Mount Hachimen (八面山, ''Hachimen-zan'') is a

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

in Nakatsu,

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

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 ...

. Its elevation is 659.4 meter (2,163 feet). It is the most prominent mountain in Nakatsu and is seen as a symbol of the city. As it is said that the mountain looks the same from every direction, it was given the name ''Hachimen-zan'' ( "eight-faced mountain"). It is also sometimes called Yayama (箭山, "arrow mountain") due to the arrow bamboo that once grew on the mountain.

Hachimenzan Peace Park

On May 7, 1945, a

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-29 bomber aircraft, which was taking part in a

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

on an

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

airbase in

Usa, Ōita is a city located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,808 in 26026 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is notable for Usa Jingū, the head shrine o ...

was rammed by a Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu.'' The B-29 crashed into Mount Hachimen, killing eight of the eleven-person crew. The Japanese ''Toryu'' also crashed, killing the pilot. The three surviving airmen of the B-29, who had parachuted out, were captured and sent to the Western District Army headquarters in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

. They are believed to have been executed on June 20, 1945. Hachimenzan Peace Park Memorial

On May 7, 1970, the 25th anniversary of the crash, a memorial for the lost airmen was erected at the crash site and a ceremony was held. The site is now Hachimenzan Peace Park (八面山平和公園, ''Hachimen-zan Heiwa Kōen'')''.'' A memorial event is held at the park annually on May 3. In 1993, an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

was lit at the park using a flame from Hoshino Village,

's "Flame of Peace." There is also a preserved

JASDF The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

fighter at the park.

Jingo-ji

Mount Hachimen has been considered sacred in mountain Buddhism since ancient times. Next to the Peace Park on Mount Hachimen is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

called Jingo-ji (神護寺). At the temple, a 7.8m long, 1.4m high statue carved into stone, which was completed in 1972, depicts a

reclining Buddha A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. He is lying on his right side, his h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hachimen Mountains of Ōita Prefecture Tourist attractions in Ōita Prefecture Mesas