Kurayoshi

Kurayoshi, city, northern Tottori ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu, Japan. It lies along a tributary of the Tenjin River and occupies a strategic position on a plain bounded to the south by the Chūgoku Range.

The city was the capital of Hōki province (now in Tottori prefecture) from early historical times. A commercial centre, it developed its textile industry late in the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867); the city is identified with a distinctive cotton cloth known as Kurayoshi-kasuri (“Kurayoshi splashed pattern”). Its modern industrial products include silk, agricultural machinery, beverages, and wood articles. Pop. (2005) 52,592; (2010) 50,720.