Matsue is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, attractively located at the eastern shores of Lake Shinji (Shinjiko). Due to its location between Lake Shinji, Nakaumi (another lake) and the Sea of Japan, Matsue is also known as the "water city".
Matsue's attractions include its original castle and the former residence of Lafcadio Hearn. The city is also a good base to visit nearby Izumo Taisha, one of Japan's most important shrines and the Adachi Museum of Art with one of Japan's most beautiful landscape gardens.
The Adachi Museum of Art was founded by Adachi Zenko in 1980 as a way of combining his passions for Japanese art and garden design. He hoped that viewing the gardens and artwork together would expand peoples' appreciation and interest in Japanese art.
The Adachi Museum of Art is best known for its award winning garden. It has been named the best garden in Japan annually since 2003 by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. The garden can be enjoyed at anytime of the year and shows a different character depending on the season. It can only be viewed from the museum building.
In addition to the gardens, the Adachi Museum of Art also houses a collection of nearly 1300 twentieth century paintings and artworks which are rotated seasonally. There is also a permanent exhibit of paintings by Yokoyama Taikan, as well as a ceramics exhibit.
