Matsue, the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, is located in the Chugoku Region in the western part of the main Japanese island of Honshu. There are about 140,000 people living in Matsue. Travel to Matsue takes 80 minutes by airplane and 5.5 hours by the Shinkansen (the bullet train) from Tokyo. Matsue is located along the Japan Sea coast and is close to two lakes, Chukai and Shinjiko.

Matsue is a very historical place. You can enjoy visiting Matsue Castle which is about 400 years old, Bukeyashiki (Samurai Residence) traceable to the Edo Era, and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum honoring one of the earliest and most prolific writers to reveal unfamiliar Japan to the West. Matsue is also the home of many shrines and temples.

People used to call Matsue “the Country of Izumo”, also known as the Country of God, where many historical shrines exist. The largest and most famous of these shrines is Izumo which deifies Ookuninushino Ookami.

Ookuninushino Ookami rules Kakuryo, the Kingdom of God where the souls of dead people exist. He is also named Daikoku Sama, known as the God of Commerce. Commerce refers in the broadest sense to the goal of connecting all people, societies and environments and bringing well-being to all.

Every year in October, all the Gods in Japan gather at the Izumo Shrine where they discuss connections mere mortals could never see. As the Gods have gone to Izumo and are thus absent from their original places in other prefectures, this season is called Kannazuki (the Month of no Gods). On the other hand, in Izumo, all the Gods gather together; therefore, this season is called Kamiarizuki (the Month of Gods).