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.[3]　At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided into three parts: Iwami, Izumo, and Oki.[4] That lasted until the abolition of the han system took place in 1871. During the Nara period, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro read a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governor.[5]

Later on in the Kamakura period, Kamakura shogunate forced emperors Go-Toba and Godaigo into exile in Oki. Emperor Go-Daigo later escaped away from Oki and began rallying supporters against the shogunate, which succeeded.[6]

During the Muromachi period, Izumo and Oki were controlled by the Kyogoku 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, so there were many battles between these clans for the silver. However, in 1566 Mōri Motonari conquered Izumo, Iwami, and Oki.[6] After over 30 years of Mori control, in 1600 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. Later in 1638, the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Matsudaira Naomasa 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 mine 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.[7]

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.[7]

Map of Shimane Prefecture
     City      Town      Village

Cape Hinomisaki near Izumo

Eight cities are located in Shimane Prefecture, the largest 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.[11]

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.[11]

Izumo Airport terminal

Three airports serve Shimane. The Izumo Airport located in Izumo 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.[12]

• Izumo Airport
• Iwami Airport
• Oki Airport

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.[13] 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 Chūgoku Mountains.[13] 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]

• West Japan Railway Company
  • Sanin Main Line
  • Sankō Line
  • Kisuki Line
  • Yamaguchi Line
• Ichibata Electric Railway
  • Kita-Matsue Line
  • Taisha Line

• Japan National Route 9
  • Izumo Bypass
  • Gōtsu Road
• Japan National Route 54
• Japan National Route 180
• Japan National Route 184
• Japan National Route 186
• Japan National Route 187
• Japan National Route 191
• Japan National Route 261
• Japan National Route 314
• Japan National Route 375
• Japan National Route 431
• Japan National Route 432
• Japan National Route 485
• Japan National Route 488

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.[8]

• Sanin Expressway
• Matsue Expressway
• Hamada Expressway
• Chūgoku Expressway

• Oki Kisen

• Izumo Murata Manufacturing
• Shimane Fujitsu
• Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery

• The Shimane Bank
• The San-in Godo Bank

• Network Applied Communication Laboratory
• Mishimaya
• Juntendo
• Ichibata Electric Railway

• Hitachi Metals

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

Male	Age	Female
15	0 - 4	15
17	5 - 9	16
18	10 - 14	17
19	15 - 19	18
16	20 - 24	16
19	25 - 29	19
22	30 - 34	22
20	35 - 39	20
19	40 - 44	19
22	45 - 49	22
26	50 - 54	25
34	55 - 59	32
22	60 - 64	23
20	65 - 69	24
22	70 - 74	28
19	75 - 79	26
20	80 and over	44

• Source：Graph 10/Prefectures Age（In Age groups）, Gender divided population－Total Population
  (Ministry of Internal Affairs Statistics Bureau)

Comparison of Population Distribution between Shimane and Japanese National Average	Population Distribution by Age and Sex in Shimane
■Shimane ■Japan (average)	■Male ■Female
1970 773,575 1975 768,886 1980 784,795 1985 794,629 1990 781,021 1995 771,441 2000 761,503 2005 742,223 2010 716,354
2015 Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Statistics Department

Nima Sand Museum in Oda

World Cultural Heritage

• The Historic Remains of Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Background (Ōda City)

National Treasures

• Izumo-taisha 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)
• Bronze bells from the Kamo-Iwakura site Unearthed bronze bell-shaped vessel (Unnan City)
• Kojindani Ruins Unearthed ruins (Izumo City)

Important Traditional Building Preservation Area

• Ōmori (Ōda City)
• Yunotsu (Ōda City)

• Unpaku dialect (Izumo dialect, Oki dialect, etc.)
• Iwami dialect

• Shimane University, Matsue and Izumo (National university)[19]
• The University of Shimane, Hamada (Prefectural university)[20]