is a town located in Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,434 in 6452 households and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Etymology The name of Kotoura in Japanese is formed from two kanji. The first, , refers to the traditional Japanese 13-string musical instrument, and the second, means "cove". The name of the town is taken from a stretch of the coast on the Japan Sea called . Geography Kotoura is located in central Tottori Prefecture, bordered by the Sea of Japan to the north while the southern part of the city rises to the Chūgoku Mountains. Mount Senjō, to the southwest of the town, is within the Mount Daisen range.. It is designated as a heavy snowfall area. Neighboring municipalities Tottori Prefecture Daisen to the west Kōfu to the south Hokuei to the east Kurayoshi to the southeast Climate Kotoura is classified as a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kotoura is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2097 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C. Demography Per Japanese census data, the population of Kotoura has been as follows. The population has been slowly declining since the 1950s History Kotoura has been settled since ancient times. A Yayoi period (300 BC–250 AD) dōtaku was unearthed in Yabase district, one of only 400 in Japan, and a bronze sword was unearthed in Tagoshi district, and both items suggest a prosperous settlement in Kotoura in this period. Kotoura was part of ancient Hōki Province, and the ruins of an extensive Asuka period Buddhist temple Sainoo temple ruins is a Special National Historic Site. The diary of Fujiwara no Sanesuke (957–1046), published as the Shōyūki describe rich pastures in the area during the Heian period (794–1185). Kotoura was used after this period as a center for animal husbandry. In the Edo period (1603–1868) a karō of Tottori Domain resided in Kotoura, and the town supported a thriving market in the Urayasu district. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was organized into villages within Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture The town of Kotoura was formed on September 1, 2004 by the