, or Mount Kaimon, is an undissected

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

– consisting of a basal

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 ...

and a small complex central lava dome – which rises to a height of 924 metres above sea level near the city of

Ibusuki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,594 in 17477 households, and a population density of 250 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ibusuki is loc ...

in southern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, Japan. The last eruption occurred in the year 885 CE. Because of its conic shape, Mt. Kaimon is sometimes referred to as "the Fuji of

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a ...

". It is one of the

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...

Geography

Mt. Kaimon is located in the south of

Kagoshima prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

and is an important reference point for marine traffic because it is the southernmost prominence of the

Satsuma Peninsula The Satsuma Peninsula (薩摩半島 ''Satsuma-hantō'') is a peninsula which projects south from the southwest part of Kyūshū Island, Japan. To the west lies the East China Sea, while to the east it faces the Ōsumi Peninsula across Kagoshima ...

. This is one entrance marker to Kinko Bay (

Kagoshima Bay also known as Kinkō Bay, is a deep inlet of the East China Sea on the coast of Japan.''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 562. Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kagoshi ...

) complimentary to the

Ōsumi Peninsula image:Osumi Peninsula Kagoshima Japan SRTM.jpg, 261x261px, Satellite image of Ōsumi Peninsula The projects south from the Japanese island of Kyūshū and includes the southernmost point on the island, Cape Sata. Its east coast lies on the Pacifi ...

. Together with Mt. Noma and Mt. Kinpo, it is used by marine traffic.

Geology

Part of the Ibusuki volcanic field, Mt. Kaimon defines the eastern margin of the old Ata Caldera. The total eruptive volume of

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...

has been and of lava. Ibusuki Volcanoes

There is a sea scarp which is 7.8 km wide and 9.3 km long, the shape is similar to a horseshoe in the seabed at the southern foot of the mountain. There is a lot of sediment at the foot of the mountain due to submarine landslides. It was found that there is a sea scarp underground on the south side of the mountain and it was caused by pressure from a submarine landslide before Mt. Kaimon was formed. The sedimentary layer of ejecta from the eruption at the end of the 7th century is called ao-kora (ao means blue and kora is soil consisting of volcanic ash found in the southern part of the Satsuma Peninsula). The sedimentary layer of ejecta by the eruption at the end of the 7th century is called murasaki-kora (Murasaki means purple). These layers are a clue to know the changes in life in this era. It has become clear that a village was isolated by a large eruption with change in life style in the latter part of the 9th century.

Eruptive history

Mount Kaimon began volcanic activity about 4,000 years ago. From 3,000 years up to 885 years ago, large eruptions occurred 9 times and eruptions resulting in large amounts of lava occurred 10 times making twelve major eruptions to date. The two large eruptions in the historic written record are in 874 CE (Jogan era) and 885 CE (Nin-na era) The complex layered central dome consists of a scoria cone topped by lava flows and ultimately a lava dome which was penetrated by a plug. However the explosion crater at the top was last enlarged by the 885 CE eruption.

Transition of height

In 1895, the official height of Mt. Kaimon was from a second triangulation point which was at the summit of the mountain, but this was updated to by the

Geospatial Information Authority of Japan The , or GSI, is the national institution responsible for surveying and mapping the national land of Japan. The former name of the organization from 1949 until March 2010 was Geographical Survey Institute; despite the rename, it retains the same ...

in July 2001, because climbers pointed out that the height of the rocks on the top of the mountain were higher than the triangulation point.

Climbing

The spiral-shaped hiking trail climb of Mt. Kaimon takes about 3 hours. Mt. Kaimon is considerably lower than most of the mountains on the 100 famous Japanese Mountains list but as climbing starts from close to sea level there is an ascent of . Mt. Kaimon is a single peak but with summit rocky outcrops that allow views on all sides, such as

Lake Ikeda is a caldera lake located south of Kagoshima city; Kyūshū island, Japan. It is perhaps best known to tourists as the location of the purported sightings of a monster named Issie, and as the largest lake on Kyūshū island with a surface area o ...

to the north and

the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the south. File:開聞岳８合目.jpg, The eighth station of Mt. Kaimon ("station" is unit of itinerary of climbing from the base to the top. Regardless mountain height, all itineraries are divided into 10.) File:山頂直下の梯子（開聞岳）.jpg, Ladder directly beneath the summit File:開聞岳山頂.jpg, The summit of Mt. Kaimon with Lake Ikeda in the background File:開聞岳山頂から前原海岸と池田湖.jpg, Maehara coast and Lake Ikeda from the summit File:開聞岳からの長崎鼻.jpg, Nagasakibana from the summit

Tourism

* Kaimon Sanroku Nature Park – The

Tokara horse The (also known as the Kagoshima horse) is a Japanese horse native to the Tokara Islands, a group of islands in Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu. It is one of the eight indigenous horse breeds of Japan. Its h ...

is breed at the base of the mountain. * Kaimon Sanroku Fureai Park – There are log houses as well as camp sites. *

Hirasaki Shrine , also known as Hirakiki-jinja is a Shinto shrine in the Kaimonjuttcho neighborhood of the city of Ibusuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Nitta Shrine, it claims the position of ''ichinomiya'' of former Satsuma Province. The ma ...

– It is said that a mystery creature "

Issie is a caldera lake located south of Kagoshima city; Kyūshū island, Japan. It is perhaps best known to tourists as the location of the purported sightings of a monster named Issie, and as the largest lake on Kyūshū island with a surface area o ...

" lives there. The

canola file:CanolaBlooms.JPG, Close-up of canola blooms file:Canola Flower.jpg, Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both Edible oil, edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several ...

flowering in January is very attractive. * Bohi Park – Memorial to those killed in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

in the Philippines.

References

External links

Kaimondake
– Japan Meteorological Agency * – Japan Meteorological Agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaimondake Volcano Ibusuki, Kagoshima Mountains of Kagoshima Prefecture Stratovolcanoes of Japan Volcanoes of Kagoshima Prefecture Volcanoes of Kyushu