Shimane Prefecture

Shimane Prefecture 島根県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	島根県
• Rōmaji	Shimane-ken
Oki Island Geopark Matsue Castle Lake Shinji Izumo Taisha Izumo Soba noodle A ruin of Iwami Silvemine Iwami Traditional Folk Dance (Iwami Kagura) Kōjindani Ruin Nima Sand Museum Herritage street and town in Tsuwano
Flag Symbol
Anthem: Usu-murasaki no yamanami
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku (San'in)
Island	Honshu
Capital	Matsue
Subdivisions	Districts: 5, Municipalities: 19
Government
• Governor	Tatsuya Maruyama
Area
• Total	6,708.26 km2 (2,590.07 sq mi)
• Rank	19th
Population  (February 1, 2021)
• Total	665,205
• Rank	46th
• Density	99/km2 (260/sq mi)
GDP [1]
• Total	JP¥ 2,689 billion US$ 24.7 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code	JP-32
Website	www1.pref.shimane.lg.jp/contents/kokusai/kokusai-e/index.html
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus)
Fish	Flying Fish
Flower	Moutan peony (Paeonia suffruticosa)
Tree	Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)

Shimane Prefecture (島根県, Shimane-ken) 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.