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Shimane · Capital · Core city

Matsue

松江市まつえしMatsue-shi

The water city of the Matsudaira between two lakes

Matsue is the capital of Shimane Prefecture, a castle town built between Lake Shinji and the Nakaumi lagoon. Its castle keep of 1611 is one of twelve originals in Japan and a National Treasure, and the city is closely associated with the writer Lafcadio Hearn.

Overview

Matsue grew up on the narrow neck of land where the Ōhashi River links Lake Shinji with the Nakaumi lagoon, and water shapes the city: the castle moats are still intact, canals thread through the old samurai quarter, and the sunset over Lake Shinji is one of the best-known views of the San'in coast.

The black-walled keep of Matsue Castle, completed in 1611, survived the demolitions of the Meiji era and is one of Japan's twelve original castle keeps. Below it, the lane of Shiomi Nawate preserves samurai houses and the former residence of Lafcadio Hearn, who taught here in 1890–1891 and made Matsue known abroad through his writings.

The city also inherits the tea culture of its seventh Matsudaira lord, Fumai, which sustains its confectioners and teahouses. Since mergers in 2005 and 2011, Matsue's territory extends from Tamatsukuri Onsen on the lake to the fishing port of Mihonoseki at the tip of the Shimane peninsula.

Landmarks

  • Matsue Castle

    松江城Matsue-jō

    Original keep of 1611 with black wooden cladding, four roof tiers over five floors and a basement; a National Treasure.

  • Horikawa moat boats

    堀川遊覧船Horikawa yūransen

    Flat-bottomed boats circling the castle on its original moats, passing under low bridges.

  • Shiomi Nawate

    塩見縄手Shiomi Nawate

    A pine-lined lane along the northern moat with a samurai residence, Hearn's former home and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum.

  • Meimei-an

    明々庵Meimei-an

    A thatched teahouse built in 1779 to the taste of Matsudaira Fumai, with a view of the castle keep.

  • Gesshō-ji

    月照寺Gesshō-ji

    Family temple of the Matsudaira lords with nine mausoleums, known for its hydrangeas and a giant stone turtle.

  • Kamosu Shrine

    神魂神社Kamosu Jinja

    Its main hall of 1583 is the oldest surviving building in the taisha-zukuri style and a National Treasure.

  • Yaegaki Shrine

    八重垣神社Yaegaki Jinja

    Shrine to Susanoo and Kushinada-hime, visited for matchmaking; visitors float paper on the Mirror Pond to read their fortune in love.

  • Shimane Art Museum

    島根県立美術館Shimane Kenritsu Bijutsukan

    A lakeside museum designed for viewing the Lake Shinji sunset, with collections on the theme of water.

Districts

  • Castle and Shiomi Nawate

    城山・塩見縄手Shiroyama, Shiomi Nawate

    The historic core north of the river, with the castle park and the samurai quarter.

  • Kyōmise

    京店Kyōmise

    An old shopping district of confectioners and cafés by the Ōhashi River.

  • Lakeshore and Shinjiko Onsen

    しんじ湖温泉Shinjiko Onsen

    Hotels and a foot bath on the northern shore of the lake, terminus of the Ichibata Railway.

  • Tamatsukuri Onsen

    玉造温泉Tamatsukuri Onsen

    A historic spa on the southern shore of the lake, part of the city since 2005.

  • Mihonoseki

    美保関Mihonoseki

    Fishing port at the eastern tip of the peninsula with Miho Shrine and the stone-paved Aoishi-datami lane.

  • Daikonshima

    大根島Daikonshima

    A volcanic island in Nakaumi, reached by causeway, known for peony cultivation and the Yuushien garden.

History

Horio Yoshiharu, who had received Izumo after the battle of Sekigahara, moved the provincial seat from the mountain castle of Gassan-Toda to the lakeshore and built Matsue Castle and its town between 1607 and 1611. After the short rule of the Kyōgoku, the Matsudaira, a branch of the Tokugawa, governed Izumo from Matsue from 1638 until 1871.

In the Meiji era the castle's outer buildings were sold and demolished, but the keep was bought back through the efforts of local citizens. Matsue became a city in 1889. Hearn's arrival in 1890 and the 1951 law designating Matsue an International Cultural and Tourist City shaped its image as a city of culture. It became a core city in 2018.

  1. 1607

    Horio Yoshiharu begins building Matsue Castle on Kameda hill.

  2. 1611

    The castle and castle town are completed.

  3. 1638

    Matsudaira Naomasa, a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, becomes lord of Matsue.

  4. 1767

    Matsudaira Harusato (Fumai) succeeds as lord and later restores the domain's finances.

  5. 1875

    The castle's buildings are auctioned; the keep is saved by local subscribers.

  6. 1889

    Matsue is incorporated as a city.

  7. 1890

    Lafcadio Hearn arrives to teach English at the Shimane prefectural middle school.

  8. 1951

    A national law designates Matsue an International Cultural and Tourist City.

  9. 2015

    Matsue Castle's keep is designated a National Treasure.

  10. 2018

    Matsue becomes a core city.

Culture

Matsue's culture is that of a lake city and a tea city. Everyday matcha, dozens of confectioners and the teahouses of the castle district carry forward the taste of Matsudaira Fumai. Hearn's ghost stories, collected partly in the region, live on in evening ghost-tour walks. The great Hōran'enya boat festival, held about once a decade, brings decorated boats and costumed oarsmen onto the river and lake.

Festivals

  • Hōran'enya

    ホーランエンヤHōran'enya

    A boat procession held about every ten years, escorting the deity of Jōzan Inari Shrine to Adakaya Shrine and back.

  • Matsue Suitōro

    松江水燈路Matsue Suitōro

    Autumn evenings when the castle moats and streets are lit with handmade lanterns.

  • Morotabune Shinji

    諸手船神事Morotabune shinji

    A boat race rite at Miho Shrine in Mihonoseki on 3 December, re-enacting a scene of the land-ceding myth.

  • Aofushigaki Shinji

    青柴垣神事Aofushigaki shinji

    A second rite of Miho Shrine on 7 April, in which boats hung with green branches cross the harbour.

Food

  • Shijimi miso soup

    しじみ汁Shijimi-jiru

    Miso soup with Lake Shinji clams, the city's everyday dish.

  • Seven delicacies of Lake Shinji

    宍道湖七珍Shinjiko shitchin

    Sea bass, shrimp, eel, pond smelt, icefish, carp and shijimi from the brackish lake.

  • Suzuki no hōsho-yaki

    すずきの奉書焼Suzuki no hōsho-yaki

    Sea bass wrapped in wet washi paper and baked, a dish associated with the Matsudaira lords.

  • Izumo soba

    出雲そばIzumo soba

    Dark buckwheat noodles served in stacked warigo dishes.

  • Wagashi and matcha

    和菓子と抹茶Wagashi to matcha

    Tea sweets in the tradition of Fumai; drinking matcha at home remains common in Matsue.

Getting around

  • JR Matsue Station lies on the San'in Main Line, with limited express trains from Okayama in about two and a half hours and to Yonago, Tottori and Izumo.
  • The Lake Line loop bus connects the station with the castle, Shiomi Nawate and the lakeshore sights.
  • The Ichibata Railway runs from Matsue Shinjiko Onsen Station along the northern shore of the lake to Izumo Taisha.
  • Izumo Enmusubi Airport is about 30 minutes by bus; Yonago Kitaro Airport is a similar distance to the east.

Day trips

  • Izumo Taisha

    出雲大社Izumo Ōyashiro

    One of Japan's oldest shrines, reached by the Ichibata Railway along Lake Shinji.

  • Adachi Museum of Art

    足立美術館Adachi Bijutsukan

    Landscape gardens and Yokoyama Taikan paintings in Yasugi, about 40 minutes away.

  • Oki Islands

    隠岐諸島Oki-shotō

    Ferries from Shichirui, within Matsue's city limits, to the geopark islands.

  • Yonago and Sakaiminato

    米子・境港Yonago, Sakaiminato

    Kaike Onsen, the Yonago castle ruins and the Mizuki Shigeru Road across the border in Tottori.

  • Iwami Ginzan

    石見銀山Iwami Ginzan

    The World Heritage silver mine and the Ōmori district, about two hours to the west.

Other cities in the prefecture

CityIzumoIzumo-shiWhere the gods of Japan gatherTownTsuwanoTsuwano-chōThe Little Kyoto of San'in in a mountain valley

Frequently asked questions

Is Matsue Castle an original castle?

Yes. The keep, completed in 1611, is one of twelve surviving original keeps in Japan and has been a National Treasure since 2015; the interior can be climbed.

Where is the best place to see the Lake Shinji sunset?

The shore near the Shimane Art Museum and the Sodeshi area south-west of the centre are the classic viewpoints, with Yomegashima islet in the foreground.

Is Matsue a good base for Izumo Taisha?

Yes. The Ichibata Railway runs from Matsue to Izumo Taisha in about an hour, and buses and JR trains also connect the two cities.

What did Lafcadio Hearn do in Matsue?

He taught English in 1890–1891, married Koizumi Setsu, a samurai's daughter, and wrote about the city in Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan; his former residence and a memorial museum stand in Shiomi Nawate.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.松江市公式ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 松江市
  2. 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  3. 3.国指定文化財等データベース (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁
  4. 4.Matsue (opens in a new tab) — JNTO

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