is a mountain in

Gunma Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 Square kilometre, km2 (2,456 Square mile, sq mi). Gunma P ...

, Japan. The broad, low dominantly

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomin ...

stratovolcano rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, 3 x 4 km summit

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

with post-caldera lava domes arranged along a NW-SE line. Lake Ono is located at the NE end of the caldera. An older stratovolcano was partially destroyed by edifice collapse, producing a debris-avalanche deposit along the south flank. A series of large plinian eruptions accompanied growth of a second stratovolcano during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

. Construction of the central cone in the late-Pleistocene summit caldera began following the last of the plinian eruptions about 31,000 years ago. During historical time unusual activity was recorded on several occasions during the 9th century, but reported eruptions in 1251 and 1938 are considered uncertain. Mount Akagi, along with

Mount Myōgi is one of the major mountains in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Its straddles the border between the municipalities of Annaka, Shimonita and Tomioka. Well known for its rocks weathered into fantastic forms, this famous peak is ranked among Japan's t ...

and

Mount Haruna is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma, eastern Honshū, Japan. Outline Mount Haruna started to form more than 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was 550 AD. The volcano has a summit caldera containing the symmetrical cinder cone of ...

, is one of the , and the cold north winds which blow down from it are called or . The

Amagi-class battlecruiser The was a series of four battlecruisers planned for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as part of the Eight-eight fleet in the early 1920s. The ships were to be named ''Amagi'', , ''Atago'', and ''Takao''. The ''Amagi'' design was essentially a l ...

, converted into an aircraft carrier during construction, was named after Mount Akagi and was the flagship for the strike force commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo in the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. The carrier was later sunk in the Battle of Midway.

Religion

Mount Akagi is an object of worship in this region. On Ōno Lake, there is

Akagi Shrine Akagi means (赤城) "red castle," (赤木) "red tree," or (赤来) "red future" in the Japanese language, and may refer to: * Akagi, Gunma, a village in Gunma Prefecture * Akagi, Shimane (赤来町), a former town in Shimane Prefecture * ''Akagi ...

Access

The upper portions of the prefectural road Route 4 approach the top of Mount Akagi. Kanetsu Kotsu Bus comes to Akagi Visitor Center from

Maebashi Station is a passenger railway station in the city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of two main railway stations of Maebashi; the other is Chūō Maebashi Station of the private railway op ...

or Fujimi Onsen Bus Stop.

Climbing routes

To the top of Mount Kurobi, the highest point of this mountain, it takes about three hours from the Akagi Hiroba Bus Stop.

In popular culture

The sixth

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' se ...

film, '' Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold'', this mountain is the destination of Ichi as he searches for the brigand Chuji. Mount Akagi is mentioned in the street racing manga and anime series '' Initial D''. The portions of Gunma Route 4 PS Coordinates 36°32'31.6"N 139°09'59.5"Eon Mount Akagi are featured in numerous ''Initial D'' episodes. It is the home course of the racing team called the Akagi Redsuns Mount Akagi is also featured in the street racing game '' Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2'' and the arcade/simulator game

Auto Modellista is a racing game developed and published by Capcom, first released on PlayStation 2, later ported to GameCube and Xbox. Description ''Auto Modellista'' marked itself apart from others of the same genre with cel-shaded graphics, which gave a han ...

. According to unofficial sources, Mt. Moon from the Pokémon franchise is based on Mount Akagi.

Gallery

File:Mount Akagi Mountaintop Relief Map, SRTM-1, Unmarked.jpg, Mountaintop File:Maebashi20080227.jpg, View from Maebashi city File:Akagiyama ono.jpg, Lake Ōno and Mount Jizo in summer File:Akagiyama05.JPG, Lake Ōno and Mount Jizo in winter File:Akagiyama03.JPG, Kurobi Ōkami Shrine near the top of Mount Kurobi File:Akagiyama04.JPG, Mount Kurobi from Akagi Hiroba Bus Stop File:Akagiyama08.JPG, Mikuni Mountains from the middle of Mount Kurobi

References

External links

Akagisan
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan
Akagisan: Global Volcanism Program
- Smithsonian Institution {{Authority control Akagi Akagi Akagi Stratovolcanoes of Japan Pleistocene stratovolcanoes