| Shimane Prefecture | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese transcription(s) | |||
| • Japanese | 島根県 | ||
| • Rōmaji | Shimane-ken | ||
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| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Chūgoku | ||
| Island | Honshū | ||
| Capital | Matsue | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Zenbee Mizoguchi | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 6,707.95 km2 (2,590 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 18th | ||
| Population (October 11, 2011) | |||
| • Total | 712,336 | ||
| • Rank | 46th | ||
| • Density | 106/km2 (274.5/sq mi) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | JP-32 | ||
| Districts | 5 | ||
| Municipalities | 19 | ||
| Flower | Moutan peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) | ||
| Tree | Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) | ||
| Bird | Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) | ||
| Fish | Flying Fish | ||
| Website | www1.pref.shimane.lg.jp/contents/ kokusai/kokusai-e |
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Shimane Prefecture (島根県 Shimane-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island.[1] The capital is Matsue.[2] It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, after its eastern neighbor Tottori. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chūgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to the Sea of Japan on the north side. It is divided into the Izumo Region in the East, the Iwami Region in the West and the Oki Region, a small group of islands off the northern coast. Most of the cities are near the shoreline of the Sea of Japan. Izumo Taisha in Izumo City 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).
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The history of Shimane starts with the Japanese mythology. Shinto god Ōkuninushi was believed to be living 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 in to 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 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.[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 Masuda clan dominated Iwami province. Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was located between Amago clan territory and Masuda clan territory, so there were many battles between these lords for the silver of vast quantity. However, in 1566 Mori Motonari conquered Izumo, Iwami, and Oki.[6] 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. The Iwami area was split in to 3 clans: The mining district (direct control of the Shogunate), the Hamada clan and the Tsuwano clan. 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. Hamada clan was on the shogunate's side in the Meiji Restoration, and the castle was burned down. The Tsuwano clan, despite the Matsudaira (relative of the shogun) rule was on the emperor's side in the restoration.[7]
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.[7]
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.[8] 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 Honshū, the island of Oki is in Shimane prefecture as well. The island itself is in the Daisen-Oki National Park.[8] Shimane also claims the use of Liancourt Rocks, which they are in dispute with South Korea.[9]
Most major cities are located either on the seaside, or along a river.[8] Between 2004 and 2005, municipalities across Japan merged, and Shimane prefecture was not an exception. For the list of mergers, see List of mergers in Shimane Prefecture.
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.[10]
The number of Towns and villages greatly decreased during the mergers. However, they hold about one-third of the prefecture's population.[10]
The prefecture has a sub-tropical climate. Winter is cloudy with a little snow, and summer is humid. The average annual temperature is 14.6 degrees Celsius. 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 degrees Celsius. The average annual precipitation is 1799 millimeters, higher than Tokyo's 1467 mm and Obihiro with 920 mm.[10]
| Average Year （Month） |
Oki | Izumo (Coastal) | Izumo (Inland) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinoshima Saigo |
Okinoshima Saigo Cape |
Ama | Matsue Kashima |
Matsue | Hikawa | Izumo | Okuizumo Yokota |
Unnan Kakeya |
Iinan Akana |
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| Average Temperature (℃) |
Warmest Month | 25.6 (Aug) |
25.8 (Aug) |
25.6 (Aug) |
26.3 (Aug) |
25.8 (Aug) |
24.0 (Aug) |
24.5 (Aug) |
23.4 (Aug) |
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| Coldest Month | 3.9 (Feb) |
4.5 (Feb) |
4.4 (Feb) |
4.2 (Jan) |
4.5 (Feb) |
0.7 (Feb) |
2.3 (Feb) |
0.4 (Jan, Feb) |
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| Rainfall (mm) |
Heaviest Month | 211.6 (Sept) |
227.0 (July) |
218.0 (Sept) |
240.5 (July) |
236.2 (July) |
234.2 (July) |
257.1 (July) |
282.2 (July) |
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| Driest Month | 110.4 (Oct) |
96.4 (Feb) |
104.7 (April) |
114.5 (April) |
96.3 (Feb) |
103.4 (April) |
120.7 (April) |
116.5 (Oct) |
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| Average Year （Month） |
Iwami (Coastal) | Iwami (Inland) | |||||||||
| Ōda | Hamada | Masuda | Masuda City Takatsu |
Kawamoto | Ōnan |
Hamada City Yasaka |
Tsuwano | Yoshika | Yoshika Muikaichi |
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| Average Temperature (℃) |
Warmest Month | 26.5 (Aug) |
26.2 (Aug) |
26.8 (Aug) |
24.2 (Aug) |
23.9 (Aug) |
23.6 (Aug) |
25.7 (Aug) |
24.5 (Aug) |
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| Coldest Month | 4.9 (Jan, Feb) |
5.8 (Feb) |
5.4 (Jan, Feb) |
2.7 (Jan) |
0.8 (Jan) |
1.5 (Jan) |
3.0 (Jan) |
1.9 (Jan) |
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| Rainfall (mm) |
Heaviest Month | 246.3 (July) |
257.7 (July) |
223.9 (June) |
260.2 (July) |
260.6 (July) |
340.0 (July) |
285.6 (July) |
337.4 (June) |
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| Driest Month | 98.3 (Feb) |
90.9 (Feb) |
87.9 (Feb) |
112.5 (Feb) |
109.2 (Nov) |
130.4 (April) |
99.7 (Dec) |
76.8 (Dec) |
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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.[11]
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.[12] 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.[12] Ichibata Electric Railway serve the Shimane peninsula from Dentetsu-Izumoshi Station and Izumo Taisha-Mae Station to Matsue Shinjiko-Onsen Station.[13]
JR West has 3 Limited Express trains to Shimane, which are Super Matsukaze, Super Oki, and Yakumo.[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 Chugoku Expressway at Kita-Hiroshima and stretches to Hamada.[8]
In Shimane, the largest employer is the retailing industry, employing over 60,000 workers. Mishimaya and Juntendo are examples of companies. The manufacturing industry has the second number of employees with 49,000 workers. In the number of business locations, the retailing industry is first with over 12,000.
Twenty-nine percent of the total industry income is from the service industry, including retailers. Another 13% is from the manufacturing industry.
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. The capital, Matsue, has the smallest population out of all the 47 prefectural capitals. Shimane has also the largest percentage of the elderly.[10] 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).[15]
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 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 |
| Comparison of Population Distribution between Shimane and Japanese National Average | Population Distribution by Age and Sex in Shimane |
|
■Shimane
■Japan (average) |
■Male
■Female |
| 2005 Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Statistics Department | |
The prefectural flower is the mountain peony. On the island of Daikonjima, they were grown from at least the 18th century.[18]
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