Karakkaze (空っ風、からっかぜ) refers to a kind of strong, dry wind that occurs in the
Kantō region
The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
of Japan.
Overview
Karakkaze is formed when wind gusts cross atop the mountains in the
Jōetsu region and experience a drop in both temperature and atmospheric pressure. Water vapor in the air falls as rain or snow on the mountain, so the wind that then crosses over the mountain becomes dry.
Gunma Prefecture
is a landlocked 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 . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
is famous for its karakkaze in winter.
Other names include Jōmō Karakkaze (Jōmō is an old name for Gunma) and Akagi Oroshi (karakkaze that blows down from
Mt. Akagi
is a stratovolcano in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
The broad, low dominantly andesite, andesitic stratovolcano rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, summit caldera with post-caldera lava domes arranged along ...
). In
Jomo Karuta
are Japanese playing cards. Playing cards were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid-16th century. These early decks were used for trick-taking games. The earliest indigenous ''karuta'' was invented in the town of Miike i ...
, karakkaze is featured on the 'ra' card.
Besides Gunma, Nasunohara in
Tochigi Prefecture
is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...
and Hamamatsu in
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
both are famous for karakkaze; there it is called Nasu and Enshu Karakkaze respectively.
Effects
A phenomenon known as
foehn wind
A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windw ...
suppresses cooling, which creates less snowfall in the surrounding area. This also creates a strong wind chill due to the strength of the winds.
Minor inconveniences caused by karakkaze include:
* interrupting outdoor sporting matches
* drying out skin (Gunma has ranked last in terms of beautiful skin according to a national survey on skin care)
* annoying locals (due to its loud howling sound)
* blowing laundry off balconies
However, it is strong enough to cause more serious damage. Wind speeds can reach up to 20 kilometers per hour, causing damage to old houses.
During the 1970s, residents in
Ōta, Gunma complained that karakkaze was blowing up dust from the potato fields and spreading it throughout the city. They claimed the wind blew dust into their houses and prevented them from drying their laundry.
In February, 2021 a wildfire broke out in
Ashikaga, Tochigi. The fire burned for nine consecutive days. In combination with an accumulation of dried leaves and debris, karakkaze made it difficult for helicopters to fly properly, delaying the fire department from being able to stop the blaze sooner.
Uses
In agriculture
Farmers utilize the strong winds to dry various kinds of produce, such as
konnyaku, cabbage, and cucumbers.
As renewable energy
Gunma Prefectural Studio Tsulunos did a presentation called Let’s Get Together Gunma Wind!! and addressed ways to harness the power of karakkaze for wind power generation.
References
{{reflist
Winds
Culture of Japan
Environment of Japan