Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Chūgoku Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, between Lake Shinji and Nakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though the city proper reaches the Sea of Japan coast. Matsue is sometimes called the "water city" due to the prominence of the lakes, rivers and canals in the cityscape and scenery. Matsue is home to the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle, one of the last surviving feudal castles in Japan.

Geography Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, between Lake Shinji and Nakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though the city proper reaches the Sea of Japan coast. Matsue is the centre of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area. The Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area is the fourth largest on the Sea of Japan coast after Niigata, Greater Kanazawa, and Fukui.

History Matsue is located within ancient Izumo Province and there are many archaeological sites from the Yayoi, Kofuns and Nara periods within the city borders. The area was also the stronghold of the Amago clan during the Sengoku period. The present-day castle town of Matsue was originally established by Horio Yoshiharu, lord of the Matsue clan, when he built Matsue castle and planned the surrounding town over a five-year period from 1607 to 1611. Matsue continued to be the seat of Matsue Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate until the Meiji restoration. Horio Yoshiharu's son Tadauji died before his father, thus the province was inherited by his grandson Tadaharu. However, Tadaharu died childless so the province was passed on to the Kyōgoku. Kyōgoku Takatsugu served Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Takatsugu's son Tadataka married the 4th daughter of Hidetada, Hatsu. He served in the Battle of Osaka and reportedly took 300 heads. In 1634, he received the province of Izumo, succeeding the childless Horio Tadaharu. During his rule he was instrumental in engineering projects that helped control the flow of the Hiikawa river.

In 1637, Tadataka also died childless and the domain passed to the Matsudaira clan. Naomasa was the third son of Tokugawa Hideyasu. Hideyasu, daimyō of Echizen Province, himself was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, making Naomasa the grandson of the first Tokugawa Shōgun. Naomasa made a name for himself fighting in the Battle of Osaka at the age of 14. He was daimyō of Ono in Echizen and later Matsumoto in Shinano Province before becoming the ruler of Izumo 1638. Unlike the previous rulers Naomasa had children and his heirs managed to keep Izumo for ten generations until the end of the Edo period. Overall, ten Matsudaira daimyō ruled Matsue. The most famous after the first (Matsudaira Naomasa) is the seventh, Matsudaira Harusato, more commonly referred to as Fumai (不昧公). He revolutionized the administrative system of the Matsue clan which was in financial difficulties and put it back on its feet. He invested in mulberry bushes and promoted special foods like shijimi clams that were a delicacy in Matsue. Harusato was a great enthusiast of Japanese tea ceremony. Because his influence on wagashi, Japanese sweets for the tea ceremony from Matsue are famous, especially one called wakakusa.

Municipal timeline • April 1, 1889: the city of Matsue was founded with the creation of the modern municipalities system • March 31, 2005: Matsue absorbed the towns of Kashima, Mihonoseki, Shimane, Shinji, Tamayu and Yatsuka, and the village of Yakumo, all from Yatsuka District, to create the new and expanded city of Matsue. • August 1, 2011: the town of Higashiizumo (also from Yatsuka District) was merged into Matsue. • April 1, 2018: Matsue became a Core city with increased local autonomy

Government Matsue has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Matsue conributes 11 members to the Shimane Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Shimane 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy Matsue is a major regional commercial centre and as one of the base cities of the San'in region, and along with Yonago, there are many head offices of companies operating in the San'in region. Agriculture, commercial fishing and tourism play major roles in the local economy; however, the city has only a small industrial base.

Education: University • Shimane University • Matsue College of Technology • University of Shimane Junior College

Education: Primary and Secondary Matsue has 33 public elementary school, 17 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government, and seven public high schools operated by the Shimane Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture operates five special education schools for the handicapped. There are also four private high schools.

Transport: Rail JR West (JR West) - San'in Main Line • Shinji - Kimachi - Tamatsukuri-Onsen - Nogi - Matsue - Higashi-Matsue - Iya

JR West (JR West) - Kisuki Line • Shinji - Minami Shinji

Ichibata Electric Railway (Bataden) - Kita-Matsue Line • Tsunomori - Takanomiya - Matsue Vogel Park - Aikamachi - Nagae - Asahigaoka - Matsue English Garden Mae - Matsue-Shinjiko-Onsen

Transport: Road • Hamada Expressway • Matsue Expressway • National Route 9 • National Route 54 • National Route 431 • National Route 432 • National Route 485.

Local attractions • Matsue Castle, s one of the 12 remaining original castles in Japan. It is the second largest, the third tallest and the sixth oldest. The castle grounds include a winding path through mixed forests of bamboo, shrubs and trees, many of which are very old and identified by species. Surrounding the grounds and the castle park is the old moat, "horikawa". • Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, dedicated to the author Lafcadio Hearn, who taught in Matsue from 1890–1891. Throughout the city there are monuments and landmarks honouring Hearn. • Shimane Art Museum • Tanabe Art Museum. • Sada Jinja in Matsue is the home to Sada Shin Noh, a sacred dance comprising a series of purification rituals related to the changing of the rush mats within the shrine. The mats are held by dancers who then offer them to deities to sit upon. Diverse dance forms are performed on a stage in the shrine accompanied by singing, flute and drums. The performance art is transmitted from generation to generation by the community. In November 2011, Sada Shin Noh was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. • Yaegaki Jinja • Kumano Taisha, ichinomiya of Izumo Province • Kamosu Jinja, • Miho Jinja • Izumo Kokubun-ji rruins, a National Historic Site. • Tamatsukuri Onsen.

Festivals Various traditional festivals are still held, such as Dōgyōretsu, a drum parade held annually on the third Sunday of October, and Hōranenya, one of Japan's top three boat festivals that is held only once every 10 years (most recently in May 2019).