Matsue

is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. , the city had an estimated population of 196,748 in 91287 households and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Matsue is home to the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle, one of the last surviving feudal castles in Japan. Geography Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, between Lake Shinji and Nakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though the city proper reaches the Sea of Japan coast. Matsue is the center of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area, which has a population of approximately 600,000 in 2020. The Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area is the fourth largest on the Sea of Japan coast after Niigata, Greater Kanazawa, and Fukui. Climate Matsue has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, and is somewhat heavier in June, July and September. The average annual temperature in Matsue is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Matsue was on 1 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 19 February 1977. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Matsue in 2020 is 203,616 people. Matsue has been conducting censuses since 1920.