Kurayoshi City

Eight retainers died after their lord.

Daigakuin, Satomi & 8 retainers

Photo by 663highland (CC BY 2.5)

01 ／ Seated Jizō at Jizō-in

Inside a Jizō about 3.6 m tall,an ink inscription records its making.

The wooden half-lotus Jizō Bodhisattva enshrined at Jizō-in (地蔵院) in Sekigane is joined-block work in hinoki cypress and stands about 3.6 m tall overall. An ink inscription on a support inside the statue records that it was made in Kenkyū 3 (1192), with Sasaki Shirō Takatsuna, a retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo, as commissioner. It shows the features of the Kamakura period.

About 3.6 m tall overall
Joined-block construction in hinoki cypress
Inscription inside gives Kenkyū 3 (1192)
Designated an Important Cultural Property on June 6, 1979

02 ／ Ōe no Iwashiro-gimi

Iwashiro-gimi, mother of Emperor Kōkaku,is said to have come from Kurayoshi.

Ōe no Iwashiro-gimi (大江磐代君) is said to have been born in Minato-machi, Kurayoshi, in 1744 (Enkyō 1) and taken to Kyoto by her father. She became a court lady of Prince Kan'in-no-miya Sukehito (閑院宮典仁親王) and, in 1771 (Meiwa 8), bore Prince Sachinomiya (祐宮, Emperor Kōkaku) and three other princes. Ōe Shrine in Utsubuki Park honors her.

Mother of Emperor Kōkaku
Said to have been born in Minato-machi, Kurayoshi, in 1744
1771: bore Prince Sachinomiya (Emperor Kōkaku) and three other princes
Ōe Shrine stands in Utsubuki Park

03 ／ Stone Bridges of Utsubuki-Tamagawa

The stone bridges over the Tama Rivershape Kurayoshi's own historic scenery.

At the foot of Mt. Utsubuki, merchants' townhouses are preserved along Hon-machi Street and the Tama River (玉川). Single-slab stone bridges with a gentle arch span the river. The district took shape as the castle town of Utsubuki Castle in the Muromachi period, and in the Edo period became the jinya town of the Arao, senior retainers of Tottori Domain.

Selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings on Dec. 25, 1998
One of three such districts in Tottori Prefecture (Kurayoshi, Daisen, Wakasa)
Jinya town of the Arao family in the Edo period

Living here

Three hot-spring areas ring the city, and mountains lie to the south.

about 50,000 people

Kurayoshi is a city in central Tottori Prefecture, surrounded by the hot-spring areas of Misasa, Hawai and Tōgō. In the mountains to the south lies Sekigane Onsen, opened about 1,300 years ago. The city took in the former town of Sekigane in 2005 and covers about 272 square kilometers. Traces of the former JNR Kurayoshi Line remain in the bamboo groves of Sekigane.

People living here: 46,485people
Area: 272.06km²
Households: 18,309households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,867yen
Healthcare: 9 hospitals ／ 48 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-03-22 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —25 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Kurayoshi City in Japan35.430°N 133.826°E

to OsakaLtd. exp. Super Hakuto184min
to KyotoLtd. exp. Super Hakuto217min

Travel times follow 鳥取県（輝く鳥取創造本部観光交流局まんが王国官房）のページ「スーパーはくと名探偵コナン号」に載る運行予定表PDF（20260924_timetable1011.pdf・2026年9月24日時点・「2026年3月14日改正」）の下り時刻表。京都・大阪→鳥取・倉吉の10本のうち、倉吉に着くのは1号・3号・5号・7号・13号。JR西日本「JRおでかけネット」の列車時刻表（2026年9月29日の表示・timetable.jr-odekake.net）の各号の倉吉着とも一致する (checked 2026-09-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Kurayoshi City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

19.2km

Tottori Prefecture: 北栄町, 三朝町, 琴浦町, 湯梨浜町, 江府町
Okayama Prefecture: 真庭市

Kurayoshi City isthis kind of town.

01At Daigakuin in Kurayoshi lie Satomi Tadayoshi, former lord of Tateyama Castle, and eight close retainers, called the Hakkenshi (八賢士), who died after him. The name is said to have led to the eight dog warriors of the Hakkenden.
02Jizō-in in Sekigane enshrines a wooden half-lotus Jizō about 3.6 m tall overall, and an inscription inside the statue records its making.
03Ōe no Iwashiro-gimi, mother of Emperor Kōkaku, is said to have come from Kurayoshi, and Ōe Shrine stands in Utsubuki Park. The town along the stone-bridged Tama River is also preserved.

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kurayoshi City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗