Matsue

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 center of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area, which has a population of approximately 600,000 in 2020. The Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area is the fourth largest on the Sea of Japan coast after Niigata, Greater Kanazawa, and Fukui.{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723122235/http://www.cgr.mlit.go.jp/kurayoshi/road/douroseibibennkyoukai/pdf/r021120_3_kennikigaiyou.pdf |date=July 23, 2023 |title=中海・宍道湖圏域の概要}}

Matsue has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) 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 {{convert|15.2|C}}. The average annual rainfall is {{cvt|1791.9|mm}} with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around {{convert|27.1|C}}, and lowest in January, at around {{convert|4.6|C}}. The highest temperature ever recorded in Matsue was {{cvt|38.5|C}} on 1 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was {{cvt|-8.7|C}} on 19 February 1977.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|location = Matsue (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1940−present)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|Jan record high C = 20.6

|Feb record high C = 24.7

|Mar record high C = 27.4

|Apr record high C = 30.7

|May record high C = 32.4

|Jun record high C = 35.1

|Jul record high C = 37.2

|Aug record high C = 38.5

|Sep record high C = 36.1

|Oct record high C = 32.1

|Nov record high C = 28.1

|Dec record high C = 23.4

|Jan record low C = -6.9

|Feb record low C = -8.7

|Mar record low C = -4.7

|Apr record low C = -2.1

|May record low C = 2.4

|Jun record low C = 7.8

|Jul record low C = 12.9

|Aug record low C = 15.3

|Sep record low C = 7.9

|Oct record low C = 1.6

|Nov record low C = -2.4

|Dec record low C = -7.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 153.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 118.4

|Mar precipitation mm = 134.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 113.0

|May precipitation mm = 130.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 173.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 234.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 129.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 204.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 126.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 121.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 154.5

|year precipitation mm = 1791.9

|Jan mean C = 4.6

|Feb mean C = 5.0

|Mar mean C = 8.0

|Apr mean C = 13.1

|May mean C = 18.0

|Jun mean C = 21.7

|Jul mean C = 25.8

|Aug mean C = 27.1

|Sep mean C = 22.9

|Oct mean C = 17.4

|Nov mean C = 12.0

|Dec mean C = 7.0

|year mean C = 15.2

|Jan high C = 8.3

|Feb high C = 9.4

|Mar high C = 13.1

|Apr high C = 18.5

|May high C = 23.2

|Jun high C = 26.2

|Jul high C = 29.8

|Aug high C = 31.6

|Sep high C = 27.1

|Oct high C = 22.0

|Nov high C = 16.5

|Dec high C = 10.9

|year high C = 19.7

|Jan low C = 1.5

|Feb low C = 1.3

|Mar low C = 3.6

|Apr low C = 8.2

|May low C = 13.5

|Jun low C = 18.2

|Jul low C = 22.8

|Aug low C = 23.8

|Sep low C = 19.6

|Oct low C = 13.4

|Nov low C = 8.0

|Dec low C = 3.6

|year low C = 11.4

|Jan humidity = 76

|Feb humidity = 74

|Mar humidity = 72

|Apr humidity = 70

|May humidity = 71

|Jun humidity = 78

|Jul humidity = 80

|Aug humidity = 77

|Sep humidity = 79

|Oct humidity = 76

|Nov humidity = 76

|Dec humidity = 76

|year humidity = 75

|Jan sun = 67.4

|Feb sun = 88.6

|Mar sun = 140.5

|Apr sun = 182.4

|May sun = 206.5

|Jun sun = 157.1

|Jul sun = 168.6

|Aug sun = 201.0

|Sep sun = 146.2

|Oct sun = 154.4

|Nov sun = 113.8

|Dec sun = 78.8

|year sun = 1705.2

|Jan snow cm = 28

|Feb snow cm = 25

|Mar snow cm = 6

|Apr snow cm = 0

|May snow cm = 0

|Jun snow cm = 0

|Jul snow cm = 0

|Aug snow cm = 0

|Sep snow cm = 0

|Oct snow cm = 0

|Nov snow cm = 0

|Dec snow cm = 11

|year snow cm = 68

|unit precipitation days = 0.5 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 21.1

|Feb precipitation days = 16.9

|Mar precipitation days = 15.0

|Apr precipitation days = 11.6

|May precipitation days = 10.4

|Jun precipitation days = 12.0

|Jul precipitation days = 12.7

|Aug precipitation days = 10.6

|Sep precipitation days = 12.6

|Oct precipitation days = 12.0

|Nov precipitation days = 14.9

|Dec precipitation days = 19.8

|year precipitation days = 169.7

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=68&block_no=47741&year=&month=&day=&view=

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency

| access-date = May 19, 2021}}

}}

{{Weather box|width=auto

|location = Kashima, Matsue (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1978−present)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|Jan record high C = 19.3

|Feb record high C = 22.7

|Mar record high C = 26.8

|Apr record high C = 29.3

|May record high C = 31.8

|Jun record high C = 35.1

|Jul record high C = 36.8

|Aug record high C = 37.5

|Sep record high C = 35.8

|Oct record high C = 31.7

|Nov record high C = 27.4

|Dec record high C = 22.2

|Jan record low C = -6.6

|Feb record low C = -9.9

|Mar record low C = -4.5

|Apr record low C = -2.3

|May record low C = 2.5

|Jun record low C = 9.1

|Jul record low C = 12.3

|Aug record low C = 14.7

|Sep record low C = 7.3

|Oct record low C = 3.0

|Nov record low C = -0.8

|Dec record low C = -3.5

|Jan high C = 8.3

|Feb high C = 9.1

|Mar high C = 12.5

|Apr high C = 17.8

|May high C = 22.5

|Jun high C = 25.6

|Jul high C = 29.1

|Aug high C = 30.7

|Sep high C = 26.7

|Oct high C = 21.8

|Nov high C = 16.5

|Dec high C = 11.1

|Jan mean C = 4.8

|Feb mean C = 5.0

|Mar mean C = 7.7

|Apr mean C = 12.5

|May mean C = 17.4

|Jun mean C = 21.1

|Jul mean C = 25.1

|Aug mean C = 26.3

|Sep mean C = 22.3

|Oct mean C = 16.9

|Nov mean C = 11.8

|Dec mean C = 7.1

|Jan low C = 1.3

|Feb low C = 0.9

|Mar low C = 2.6

|Apr low C = 6.9

|May low C = 12.3

|Jun low C = 17.3

|Jul low C = 21.8

|Aug low C = 22.6

|Sep low C = 18.4

|Oct low C = 12.3

|Nov low C = 7.4

|Dec low C = 3.4

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 143.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 108.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 124.9

|Apr precipitation mm = 105.6

|May precipitation mm = 121.5

|Jun precipitation mm = 166.9

|Jul precipitation mm = 224.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 136.4

|Sep precipitation mm = 198.9

|Oct precipitation mm = 122.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 131.8

|Dec precipitation mm = 157.7

|year precipitation mm = 1742.8

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 18.4

|Feb precipitation days = 14.4

|Mar precipitation days = 13.2

|Apr precipitation days = 9.8

|May precipitation days = 9.1

|Jun precipitation days = 10.7

|Jul precipitation days = 11.8

|Aug precipitation days = 9.5

|Sep precipitation days = 11.5

|Oct precipitation days = 10.6

|Nov precipitation days = 13.4

|Dec precipitation days = 17.9

|Jan sun = 55.8

|Feb sun = 81.0

|Mar sun = 142.1

|Apr sun = 192.4

|May sun = 215.8

|Jun sun = 163.8

|Jul sun = 181.6

|Aug sun = 214.9

|Sep sun = 156.9

|Oct sun = 157.8

|Nov sun = 105.8

|Dec sun = 67.1

|year sun = 1735.1

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=68&block_no=0693&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = April 26, 2022}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=68&block_no=0693&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = April 26, 2022}}}}

Per Japanese census data, the population of Matsue in 2020 is 203,616 people. Matsue has been conducting censuses since 1920.

{{Historical populations

| 1920 | 118138

| 1925 | 122592

| 1930 | 129262

| 1935 | 135250

| 1940 | 134221

| 1945 | 154617

| 1950 | 159374

| 1955 | 166907

| 1960 | 168375

| 1965 | 169153

| 1970 | 175399

| 1975 | 184157

| 1980 | 194173

| 1985 | 201026

| 1990 | 203298

| 1995 | 206718

| 2000 | 211564

| 2005 | 210796

| 2010 | 207682

| 2015 | 206230

| 2020 | 203616

|align = none

|cols=3

| footnote = Matsue population statistics[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/japan/shimane/ Matsue population statistics]

}}

{{stack|File:Matsue view from matsue castle - 2019 1 4.webm, 2019]]}}

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).https://fumaikou.jp/about {{Dead link|date=March 2022}} 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.

• 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.{{Cite web |title=島根県：市町村合併（トップ / 県政・統計 / 市町村情報 / 市町村情報 / 市町村合併） |url=https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/admin/sichoson/sichoson_info/gappei/ |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Shima Prefectural Government}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jK33qQjYcQ4C |title=住民基本台帳人口移動報告年報 |date=2005 |publisher=総務庁統計局 |pages=146 |language=ja |trans-title=Annual Report on Population Movement in the Basic Resident Register |quote=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.}}

• August 1, 2011: the town of Higashiizumo (also from Yatsuka District) was merged into Matsue.{{cite web |url=http://www.sanin-chuo.co.jp/news/modules/news/article.php?storyid=523566006 |script-title=ja:松江市が人口「最下位」を返上 |publisher=Sanin-Chūō Shimbun |language=ja |access-date=2011-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224233713/http://www.sanin-chuo.co.jp/news/modules/news/article.php?storyid=523566006 |archive-date=2010-12-24 |url-status=dead }}
• April 1, 2018: Matsue became a Core city with increased local autonomy

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.

Matsue is a major regional commercial center 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.

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

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.

File:JR logo (west).svg JR West (JR West) - San'in Main Line

• {{STN|Shinji|x}} - {{STN|Kimachi|x}} - {{STN|Tamatsukuri-Onsen|x}} - {{STN|Nogi|x|Shimane}} - {{STN|Matsue|x}} - {{STN|Higashi-Matsue|x|Shimane}} - {{STN|Iya|x}}

File:JR logo (west).svg JR West (JR West) - Kisuki Line

• {{STN|Shinji|x}} - {{STN|Minami Shinji|x}}

20px Ichibata Electric Railway (Bataden) - Kita-Matsue Line

• {{STN|Tsunomori|x}} - {{STN|Takanomiya|x}} - {{STN|Matsue Vogel Park|x}} - {{STN|Aikamachi|x}} - {{STN|Nagae|x}} - {{STN|Asahigaoka|x|Shimane}} - {{STN|Matsue English Garden Mae|x}} - {{STN|Matsue-Shinjiko-Onsen|x}}

• File:JP Expressway E74.svg Hamada Expressway
• File:JP Expressway E54.svg Matsue Expressway
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|9}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|54}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|431}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|432}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|485}}

Matsue's sister cities are:{{Cite web|url=http://www1.city.matsue.shimane.jp/shisei/kouikirenkei/kaigai/|title = 松江市:市政情報:海外の姉妹都市}}

• {{flagdeco|USA}} New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, 1990 (commenced)/1994 (official agreement)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Jilin City, Jilin, China, 1995 (commenced)/1999 (official agreement)
• {{flagdeco|KOR}} Jinju, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, 1999 (official agreement)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 1994 (commenced)/2003 (official agreement)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Yinchuan, Ningxia, China, 1994 (commenced)/2004 (official agreement)

Although not an official friendship city of Matsue, there has been ongoing exchange with Dublin, Ireland since 1988 when former mayor Nakamura Yoshijirō visited the city.{{Cite web|url=http://www1.city.matsue.shimane.jp/shisei/kouikirenkei/kaigai/airuranndo/ailland.html|title = 松江市:市政情報:アイルランド}}

• {{flagicon|JPN}} Ōguchi, Aichi
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Onomichi, Hiroshima
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Suzu, Ishikawa
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Takarazuka, Hyōgo

• Gesshō-ji, a Buddhist temple known for its hydrangeas and large stone turtle.
• Izumo Kokubun-ji ruins, a National Historic Site.{{cite web |url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/401/2149 |title=Izumo Kokunbunji |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs |access-date=31 January 2012}}
• Kamosu Jinja
• Kumano Taisha, ichinomiya of Izumo Province

• 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.
• 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".
• Miho Jinja
• 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00412 |title=Sada Shin Noh, sacred dancing at Sada shrine, Shimane |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=31 January 2012}}
• Shimane Art Museum
• Tamatsukuri Onsen
• Tanabe Art Museum
• Yaegaki Jinja

Various traditional festivals are still held, such as Dōgyōretsu, a drum parade held annually on the third Sunday of October,{{Cite web | url=http://www.dogyoretsu.jp/history | title=松江市鼕行列保存会 - 鼕と鼕行列の歴史 }} and Hōranenya, one of Japan's top three boat festivals that is held only once every 10 years (most recently in May 2019).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASJB0400F_U0A800C1LCA000/|title=松江の船神事「ホーランエンヤ」 開催周期10年に短縮|date=5 August 2010}}

• Mari Funaki, Australian jeweller
• Hiroyuki Hosoda, politician
• Takashi Nagai, physician, Catholic writer
• Kei Nishikori (b. 1989), tennis player, was born in Matsue.
• Wakatsuki Reijirō, former Prime Minister
• Shirō Sano, actor

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Matsue, Shimane}}

{{Wikivoyage|Matsue}}

• [http://www.city.matsue.shimane.jp/ Matsue City official website] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160813120805/http://www.visit-matsue.com/ Official tourism page]
• [https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5800.html Matsue at Japan Guide]

{{Shimane}}

{{Metropolitan cities of Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Shimane Prefecture

Category:Populated coastal places in Japan