From top left: Kumano Taisha, Yaegaki Shrine,Miho Shrine,Matsue Castle,Lake Shinji (Yomegashima), Tamatsukuri hot springs, Mihonoseki Lighthouse, Night view of Matsue
Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, betweenLake Shinji andNakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though thecity proper reaches theSea of Japan coast. Matsue is the center of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumimetropolitan area, which has a population of approximately 600,000 in 2020. The Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area is the fourth largest on theSea of Japan coast afterNiigata, GreaterKanazawa, andFukui.[4]
Matsue has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, and is somewhat heavier in June, July and September. The average annual temperature in Matsue is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,791.9 mm (70.55 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.1 °C (80.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C (40.3 °F).[5] The highest temperature ever recorded in Matsue was 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on 1 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.7 °C (16.3 °F) on 19 February 1977.[5]
Climate data for Matsue (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1940−present)
Matsue is located within ancientIzumo Province and there are manyarchaeological sites from theYayoi,Kofuns andNara periods within the city borders. The area was also the stronghold of theAmago clan during theSengoku period.The present-daycastle town of Matsue was originally established byHorio 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 ofMatsue Domain under theTokugawa shogunate until theMeiji 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 servedOda Nobunaga andToyotomi Hideyoshi. Takatsugu's son Tadataka married the 4th daughter of Hidetada, Hatsu. He served in theBattle 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 theMatsudaira clan. Naomasa was the third son ofTokugawa Hideyasu. Hideyasu, daimyō ofEchizen Province, himself was the second son ofTokugawa 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 laterMatsumoto inShinano 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 theEdo period. Overall, ten Matsudairadaimyō ruled Matsue. The most famous after the first (Matsudaira Naomasa) is the seventh,Matsudaira Harusato, more commonly referred to as Fumai (不昧公).[9] He revolutionized the administrative system of the Matsue clan which was in financial difficulties and put it back on its feet. He invested inmulberry bushes and promoted special foods likeshijimi clams that were a delicacy in Matsue. Harusato was a great enthusiast ofJapanese tea ceremony. Because his influence onwagashi, Japanese sweets for the tea ceremony from Matsue are famous, especially one calledwakakusa.
Matsue has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 34 members. Matsue conributes 11 members to the Shimane Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of theShimane 1st district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
Matsue is a major regional commercial center and as one of the base cities of theSan'in region, and along withYonago, 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.
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.
Although not an official friendship city of Matsue, there has been ongoing exchange withDublin,Ireland since 1988 when former mayor Nakamura Yoshijirō visited the city.[14]
Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, dedicated to the authorLafcadio Hearn, who taught in Matsue from 1890–1891. Throughout the city there are monuments and landmarks honouring Hearn.
Matsue Castle, 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".
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 theUNESCORepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[16]
Various traditional festivals are still held, such as Dōgyōretsu, a drum parade held annually on the third Sunday of October,[17] and Hōranenya, one of Japan's top three boat festivals that is held only once every 10 years (most recently in May 2019).[18]
^住民基本台帳人口移動報告年報 [Annual Report on Population Movement in the Basic Resident Register] (in Japanese). 総務庁統計局. 2005. p. 146.Matsue-shi, Kashima-cho, Shimane-cho, Mihonoseki-cho, Yakumo-mura, Tamayu-cho, Shinji-cho and Yatsuka-cho were incorporated into a newly established Matsue-shi as of March 31, 2005.
^松江市が人口「最下位」を返上 (in Japanese). Sanin-Chūō Shimbun. Archived fromthe original on 2010-12-24. Retrieved2011-03-21.
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