Yonago


Yonago is a city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 146,139 in 68,534 households and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is. It is the prefecture's second largest city after Tottori, and forms a commercial center of the western part of the prefecture.
WWW Official Site𝕏 yonago_cityFB Yonago.city

Geography

Yonago is in far western Tottori Prefecture, and faces the Sea of Japan to the north and Lake Nakaumi to the northwest. It is adjacent to Shimane Prefecture and across the lake from its capital of Matsue. The city limits are mostly flat, and the Hino River flows through the Yonago Plain. The southern part is a hilly area at the foot of Mount Daisen, and the mountainous area can be seen from the Yumigahama Peninsula in the northwest. The irrigation canal "Yonekawa" runs from Yonago City to Sakaiminato City as an intake of water from the Hino River.

Surrounding municipalities

Tottori Prefecture
Shimane Prefecture

Climate

Yonago has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, with July and September being particularly wet months.

Demography

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yonago has been slowly growing since the 1950s as follows.

Etymology

The name of Yonago in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first,, means "rice", and the second, means "child".

History

The area of Yonago was part of ancient Hōki Province. Per the Kojiki, the tomb of the creator kami Izanami is located on the border of Yonago with neighboring Izumo Province, and many Yayoi period and Kofun period remains have been found within city limits.
In the early Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate appointed Nakamura Kazutada to be daimyō of the 175,000 koku Yonago Domain, and reconstructed Yonago Castle. The center of the modern city of Yonago evolved from the jōkamachi of that castle. After Nakamura died without heir, the domain was abolished and its territories incorporated into the holdings of the Ikeda clan of Tottori Domain. The Ikeda retained Yonago Castle and assigned it to their hereditary karō from the Arao clan who ruled until the Meiji restoration.
The town of Yonago was established within Aioi District of Tottori Prefecture with the creation of the modern municipalities system in October 1889. A post office was founded in 1872, a prison in 1877, and a courthouse in 1884. Railway services were established in 1902. After becoming Saihaku County through county mergers, Yonago was raised to city status on April 1, 1927. Yonago absorbed the town of Yodoe on March 31, 2005.

Government

[file:Yonago city office.jpg|right|thumb|270px|Yonago City Hall]
Yonago has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 26 members. Yonago contributes nine members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tottori 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Mayor of town era (1889 to 1927)

  • Haruhiko Endo December 1889 to April 1892
  • Yajiro Miyoshi May 1892 to December 1892
  • Seitaro Otsuka December 1892 to December 1896
  • Zenhei Sumida December 1896 to December 1900
  • Genjiro Kinemura December 1900 to September 1901
  • Hayami Watanabe October 1901 to October 1909
  • Kenji Hatotani December 1909 to December 1913
  • Tanji Niwa December 1913 to December 1921
  • Tsunehiko Nishio April 1922 to March 1927

Mayor of city era (1927 to present)

  • Tsunehiko Nishio April 1927 to July 1943
  • Kanjo Saito August 1943 to December 1945
  • Kanji Nosaka December 1945 to April 1963
  • Hiromichi Kawai April 1963 to April 1983
  • Toru Matsumoto April 1983 to April 1991
  • Takatomo Morita April 1991 to April 2003
  • Yasuo Nosaka April 2003 to April 2017
  • Takashi Igi April 2017 to present

Economy

Over 70% of the Yonago workforce is employed in the service sector.
Oji Paper has a production facility in Yonago. The city is also home to Sharp Yonago, which produces Sharp-brand flat screen televisions.

Education

Yonago has 23 public elementary schools and 11 public junior high schools operated by the town government and one private junior high school. The city has six public high schools operated by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education and national public high school and five private high schools. Tottori University has a campus located in Yonago. The prefecture also operates three special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Airports

Railway

JR West - San'in Line
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JR West - Hakubi Line
JR West - Sakai Line
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Highways

*

Sister cities

Yonago is twinned with:

Local attractions

National Historic Sites

Other

Notable people