Shimane Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chûgoku region on Honshû island. The capital is Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, next to the Tottori Prefecture that is a neighboring prefecture on the east side. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chûgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to the Sea of Japan on the north side. Most of the cities are near the shoreline of the Sea of Japan. There is Izumo Taisha in Izumo City, which 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).
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. 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 Honshû, the island of Oki is in Shimane prefecture as well. The island itself is in the Daisen-Oki National Park. Shimane also claims the use of Liancourt Rocks, which they are in dispute with South Korea.
Most major cities are located either on the seaside, or along a river. 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.
