is an active volcano located on the southern border of
Akita and
Yamagata in the
Tōhoku region
The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
Tōhoku reta ...
of Japan, and is tall. Because of its (roughly) symmetrical shape and massive size, it is also variously known as , or depending on the location of the viewer. In addition to being one of the 100 Famous Landscapes of Japan, it is also included as one of the
100 famous mountains in Japan, and famous 100 Geographical Features of Japan. It is surrounded by
Chōkai Quasi-National Park. It is also a
National Historic Site of Japan,
Chōkai＆Tobishima Geopark
and is regarded as a sacred mountain by followers of the ''Shugendō
is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local ...
'' branch of Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...
and is popular with hikers.
Outline
Mount Chōkai is a complex stratovolcano made of two old and new newer volcanoes, composed primarily of basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
or andesite
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 predo ...
.
Mount Chōkai is shared by two municipalities in Akita Prefecture and four municipalities Yamagata Prefecture; however, its peak is located in Yuza
is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,615 in 4956 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Yuza is located in the extrem ...
, on the Yamagata side of the border. It is therefore the highest peak in Yamagata, and the second highest in the Tōhoku region after Mt. Hiuchigatake (altitude 2,356 m). The highest elevation of Mount Chōkai within Akita Prefecture has an altitude of 1,775 meters, and thus the mountain is also the highest in Akita Prefecture. From the summit, it is possible to see the Shirakami Mountains and Mount Iwaki to the north, Sado Island to the south and the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
to the east.
On the south side of the mountain is “Kokoro Yukikei,” where snow remains in the shape of the ''kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...
'' for “heart” in even in summer, and portions of the summit have perennial snow, and geological evidence of glaciation in the recent past.
Indigenous species of Mount Chōkai include the butterfly thistle and butterfly fish.
Eruptions
Mount Chōkai is a very active mountain. Known major eruptions occurred:
*466 B.C. Causes massive collapse of mountain peak (based on dendrochronology
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atm ...
)
*810 AD Records of eruption continue to 824.
*840 AD Eruption.
*871 AD Eruption and lava flow with Volcanic explosion index: VEI 2
*939 AD Eruption
*1560 AD Eruption
*1659-1663 AD Eruptions
*1740-1741 AD Eruption
*1800-1801 AD Steam explosion, lava flow, formation of a new lava dome: Eight people killed 821 Eruption recorded.
*1834 AD Eruption
*1971 AD Eruption
*1974 AD Steam explosion, small mud flow; Volcanic Explosion Index: VEI 1
History
Mount Chōkai has been the object of mountain worship since ancient times. From the Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japan ...
, it gradually became a training ground for Shugendō, as an avatar of Yakushi Nyorai. From the south was a pilgrimage path to the summit. In the middle of the Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
the mountain drew many pilgrims and had 33 chapels at its base., with additional routes to its summit opened in the north. There is also a tradition that the island of Tobishima
Meiko West Bridge
is a village located in Ama District, Aichi Prefecture, in the Tōkai region of Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,609 in 1765 households, and a population density of 206 persons per km². The total area of ...
in the Sea of Japan was originally a part of the summit of Mount Chokai.
Three ships have been named after Mount Chōkai: ''Chōkai'', an early steam gunboat, and the cruiser (sunk in 1944), which were both in the Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
, and the JDS ''Chōkai'', a Kongō class guided missile destroyer currently in service in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJ ...
.
File:Mount Chokai Relief Map, SRTM-1.jpg, Chōkai volcano
Ridge of the Mt. Chokai.jpg, Ridge of the Mt. Chokai
Lake Chokai, 19 Oct. 2013.jpg, Lake Chokai
Mount Chokai (19686944565).jpg, Lava dome on the summit
See also
* List of volcanoes in Japan
References
External links
Chokaisan
- Japan Meteorological Agency
* - Japan Meteorological Agency
Chokaisan
- Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program
*https://www.thehiddenjapan.com/mtchokai - English Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chokai
Mountains of Akita Prefecture
Mountains of Yamagata Prefecture
Volcanoes of Akita Prefecture
Volcanoes of Yamagata Prefecture
Volcanoes of Honshū
Stratovolcanoes of Japan
Active volcanoes
Historic Sites of Japan
Two-thousanders of Asia
Pleistocene stratovolcanoes
Holocene stratovolcanoes