is the highest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
in
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...
,
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 ...
, at . Situated in the town of
Tosa, Mount Inamura is famous for its Akebono-tsutsuji (''Rhododendron pentaphyllum'') flowers, which bloom during the middle of spring season (April–May).
Shikoku basecamp
History
Mount Inamura is home to a historically-famous Shinto shrine
A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion.
The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
dedicated to the fertility goddess Ama-no-Uzume
is the goddess of dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts in the Shinto religion of Japan, and the wife of fellow-god Sarutahiko Ōkami. (-no-Mikoto is a common honorific appended to the names of Japanese gods; it may be understood as simi ...
. Hikers, upon reaching the summit are permitted to pay homage to the Ama-no-uzume by touching the divine phallus
A phallus (: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ''ithyphallic''.
Any object that symbo ...
, made of Japanese cypress
''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and ornamental qua ...
.
See also
* Geography of Japan
Japan is an Island country, archipelagic country comprising a stratovolcano, stratovolcanic Japanese archipelago, archipelago over along the Pacific coast of East Asia. It consists of 14,125 islands. The four main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, ...
* List of mountains and hills of Japan by height
The following is a list of the mountains and hills of Japan, ordered by height.
Mountains over 1000 meters
Mountains under 1000 metres
As the generally accepted definition of a mountain (versus a hill) is 1000 m of height and 500 m of prom ...
References
{{reflist
Views of the mountain
Image:Inamura-hiking.jpg, Hiking path to Mt. Inamura
Image:inamurayama-pano.jpg, Panoramic view from the summit
Image:Rhododendron pentaphyllum.jpg, Akebono tsutsuji flowers
Image:Akebono 136.jpg, Akebono tsutsuji tree
Natural monuments of Japan
Inamura
Inamura