Yonago
米子市
City
Top left: Statue of Station Square, Top right: Kaike Spa and Kaike Coast, 2nd left: Yonago Castle Site, 2nd right: Yonago Takashimaya, 3rd left: Mugibandai ruins in Yodoe, 3rd right: Yonago Station
Top left: Statue of Station Square, Top right: Kaike Spa and Kaike Coast, 2nd left: Yonago Castle Site, 2nd right: Yonago Takashimaya, 3rd left: Mugibandai ruins in Yodoe, 3rd right: Yonago Station
Flag of Yonago
Flag
Official seal of Yonago
Seal
Location of Yonago in Tottori Prefecture
Location of Yonago
Yonago is located in Japan
Yonago
Yonago
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 35°26′N 133°20′E / 35.433°N 133.333°E / 35.433; 133.333
CountryJapan
RegionChūgoku (San'in)
PrefectureTottori
Government
 • MayorTakashi Igi (from April 2017)
Area
 • Total132.42 km2 (51.13 sq mi)
Population
 (December 31, 2022)
 • Total146,139
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address1-1 Kamo-chō, Yonago-shi, Tottori-ken 683-8686
ClimateCfa
WebsiteOfficial website
Symbols
BirdTundra swan
FlowerAzalea
Yonago City Hall

Yonago (米子市, Yonago-shi) is a city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 December 2021, the city had an estimated population of 146,139 in 68534 households and a population density of 1100 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 132.42 square kilometres (51.13 sq mi). It is the prefecture's second largest city after Tottori, and forms a commercial center of the western part of this prefecture.

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 (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, with July and September being particularly wet months.

Climate data for Yonago (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1939−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.0
(68.0)		 25.4
(77.7)		 27.5
(81.5)		 33.7
(92.7)		 33.8
(92.8)		 35.8
(96.4)		 38.3
(100.9)		 38.9
(102.0)		 37.1
(98.8)		 33.5
(92.3)		 27.3
(81.1)		 23.5
(74.3)		 38.9
(102.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.3
(46.9)		 9.2
(48.6)		 12.9
(55.2)		 18.4
(65.1)		 23.3
(73.9)		 26.0
(78.8)		 30.3
(86.5)		 31.7
(89.1)		 27.1
(80.8)		 22.1
(71.8)		 16.8
(62.2)		 11.1
(52.0)		 19.8
(67.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.7
(40.5)		 5.1
(41.2)		 8.2
(46.8)		 13.2
(55.8)		 18.2
(64.8)		 21.8
(71.2)		 26.2
(79.2)		 27.3
(81.1)		 23.0
(73.4)		 17.5
(63.5)		 12.2
(54.0)		 7.1
(44.8)		 15.4
(59.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)		 1.3
(34.3)		 3.5
(38.3)		 8.0
(46.4)		 13.3
(55.9)		 18.2
(64.8)		 22.8
(73.0)		 23.7
(74.7)		 19.3
(66.7)		 13.1
(55.6)		 7.9
(46.2)		 3.5
(38.3)		 11.3
(52.4)
Record low °C (°F) −7.2
(19.0)		 −9.4
(15.1)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 1.5
(34.7)		 5.9
(42.6)		 12.2
(54.0)		 13.7
(56.7)		 7.2
(45.0)		 1.1
(34.0)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −9.4
(15.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 151.7
(5.97)		 117.5
(4.63)		 128.2
(5.05)		 106.3
(4.19)		 119.1
(4.69)		 169.5
(6.67)		 227.2
(8.94)		 128.4
(5.06)		 214.3
(8.44)		 131.1
(5.16)		 118.1
(4.65)		 145.9
(5.74)		 1,757.2
(69.18)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 39
(15)		 32
(13)		 6
(2.4)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 19
(7.5)		 95
(37)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 17.5 14.5 13.4 10.2 9.1 10.5 11.9 9.6 11.3 10.0 12.4 16.5 146.9
Average snowy days (≥ 1 cm) 7.5 6.4 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.0 18.1
Average relative humidity (%) 74 72 69 67 68 76 77 75 77 74 72 74 73
Mean monthly sunshine hours 72.3 87.7 141.5 182.0 208.6 160.8 171.5 207.1 148.7 156.8 116.5 82.5 1,732.4
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[2][3]

Demography

Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Yonago has been slowly growing since the 1950s as follows.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1950 100,836—    
1960 108,583+7.7%
1970 117,056+7.8%
1980 136,053+16.2%
1990 140,503+3.3%
2000 147,837+5.2%
2010 148,090+0.2%

Etymology

The name of Yonago in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 米, means "rice", and the second, 子 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 re constructed 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 offices founded in 1872, a prison in 1877, and a courthouse in 1884. Railway service was established in 1902.[5] After becoming Saihaku County through county mergers, Yonago was raised to city status on April 1, 1927. Yonago absorbed the town of Yodoe (from Saihaku District) on March 31, 2005.[5]

Government

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)

Mayor of city era (1927 to present)

Economy

Over 70% of the Yonago workforce is employed in the service sector.[5]

Oji Paper has a production facility in Yonago.[6] The city is also home to Sharp Yonago, which produces Sharp-brand flat screen televisions.[7]

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

Yonago Railroad Station

Airports

Railway

JR West - San'in Line

JR West - Hakubi Line

JR West - Sakai Line

Highways

Twin towns – sister cities

Yonago is twinned with:[9]

Local attractions

National Historic Sites

Other

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Yonago city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ↑ 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. ↑ 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  4. ↑ Yonago population statistics
  5. 1 2 3 米子市 市勢要覧 2016 (PDF). Yonago City. 2016.
  6. ↑ "会社案内 | 王子製紙株式会社". www.oji-paper.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  7. ↑ シャープ米子：「再建、本社の結論待つ」 知事に社長 ／鳥取 - 毎日新聞. 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-06-11.
  8. ↑ 米子鬼太郎空港. www.yonago-air.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  9. ↑ "友好都市・姉妹都市". city.yonago.lg.jp (in Japanese). Yonago. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  10. ↑ "続日本100名城" (in Japanese). 日本城郭協会. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  11. ↑ "History of Kaike Triathlon". www.kaike-triathlon.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
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