1.
Izumo; the old province in eastern Shimane Prefecture
The historical province covering the eastern half of present-day Shimane Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast. In Japanese cultural reference it stands above all for 出雲大社, the grand shrine associated with 縁結び — the tying of romantic and other bonds — and for the myths collected in the 古事記.
In Izumo they call the tenth month kamiarizuki, 'the month with gods', rather than kannazuki.
Cultural note
Izumo is the country's best-known destination for 縁結び, so mentioning it in conversation often carries an implication about relationships. It is also the one place that inverts the name of the tenth lunar month: elsewhere it is 神無月, the month without gods, because the gods are believed to have gathered in Izumo — where the same month is therefore 神在月, the month with gods.
Common expressions
- 出雲大社: Izumo Grand Shrine
- 出雲そば: Izumo soba, a regional buckwheat noodle style
- 出雲神話: the Izumo myth cycle
- 出雲地方: the Izumo region
Note the reading: 出 + 雲, an old place-name reading that follows neither the on'yomi nor the ordinary kun'yomi of the two characters.