourt Rocks, which they are in dispute with
South Korea.
[4]
Most major cities are located either on the seaside, or along a river.
Between 2004 and 2005, municipalities across Japan merged, and Shimane prefecture was not a exception. For a the list of mergers, see
List of mergers in Shimane Prefecture.
Cities
Eight cities are located in Shimane Prefecture, the largest being Matsue, the capital, and the smallest being Gotsu. The cities Masuda, Unnan, Yasugi, and Gotsu had a slight population increase due to the mergers in the early 2000s.
Towns and villages
The number of Towns and villages greatly decreased during the mergers. However, they hold about one-third of the prefecture's population.
Mergers in the 2000s
Climate
The prefecture has a fairly cool climate. The year average for temperature is 14.6 degrees
centigrade. The hottest average temperature is in August with 26.3 degrees centigrade. The average year preciparation is 1799 milimeters, compared to
Tokyo's 1467mm and
Obihiro with 920mm.
Transportation
Airports
Three airports serve Shimane. The Izumo Airport located in
Hikawa is the largest airport in the prefecture in terms of passengers, which 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.
[5]
Izumo Airport terminal
★
Izumo Airport
★
Iwami Airport
★
Oki Airport
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 going into major cities such as Matsue and Izumo. Izumoshi and matsue 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 Chugoku Mountains. Ichibata Electric Railways serve the Shimane peninsula from
Izumoshi Station to
Matsue Station.
JR West has 3 Limited Express trains to Shimane, which are Matsukaze, Oki, and Yakumo.
★ '
West Japan Railway Company'
★
★
Sanin Main Line
★
★
SankÅ Line
★
★
Kisuki Line
★
★
Yamaguchi Line
★ '
Ichibata Electric Railway
★
★
Kita-Matsue Line
★
★
Taisha Line
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 Chugoku Expressway at Kita-Hiroshima and stretches to Hamada.
★
Sanin Expressway
★
Matsue Expressway
★
Hamada Expressway
★
Chūgoku Expressway
Economy
In Shimane, the largest employer is the retailing industry, employing over sixty-thousand workers. Mishimaya and Juntendo are examples of the companies. The manufacturing industry has the second number of employees with forty-nine thousand workers. Also, in the number of business locations, the retailing industry is first with over twelve-thousand.
Twenty-nine percent of the total industry income is from the service industry, including retailers. Another thirteen percent is from the manufacturing industry.
Companies based in Shimane
'Manufacturing'
★
Izumo Murata Manufacturing
★
Shimane Fujitsu
★
Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery
'Financial'
★
The Shimane Bank
★
The San-in Godo Bank
'Others'
★
Network Applied Communication Laboratory
★
Mishimaya
★
Juntendo
★
Ichibata Electric Railway
Major factories
★
Hitachi Metals
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. The reason is that the Chugoku mountains make the land inland harder to inhabit. Also, Shimane has the largest percentage of the elderly, and the capital Matsue has the smallest population out of all the 47 prefectural capitals.
[6]
Population by Age
Culture
Universities in Shimane Prefecture
★
Shimane University (National university)
[1]
★
The University of Shimane (Prefectural university)
[2]
Tourism
★
Official Prefectural Tourism Website
Prefectural symbols
The prefectural flower is the Mooutan Peony. On the island of Daikonjima , they were grown from at least the 18th century.
[7]
See also
★
Lafcadio Hearn
External links
★
Official homepage of Shimane Prefecture
★
Shimane JET Programme participants homepage
References
1. Izumo Shrine website
2. Shimane Prefecture introduction
3. 新編　ä¸å¦æ ¡ç¤¾ä¼šç§‘地図 Updated Social studies map for Junior High school, , , , å¸å›½æ›¸é™¢ Teikoku Shoin, 2007,
4. Liancourt Rocks
5. Flight schedule of Oki Airport
6. 考ãˆã‚‹ç¤¾ä¼šç§‘地図 Kangaeru Shakaika Chizu, , , , 四谷大塚出版 Yotsuya-ÅŒtsuka Shuppan, 2005,
7. Symbols of Shimane Prefecture: From Shimane Prefecture website
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