The city of Tottori is located in the east of the prefecture at the foot of theChūgoku Mountains at the mouth of theSendai River. While it is about 300 km by road toHiroshima city, which is the regional hub of the Chūgoku region, it is only 180 km fromKobe, 190 km fromOsaka, and 220 km fromKyoto. Within Japan the city is best known for theTottori Sand Dunes which are a popular tourist attraction, drawing visitors from outside the prefecture. The sand dunes are also important as a centre for research into arid agriculture, hostingTottori University's Arid Land Research Center.
Tottori is part of ancientInaba Province, and the place name "Tottori" can be found in the earlyHeian periodWamyō Ruijushō.Tottori Castle was completed in 1545 and the surroundingcastle town forms the core of the modern city. During theEdo period, Tottori was the seat of a branch of theIkeda clan, which ruledTottori Domain. Following theMeiji restoration, Tottori was incorporated as a city on October 1, 1889, with the implementation of the modern municipalities system.
Most of the downtown area was destroyed by theTottori earthquake of September 10, 1943, which killed over 1000 people, and much of the rebuilt city was destroyed again in the Great Tottori Fire of April 17, 1952. In the 1950s, and again in 2004, redistricting ("gappei") of the city's borders increased its size to include a number of surrounding areas. On November 1, 2004, the town ofKokufu, the village ofFukube (both fromIwami District), the towns ofAoya,Ketaka andShikano (all fromKetaka District), the towns ofKawahara andMochigase and the village ofSaji (all fromYazu District) were merged into Tottori.[7] Ketaka District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
Tottori gainedspecial city status on October 1, 2005, with an increased local autonomy. The2016 Tottori earthquake caused moderate damage and several injuries, but no fatalities.
Tottori has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 32 members. Tottori contributes 12 members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part ofTottori 1st district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
As the administrative center of Tottori Prefecture, the city of Tottori is the regional center for commerce. Agricultural products include rice and Tottori is also famous for its production ofscallions.
Tottori City has two universities. The main campus ofTottori University, a national public university, is located next to Koyama Lake on the west end of the city. The privately fundedTottori University of Environmental Studies is located in the south-eastern part of Tottori city, near the town ofYazu. These two universities are not to be confused with the 2-year junior college in the prefecture,Tottori College, which is located in the central city ofKurayoshi.
Tottori has 39 public elementary schools operated by the city government, and one by the national government. It has 13 public middle schools operated by the city government, one by the national government and one private middle school. The city has seven public high schools operated by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education, and four private high schools. The prefecture also operates four special education schools for the handicapped and there is one more special education school operated by the national government.
The city's main street (Wakasa, or "youngcherry blossom" street) runs north from the station and terminates at the foot of the Kyushouzan ("eternal pine") mountain. Around this mountain lies the oldest part of the city. Its centre is the now ruinedTottori Castle, once the property of theIkeda clandaimyō who ruled theTottori Domain during theEdo period. It is open to the public, and is the site of the Castle Festival in autumn each year. In the vicinity are temples, museums, and public parks. The city also hosts the prefecturally famousShan-shan festival in the summer, which features teams of people dressing up and dancing with large umbrellas; the name 'Shan-shan' is said to come from the sound made by the small bells and pieces of metal attached to the umbrellas, which are very large. An exceptionally big example of a Shan-shan umbrella graces the main foyer of Tottori Station.
At the beginning of every summer, Tottori is host to one of the biggest beach parties in the country, the San In Beach Party. The event lasts an entire weekend and some top names on the national DJ circuit are invited to perform.
TheWatanabe Art museum (渡辺美術館,Watanabe Bijutsukan) is the largest collection of armour and weapons in Japan. It is a mixture of historical art, modern art and historical artifacts. While the initial part of the collection is art focussed the main body of the museums is devoted to a large number of swords, yumi, other weapons and samurai armour. There is also a wide range of historical artifacts, many found in archaeological digs in the Tottori area.
It was established in 1978 in order to display and make available the collection, which numbers over 30,000 items, including over 200 sets of armour.[8]
The museum is dedicated to the high-profile Detective Conan manga, which is a mange story originating from Tottori. The museum is devoted to the detective Conan story near Yura, near Tottori. The museum shows items from the artist, and has original drafts of the manga.
The Tottori City Historical Museum (鳥取市歴史博物館, Tottori-shi Rekishi Hakubutsukan) opened in Tottori, Japan, in 2000 and is dedicated to the cities history.
The Tottori Folk Crafts Museum opened in Tottori, Japan, in 1949. It was established as the Tottori Mingeikan by Yoshida Shōya (吉田璋也), local advocate of the mingei folk craft movement, who formed a craft guild in 1931 and opened the craft shop "Takumi" in the city the following year. In 1933, Yoshida opened a shop by the same name in Tokyo's Ginza district. Both shops are still in operation as of 2023.
The Tottori Prefectural Museum (鳥取県立博物館, Tottori Kenritsu Hakubutsukan) is the prefectural museum of Tottori, Japan, dedicated to the nature, history, folklore, and art of the region. It holds over three thousand items from the permanent collection.
An indoor exhibition centre dedicated to sand sculptures. The Museum regularly hosts guest artists who make sand sculptures for display. The yearly exhibits start in April and lasts until January of the following year. The sand sculptures are then deliberately removed to make space for new exhibits. The chief sculptor for the museums is Katsuhiko Chaen. The sand is sourced from a road building project.
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