Shimane島根県
Shimane-ken, しまねけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Shimane is on the San'in coast. Izumo Taisha shrine and the Oki Islands are here.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 島根県
- Reading
- Shimane-ken / しまねけん
- Region
- Chūgoku 中国
- Capital
- Matsue 松江市
- Population
- 671,126 (2020 census)
- Area
- 6,708 km²
- Density
- 100 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 19: 8 cities, 10 towns, and 1 village
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 5
- Codes
- JIS 32, ISO 3166-2 JP-32
- Website
- www.pref.shimane.lg.jp
- Tree
- black pine クロマツ
- Flower
- peony ボタン
- Bird
- swan ハクチョウ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matsue City松江市 | 203,616 | 572.99 | 30.3% |
| Izumo City出雲市 | 172,775 | 624.36 | 25.7% |
| Hamada City浜田市 | 54,592 | 690.68 | 8.1% |
| Masuda City益田市 | 45,003 | 733.19 | 6.7% |
| Yasugi City安来市 | 37,062 | 420.93 | 5.5% |
| Unnan City雲南市 | 36,007 | 553.18 | 5.4% |
| Oda City大田市 | 32,846 | 435.34 | 4.9% |
| Gotsu City江津市 | 22,959 | 268.24 | 3.4% |
| Okinoshima Town隠岐の島町 | 13,433 | 242.82 | 2.0% |
| Okuizumo Town奥出雲町 | 11,849 | 368.01 | 1.8% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 9 are listed below.
How an address here begins
島根県松江市…
Shimane-ken, Matsue-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Shimane市区町村
19 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Shimane
- What is the capital of Shimane?
- Matsue (松江市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 島根県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Shimane?
- 19: 8 cities, 10 towns, and 1 village. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into five districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Shimane?
- 671,126 at the 2020 census, on 6,708 km², which is 100 people per km². Shimane is the 46th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 19th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Shimane?
- Three prefectures: Tottori (鳥取県), Hiroshima (広島県), and Yamaguchi (山口県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Shimane in?
- Chūgoku (中国). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Shimane elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Shimane written in Japanese?
- 島根県, read Shimane-ken and written しまねけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Shimane begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 島根県松江市… (Shimane-ken, Matsue-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Shimane?
- Matsue City (松江市), with 203,616 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Matsue City (松江市, 203,616), Izumo City (出雲市, 172,775), and Hamada City (浜田市, 54,592).
- What are the symbols of Shimane?
- The prefectural tree is the black pine (クロマツ), the flower the peony (ボタン), and the bird the swan (ハクチョウ). Shimane chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.