Matsue capital of Shimane Prefecture, western Honshû, on Lake Shinji. A castle town during the Edo period (1600-1868), Matsue famous places are Fudoki no Oka Park, the temple Kokubunji, Matsue Castle, the temple Gesshôji, Kanden'an, an 18th-century tea house, the Koizumi Yakumo Kinenkan and a museum in honor of Lafcadio Hearn, who lived in Matsue. Lafcadio Hearn, a Greek-Irish-American who became a naturalized Japanese citizen, did the most to bring Matsue to the attention of the world. Hearn is perhaps the best-known ... (more)