Tottori Prefecture

Tottori Prefecture sits in the Chūgoku region on the island of Honshu. It is Japan’s least populous prefecture, with 538,525 residents as of 2023, and spans 3,507.13 square kilometers. Its capital and largest city is Tottori; other major cities include Yonago, Kurayoshi, and Sakaiminato. The prefecture is known for the Tottori Sand Dunes—Japan’s largest dune system—and Mount Daisen, the highest peak in the Chūgoku Mountains. It shares borders with Shimane to the west, Hiroshima to the southwest, Okayama to the south, and Hyōgo to the east. Despite its small population, Tottori households consume more coffee per household than any other prefecture in Japan.

The name “Tottori” comes from two kanji: 鳥 (bird) and 取 (to get). Early residents caught abundant waterfowl in the area. The name first appears in the *Nihon shoki* in 213 AD, during Emperor Suinin’s 23rd year. An elder from Izumo, Yukuha Tana, presented a swan to the emperor. The imperial prince Homatsu-wake, then 30 years old and unable to speak, played with the swan and learned to talk. Yukuha Tana was richly rewarded and granted the title Tottori no Miyakko.

Human settlement in Tottori dates back to the Jōmon period (14,000–300 BC). The prefecture holds the largest known Yayoi-period settlement (300 BC–250 AD) in Japan: the Mukibanda Yayoi remains, in the foothills of Mount Daisen across the cities of Daisen and Yonago. Numerous kofun burial mounds from the Kofun period (250–538) dot the landscape. In 645, under the Taika reforms, the area became two provinces: Hōki and Inaba.

During the Genpei War (1180–1185), Tottori served as a base for anti-Taira forces, particularly at the temples Daisen-ji and Sanbutsu-ji. By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), shōen estates were established to support the imperial court and temples. In the Sengoku period (15th–17th centuries), clans such as the Yamana controlled the region. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Tokugawa shogunate placed the Ikeda clan at Tottori Castle, and they governed the area throughout the Edo period (1603–1868), using its resources to support the shogunate.

The two provinces remained until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Tottori Prefecture’s boundaries were set in 1888. In the 20th century, after Japan’s occupation of Korea and Taiwan and the establishment of Manchukuo in 1932, Tottori’s Sea of Japan harbors became busy transit points for goods with colonial territories. In 1943, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake—the Tottori earthquake—destroyed 80% of Tottori city and heavily damaged the surrounding area. After World War II, land reform boosted agricultural production.

Tottori Sand Dunes are Japan’s only large dune system. As of April 2012, 14% of the prefecture’s land was designated as natural parks: Daisen-Oki and Sanin Kaigan National Parks; Hiba-Dōgo-Taishaku and Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Parks; and Misasa-Tōgōko, Nishi Inaba, and Okuhino Prefectural Natural Parks. Mount Misumi lies in the former town of Mochigase, merged into Tottori city in 2004.

Four cities make up the prefecture: Tottori, Yonago, Kurayoshi, and Sakaiminato. Towns and villages are organized into districts. Tottori remains Japan’s least populated prefecture by census data.

The economy is heavily agricultural, shipping products like nashi pears, nagaimo yams, Japanese scallions, negi, and watermelons to major cities. It is also a major rice producer.

Historically, the region had diverse dialects. Today, standard Tokyo Japanese is common, but several local dialects survive, grouped with Western Japanese, including Chugoku and Umpaku dialects.

Sports: Gainare Tottori (football/soccer) is based in Yonago.

Education: Universities include Tottori University and Tottori University of Environmental Studies. Colleges include Tottori College and Tottori College of Nursing.

Notable places: In Tottori City—Jinpūkaku (a late Meiji residence) and the Tottori Sand Dunes. In Daisen—Mount Daisen (1,729 m). In Daisen and Yonago—the Mukibanda Yayoi remains. In Yonago and Sakaiminato—Nakaumi, a brackish lake and Japan’s fifth largest. In Misasa—Misasa Onsen and Sanbutsu-ji (a Heian-period temple, National Treasure). In Sakaiminato—Kitarō Road (dedicated to Shigeru Mizuki’s *GeGeGe no Kitaro* manga) and Lake Koyama. In Iwami—Uradome Coast, a scenic ria inlet. In Chizu—the Ishitani Residence, an Edo-period family home and National Treasure.