Mount Hōken () is one of major peaks in

Kiso Mountains are a mountain range in Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gifu Prefecture, Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group col ...

or Central Alps,

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

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 ...

. It is 2,931 m (9,616 ft) high, and its shape is sharp

pyramidal peak A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples o ...

Geography

Mount Hōken is located on the main ridgeline of

Kiso mountains are a mountain range in Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gifu Prefecture, Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group col ...

, about 1km south of

Mount Kisokoma is a mountain located in Miyada, Nagano, Miyada, Kamiina District, Nagano, Kamiina District, and Kiso, Nagano (town), Kiso and Agematsu, Nagano, Agematsu, Kiso District, Nagano, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. It ...

, the highest peak of Kiso Mountains. On the East of Mount Hōken lies great Senjōjiki Cirque.

Komagatake Ropeway is an aerial lift line in the Kiso Mountains range, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Description The line, opened in 1967, climbs up to Senjōjiki Cirque 2600m above sea level, and it is easiest route to Mount Kisokoma and Mount Hōken. Summit station, ...

bring you up to the bottom of Cirque which is about 2600m above sea level. Senjojiki Cirque is one of the largest and the most typical cirque in Japan, and it means one thousand

tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...

mattresses. In summer, it is filled by alpine flowers. According to geologist Tatsuto Aoki, the cirque was created 17,000 to 25,000 years ago, the last glacial maximum age.

Mountaineering

Though it is easy to go up to Senjojiki by Ropeway, nearby the rocky peak of Mount Hōken is very steep and dangerous, often occurs accident falling down to death. On the shoulder of the peak is Hōken Hut, Tengu Hut. And upper stages of "Senjojiki Station" of

exist "Senjojiki Hotel". Inside Senjojiki Cirque, promenades are equipped.

Name of the mountain

"Hōken" means treasure sword, especially meaning the sword of

Acala or Achala (, "The Immovable", ), also known as (, "Immovable Lord") or (, "Noble Immovable Lord"), is a Fierce deities, wrathful deity and ''dharmapala'' (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Budd ...

Buddha. It resembles the shape of the peak. In

Edo era The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the mountain was called "Shakujō-dake". "Shakujou" means "Buddhist monk's staff". This mountain was regarded as sacred.

Alpine plants

References

{{reflist Kiso Mountains Japan Alps Hoken