The capital is the city of Tottori.[2] It is the least populous prefecture in Japan.
Tottori is home to the Tottori Sand Dunes, Japan's only large dune system.
Tottori Prefecture is heavily agricultural and its products are shipped to the major cities of Japan. Some of the famous products are the nashi pear, nagaimo yam, Japanese scallion, negi, and watermelon. The prefecture is also a major center of rice production.
Numerous kofun tumuli from the Kofun period (250 – 538) are located across the prefecture.[7]
While the standard Tokyo dialect of the Japanese language is used in Tottori Prefecture now, historically the region had extensively linguistic diversity, and several dialects are used in the prefecture today. Many of them are grouped with the Kansai dialect, and include the Tajima, Izumo, Unpaku, Mamasaka, and Bichū dialects.[11]
The word "Tottori" in Japanese is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 鳥, means "bird" and the second, 取 means "to get". Early residents in the area made their living catching the region's plentiful waterfowl. The name first appears in the Nihon shoki in the 23rd year of the Emperor Suiko when Yukuha Tana, an elder from the Izumo, visits the emperor. The imperial Prince Homatsu-wake was unable to speak, despite being 30 years of age.
"Yukuha Tana presented the swan to the emperor. Homatsu-wake no Mikoto played with this swan and at least learned to speak. Therefore, Yukaha Tana was liberally rewarded, and was granted the title of Tottori no Miyakko." (Aston, tran.)[3]
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