is a stratovolcano in

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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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 predomina ...

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, summit

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

with post-caldera

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

s 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 eruption Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are volcanic eruptions characterized by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption was described in a le ...

s accompanied growth of a second stratovolcano during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

. 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 and Mount Haruna, is one of the , and the cold north winds which blow down from it are called or . The ''Amagi''-class battlecruiser , 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 Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. The carrier was later sunk in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

Religion

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

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 central Maebashi; the other is Chūō Maebashi Station of the private ra ...

Fujimi Onsen In Japan, is a common place name which means Mt. Fuji is viewable. It may refer to: Places in Japan * Fujimi, Saitama, a city * Fujimi, Nagano, a town * Fujimi, Gunma, a village * Fujimi, a subdivision within Chiyoda, Tokyo Companies * Fujimi S ...

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 ''Zatoichi Monogatari'', part of Shimozawa's '' ...

film, ''

Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold is a 1964 Japanese Chambara film directed by Kazuo Ikehiro starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi, originally released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures). It also stars Tomisaburo Wakayama ...

'', 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 is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 volumes. The ...

''. 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'' distinguished itself from other games of the same genre with cel-shaded graphics, which gav ...

. According to unofficial sources, Mt. Moon from the

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

franchise is based on Mount Akagi.

Gallery

File:Mount Akagi Mountaintop Relief Map, SRTM-1, Unmarked.jpg, Mountaintop Area File:Maebashi20080227.jpg, View from Maebashi city File:第一展望台からの浅間山と赤城山.jpg, ESE side File:Akagiyama ono.jpg, Lake Ōno and Mount Jizo and Akagi Shrine 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

References

External links

Akagisan
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan
Akagisan: Global Volcanism Program
- Smithsonian Institution {{DEFAULTSORT:Akagi Mountains of Gunma Prefecture Volcanoes of Honshū Volcanoes of Gunma Prefecture Stratovolcanoes of Japan Pleistocene stratovolcanoes