Gōtsu, Shimane

The city lies on the sea, and offers beautiful and uncrowded beaches. The Gōnokawa River flows through the city, from the mountains to the sea. The river is the site of festivals, fireworks, and excellent fishing. 79% of Gōtsu City's total land is said to be forest.

Hoshitaka Mountain

Overlooking Gōtsu City is Hoshitaka Mountain, or "Star Mountain", so named for the star pattern carved into the face of the mountain. According to Gōtsu legend, the star was formed by a meteor that had fallen many years ago. A piece of this meteor was saved, and a special shrine was built at the foot of the mountain to honor the meteor. In the winter, snowfall on the mountain creates a beautiful star-shaped pattern, visible from anywhere in the city. In the spring, white azaleas bloom to form a white star, while the area bordering the star remains green. In the summer, in celebration of the Japanese Obon Festival, the star is lit up at night.

Aerial Photograph of Gōtsu City

Under the auspices of the Japanese Ministry of Education and the Jet Programme, Gōtsu hosts four native English speakers each year, who teach English in the area's public schools. Gōtsu's Sister City in the United States is Corona, California (located near Los Angeles).

Gōtsu has been described as the farthest city from Tokyo in Japan.[2]

Sekishuken Laboratory in Gōtsu researches the history of the Sekishuken breed of dogs. The ancestor of all living Shiba Inu, Ishi, was from the Sekishuken breed, indigenous to western Shimane.[3]

Iwami Ware (石見焼 (いわみやき)) is a type of Japanese pottery that is made in the Iwami region and is centered in Gōtsu City.[4] Iwami Ware was introduced to Gōtsu City in 1763.[5] Ceramic and clay goods are considered to be local specialties. Ceramic practices have developed throughout Gōtsu City's history.[6]

Arifuku Onsen (有福温泉 (ありふくおんせん)) is a hot spring in Gōtsu City said to have been founded more than 1,350 years ago by a monk named Hōdō (法道 (ほうどう)).[7]

Burial mounds from the middle third of the Middle Yayoi period were discovered in Gōtsu in 1973.[8]

During the Edo Period, Gōtsu was a port town.[9]

On May 27, 1905, the Russian transport vessel Irtysh of the Russian Baltic Fleet sustained damaged from Japanese warships in the waters off Tsushima Island. After drifting to within 2 km of the coast Gōtsu's Waki district the ship began to sink.[10] Gōtsu residents rescued over 200 Russian soldiers. The event has been memorialized since the following year and is now known as the Russia festival.[11] In 1959, the former chairman of the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation Ryoichi Sasakawa erected a 2.9 meter tall cenotaph.[10]

On April 1, 1954, modern day Gōtsu City was formed through the merging of numerous villages.[12] On October 1, 2004, the town of Sakurae (from Ōchi District) was merged into Gōtsu.

On May 29, 2022, Ataru Nakamura won the mayoral election in Gōtsu City. At 43 years old, Nakamura became the youngest mayor out of eight cities in Shimane Prefecture. Before becoming mayor, Nakamura worked at a welfare facility for the elderly and served as secretary to Japanese house of representative member Wataru Takeshita.[13]

Mayors of Gōtsu City, Shimane Prefecture

Name (Rōmaji)[14]	Name (Kanji)	Time of Assumption[14]	Notes[14]
Yutaka Iida	飯田豊	May 1, 1954	First mayor of Gōtsu City.
Sadayoshi Chiyonobe	千代延定良	April, 1958	Gōtsu City Hall A new city hall and civic center were completed during his time in office. He passed away suddenly in June, 1962.
Tatsuo Fujita	藤田龍夫	July, 1962	Gōnokawa River is designated as a first class river.
Nobumasa Okada	岡田信正	July, 1967	In July, 1972, there was a torrential rain whose damages exceeded 3.2 billion yen. In November, 1973, the Gōtsu Citizen Charter, city tree, and city flower were established. In April, 1974, the Gōtsu City Library was opened.
Takao Sasaki	佐々木隆夫	July, 1974	In April, 1980, the Gōtsu Municipal Baseball Stadium was completed. In December, 1981, the Gōtsu Civic Gymnasium was completed.
Tomohiro Fukuhara	福原友宏	July, 1982	In July, 1983, there was a torrential rain with total damages exceeding 8.4 billion yen. In August, 1984, the first Gōnokawa Festival was held.
Kazuhiro Ushio	牛尾一弘	July, 1990	In April, 1993, the Shimane Vocational Ability Development Junior College opened. In April, 1995, the Gōtsu City General Civic Center was completed.
Masuji Tanaka	田中増次	July, 1998	Emblem of Gōtsu City In March, 2002, the Merger Promotion Council with Sakurae Town was established. On October 1, 2004, Sakurae City, Ochi-Gun was incorporated into Gōtsu City. A new city emblem and citizen charter are created. In August, 2013, there is a heavy rain disaster with the largest amount of rainfall in recorded history.
Osamu Yamashita	山下修	July, 2014	In May, 2021, there was a government building relocation.
Ataru Nakamura Ataru Nakamura	中村中	July 16, 2022	With his election he became the youngest mayor in Shimane Prefecture.[13]

Gōtsu City has seven elementary schools and four junior high schools. Gōtsu City has four high schools, of which two are private and two are public. [15]

At Shimane Vocational Ability Development Junior College (島根職業能力開発短期大学校), engineering and technician training is offered. [15]

Shimane Prefectural Gotsu High School

Shimane Prefectural Gotsu Technical High School

Christian Aishin High School

• Corona, California, United States