Shimane Prefectural Library

A Library Born of a Long Tradition

The institution itself is far older than the building that now houses it. The Shimane Prefectural Matsue Book Viewing Hall (Matsue Shoseki Jūranjo) opened in 1873, making it one of the oldest publicly funded libraries in Japan. Through various reorganizations it became a private library in 1899, then the Prefectural Matsue Library in 1946, and was finally renamed the Shimane Prefectural Library in 1950.

For many years, the library occupied a site within the grounds of Matsue Castle. In 1966, the prefecture acquired the former grounds of the Matsue Prison, which had just been relocated to the outskirts of the city. The land, which had originally served as a medicinal herb garden of the Matsue domain, sits directly across the castle moat from the main keep. It was on this deeply layered historical site that the new library building rose in October 1968.

The Architect: Kiyonori Kikutake

The choice of designer was significant. Kiyonori Kikutake (1928–2011) was already an internationally recognized figure by the mid-1960s. As a founding member of the Metabolism movement, he had proposed visionary ideas such as floating cities and buildings that grew and renewed themselves like living organisms. His private house, Sky House (1958), and the Expo Tower for Expo '70 in Osaka remain icons of postwar Japanese design.

Kikutake had a particularly close relationship with Shimane. Over several decades he designed a remarkable sequence of buildings in the prefecture, including the former Shimane Prefectural Museum (1958), the old Izumo Taisha Administration Hall (1963), the Prefectural Martial Arts Hall (1970), the Tabe Museum of Art (1979), and, finally, the Shimane Art Museum on the shore of Lake Shinji (1999). The Prefectural Library sits at the heart of this San'in series, representing some of his most refined thinking on how a modern building could converse with a traditional Japanese city.

Why It Was Registered as a Cultural Property

On June 24, 2021, the Shimane Prefectural Library was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties. The designation recognized both its architectural quality and its importance as a rare surviving example of Kikutake's mid-career civic work. The official description highlights three features in particular: the L-shaped reading-room modules arranged to match the shape of the site, the central lobby covered by a bold steel roof and used for exhibitions and rest spaces, and the careful alignment of the exterior wall-columns so that sight-lines open outward toward Matsue Castle Park.

In other words, this is a building valued not only for what it looks like, but for the intelligence of its plan. The L-shaped units repeat and step back along the moat in a pattern that Japanese critics have compared to the kagyō-gata (stepped) layout of Katsura Imperial Villa—a rhyme between the newest architectural thinking and the most refined traditional one. The building also received the Japan Institute of Architects' 25-Year Award in 2013, recognizing works that have stood the test of time with their value undiminished.

Highlights: What to Look For Inside and Out

Visitors are welcome to enter freely during opening hours. Because this is still a working public library, many of the building's most striking features can be enjoyed simply by walking through the public spaces.

Visiting the Library

The Shimane Prefectural Library is a functioning public library, and travelers are welcome to step inside to see the interior for themselves. Please remember that patrons are studying and reading, so quiet voices and respectful behavior are appreciated. Photography rules should be checked at the counter before taking pictures inside.

The building is located in central Matsue, about a 13-minute walk from Matsue Shinjiko-onsen Station on the Ichibata Electric Railway, and about 25–30 minutes on foot from JR Matsue Station. Local Lake-line or Matsue Lake Line buses stop nearby. On-site parking is available for visitors; the site is flat and easy to approach from the castle grounds.

Surrounding Attractions

One of the great pleasures of visiting this library is that it sits in the middle of one of Japan's best-preserved castle towns. Most of the following places are within a short walk:

• Matsue Castle — A national treasure and one of only twelve surviving original castle keeps in Japan.
• Matsue Castle Horikawa Moat Cruise — A gentle pleasure-boat ride that circles the castle along the historic moat, passing close to the library.
• Shiomi Nawate — A quiet street of preserved samurai residences lined with old pine trees, facing the northern moat.
• Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo) Memorial Museum and Former Residence — Dedicated to the Greek-Irish writer who helped introduce Japanese culture to the West.
• Matsue History Museum — An excellent introduction to the Edo-period history of the castle town.
• Shimane Art Museum — Kikutake's much later work, sitting on the shore of Lake Shinji, about 2 km south and famous for its sunset views.

A visit that combines Matsue Castle, the library, and the art museum makes a satisfying tour of more than four centuries of Japanese building traditions, all within a single day.