Iinan Town

A tablet found inside dated it to 1326.

Hachiman Triad, Akana Hachimangū

Photo by Ihimutefu (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ The Great Shimenawa of Izumo Taisha

The great shimenawa at Izumo Taisha's Kagura Hallis still twisted by hand in Tonbara.

The giant sacred rope hanging at the Kagura Hall of Izumo Taisha, in the city of Izumo, is made by the Iinan Town Shimenawa Cooperative in the Tonbara (頓原) district. Grown on dedicated rice-straw fields, it was rehung in July 2026 for the first time in eight years. It measures 13.5m long and weighs 4.7 tons.

13.5m long, 4.7 tons
Rehung and dedicated on July 21, 2026
Called Japan's largest shimenawa

02 ／ Akana Wetland Plant Community

The prefecture's first nature reserveis a marsh of alder trees.

Centered on Nagao Pond in Shimo-Akana, the wetland holds Shimane's largest alder forest. Designated in 1977, it was the prefecture's first nature conservation area. Three protected animal species, including the tiny hatchōtonbo dragonfly, and 21 protected plant species, including bogbean, live here.

1977: Shimane's first nature conservation area
The prefecture's largest alder forest
3 protected animal species, 21 protected plant species

03 ／ Akana-Setoyama Castle Ruins

On a mountain where Bingo, Iwami, and Izumo meet,the Akana clan is said to have built a castle.

Akana-Setoyama Castle stood atop a 631m peak with a 175m rise. In 1377, Sawa Tsunetsura is said to have taken the Akana domain, adopted the Akana name, and built the castle here. Counted among the Amago clan's Ten Banner Castles, it is now a park where stone walls, earthworks, and moats remain.

631m elevation (175m rise)
Said to have been built in 1377
One of the Amago clan's Ten Banner Castles

Living here

Nine-tenths of the town is forest.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

Iinan lies among the mountains near the center of the Chugoku range in Shimane Prefecture. Forest covers about nine-tenths of its 242.88 square kilometers. The town was formed in 2005 from the merger of Tonbara (頓原) and Akagi (赤来). With no train station, community buses carry residents. Iinan is also known for the Akana Botan-en peony garden and Iinan paprika.

People living here: 4,577people
Area: 242.88km²
Households: 1,769households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 6 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —4 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Iinan Town in Japan35.000°N 132.714°E

Territory of Iinan Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

25.1km

Shimane Prefecture: 美郷町, 雲南市, 大田市, 出雲市
Hiroshima Prefecture: 庄原市, 三次市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Iinan Town isthis kind of town.

01Iinan is a mountain town known for the wooden Hachiman Triad at Akana Hachimangū Shrine, a National Important Cultural Property. Made in 1326, the statues' maker and date were learned from a wooden tablet found inside them.
02The great shimenawa hanging at Izumo Taisha's Kagura Hall, in the city of Izumo, is still twisted here by the Iinan Town Shimenawa Cooperative; it was rehung and dedicated in July 2026 for the first time in eight years.
03Also here are Akana Wetland, Shimane's first nature conservation area, and Akana-Setoyama Castle Ruins, said to have been the Akana clan's mountain stronghold.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Iinan Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗