Shimane Prefectural Library

A Library Facing the Castle Hill

The Shimane Prefectural Library (島根県立図書館) is a library designed by Kikutake Kiyonori of 1968 in Uchinakabaracho, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on June 24, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey building of reinforced concrete and partly steel, with a building area of 2,012 square metres; registration number 32-0212.

A Library that Looks to the Castle Park

The Shimane Prefectural Library, designed by Kikutake Kiyonori, is a two-storey building of reinforced concrete and partly steel, owned by Shimane Prefecture (Agency for Cultural Affairs). L-shaped reading-room modules are laid out to fit the site, and a steel roof spans the central lobby, which holds exhibition and rest areas, a rational plan.

The outer wall-columns are lined up to face Matsue Castle Park on the hill, keeping the view open (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency values its rational plan and the wall-columns aligned to keep the view to the castle park, and registered it as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the outer wall-columns lined up towards the castle park and the steel-roofed central lobby (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Shimane Prefecture and open as the prefectural library (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the library, it is open from 9:00 to 19:00 Tuesday to Friday from March to October, 9:00 to 18:00 Tuesday to Friday from November to February, and 9:00 to 17:00 at weekends and on holidays; it is closed on Mondays, the first Thursday of each month and over the New Year.