is an

active volcano An active volcano is a volcano that is currently erupting, or has the potential to erupt in the future. Conventionally it is applied to any that have erupted during the Holocene (the current geologic epoch that began approximately 11,700 years ...

on the Japanese isle of Izu Ōshima. Although the volcano is predominantly

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic, major eruptions have occurred at intervals of 100–150 years.

History

Mount Mihara's major eruption in 1986 saw lava fountains up to high. The eruption had a

Volcanic Explosivity Index The volcanic explosivity index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions. It was devised by Christopher G. Newhall of the United States Geological Survey and Stephen Self in 1982. Volume of products, eruption c ...

of 3, and involved a central vent eruption, radial fissure eruption, explosive eruption,

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s, and a lava lake eruption. There was also a 16 km high subplinian plume. All of the island's 12,000 inhabitants were evacuated by dozens of military and civilian volunteer vessels. The most recent eruption was in 1990.

Tourism

Mount Mihara is a popular tourist destination. The volcano's low height and gentle slopes makes it suitable for hiking; walking to the volcano's summit on foot takes around an hour, and offers views of

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

Suicide

From a vantage point near the top of the cone it was once possible to leap into the crater. As a result, the volcano became a popular venue for

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

s. Beginning in the 1920s, several suicides occurred in the volcano every week. The most notable death by suicide was that of twenty-one year old Matsumoto Kiyoko, who jumped into the volcano on February 12, 1933. She and a classmate, Tomita Masako, had planned to go to the volcano together as part of a ''dōsei shinjū'' (a same-sex lover's suicide), but after climbing the volcano, Tomita was stopped by a guard. It was later revealed that Tomita had witnessed a suicide attempt a short while previously with another girl, and to get to the volcano, she had purchased a round-trip ferry ticket. Newspapers branded her as a suicide guide and ran dramatized stories warning of the dangers of same-sex relationships between women. After the incident, the suicide toll skyrocketed to 945 that year alone. Authorities eventually erected a fence around the base of the structure to curb the number of suicides.

Mihara in popular culture

Mount Mihara has been featured numerous times in fiction. In 1965, Oshima Island and the volcano itself appeared in the climax of

Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...

's debut film, where the military lured the giant turtle there as a means to trap it in a giant rocket ship built on the island. Mount Mihara features prominently in the finale of the 1984

kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...

film ''

The Return of Godzilla , is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 16th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the last film ...

'', where it serves as Godzilla's prison after he falls into the volcano during an eruption. Five years later, in the sequel '' Godzilla vs. Biollante'', bombs placed on Mt. Mihara go off and release Godzilla from the volcano. In the novel ''Ring'' by Koji Suzuki and its subsequent film adaption, Shizuko Yamamura, the mother of Sadako, predicted that Mount Mihara would someday erupt using her psychic abilities. After a failed psychic demonstration which resulted in Sadako psychically murdering a reporter, Shizuko became depressed and ultimately insane and committed suicide by leaping into the crater of Mount Mihara.

Bibliography

* ''Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide'' by Kay Redfield Jamison, Vintage Books 2000

References

External links

Izu-Oshima
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihara, Mount Mountains of Tokyo Stratovolcanoes of Japan Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc Active volcanoes Volcanoes of Tokyo Suicide in Japan