Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguchi Prefecture to the southwest, Hiroshima Prefecture to the south, and Tottori Prefecture to the east. Matsue is the capital and largest city of Shimane Prefecture, with other major cities including Izumo , Hamada , and Masuda. The history of Shimane starts with Japanese mythology. Izumo Shrine, which is in the city of Izumo , honors the god. During the Nara period , Kakinomoto no Hitomaro read a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governor.
Emperor Go-Daigo later escaped away from Oki and began rallying supporters against the shogunate, which succeeded. During the Muromachi period , Izumo and Oki were controlled by the Kyogoku clan. The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was located between Amago territory and Masuda territory, so there were many battles between these clans for the silver.
Following the change, Horio Yoshiharu decided to move to build Matsue Castle instead of Gassan-Toda, and soon after Yoshiharu's death the castle was completed. Later in , the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu , Matsudaira Naomasa became the ruler because the Horio clan had no heir, and his family ruled until the abolition of the han system.
The Iwami area was split into three regions: the mining district, under the direct control of the Shogunate, the Hamada clan region, and the Tsuwano clan region.
The Hamada clan was on the shogunate's side in the Meiji Restoration , and the castle was burned down. The Tsuwano clan, despite then being ruled by the Matsudaira, was on the emperor's side in the restoration. In , the abolition of the han system placed the old Shimane and Hamada Provinces in the current area of Shimane Prefecture. Later that year, Oki became part of Tottori.
