Matsushima, Island group in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Matsushima is a collection of around 260 forested islands scattered across the bay of the same name in Miyagi Prefecture. The islands rise in different sizes from the calm water and form a maze of rock formations, narrow passages and small coves.

The bay's drowned-valley landscape results from repeated uplift and subsidence along the Nagamachi-Rifu fault line from the Pliocene through the late Pleistocene, leaving hilltops as islands. Matsushima gained fame as a scenic site only after the Date clan of Sendai Domain protected and improved it in the Edo period. The haiku poet Ōyodo Mikikaze, a native of Ise, stayed on Ojima from 1669 to 1687 and compiled the Matsushima Tōbōshū in 1682.

The name Matsushima means Pine Island and refers to the black pines growing on the rocky formations that shape the bay's appearance. Visitors today still see the same trees and coastline that have inspired painters and poets for centuries.

Tour boats go out into the bay and allow visitors to see the islands up close, with the journey taking about an hour depending on weather conditions. On clear days a wide view over the entire island group can be seen from the shore or from raised points along the coast.

The islands are often called the "808 islands", yet no exact count exists: Edo-period records list 92, a 1910 park outline over 240, and the coast guard 128. A survey around the Showa 40s settled on over 260 as the official figure. In 1970 a storm made Arasaki Island in Shiogama disappear overnight.