Kirishima-yama, Japan Photo Poster

Spring Cherry Trees and Mountain Scenery, Takachiho Farm, Kirishima National Park, Kyushu, Japan Photo Print

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In the mountain-studded islands of Kyushu there are three great volcanic ranges--Unzen-ga-take, Asosan and Kirishima-yama--not counting others famous locally. These three have been declared National Parks, for each possesses characteristics of scenic beauty and revered memory peculiarly its own. The fame of Kirishima-yama may be attributed to its legendary memories linked with the dawn of the Japanese Empire, and its majestic volcanic mountain scenery.

Kirishima-yama is a collective term used to denote the 22 gracefully-shaped peaks, each having an individual name. Of these, the two giants stand forth more than 5,000 feet above sea level, facing each other, the King and Queen among the mountains. The one in the east, Higashi-Kirishima (5,174 feet) is known by the sacred name of Mount Takachiho while the western Kirishima (5,610 feet), the higher, is called Karakuni-dake, or China-and-Korea-viewing Mountain.

This area, 84.5 square miles, extending in the north to Shiratori Spa, and in the South to Kirishima Shrine, bound on the east by the town of Takaharu, and on the west by the villages of Kurino and Makizono, has been marked as Kirishima National Park. In its vast bosom are found all the features of volcanic mountain scenery: wonderful craters, lakes, cascades, forests, hot springs, rare trees, flowers, etc.

Mount Takachiho is to the Japanese what Mount Olympus was to the Greeks. Upon this summit descended at the dawn of history Ninigi-no-mikoto, the grandson of the Sun Goddess, charged with the command to make peaceful occupation of the Land of Reedy Moors ( Japan). It was his grandson, Jinmu, who, after subjugating the savage aborigines of the land, proclaimed himself the first Emperor of Japan at Kashiwara, Yamato, in the central Japan. It was on February 11th in 660 B.C., the anniversary of which is observed as a national holiday under the name of Kigensetsu, or Empire Day. On the summit of Takachiho Peak, which is a small tableland of seven feet square, stands the famous "heavenly halberd," made of ancient bronze, stuck in the ground hilt heavenward. It is much the worse for time and weather but is none the less venerated as a relic of the god. A mile or so below this peak is the active crater, 292 feet deep and 666 feet around, emitting smoke in a lazy, nonchalant manner.

There is something ethereal about every high mountain, as we look at it from below, and especially the volcanic mountain, which gives the impression of being "alive" or charged with a power at once ominous and awe-inspiring. No wonder that simple country folk who heard the voice of the gods in thunder should have seen, in the eruption of a volcano with its fearful detonation and ejection of ash, fire and molten rock for miles around, dramatic evidence of some awful presence in the bowels of the earth. Kirishima bears many traces of this latent power within, which, added to the beauty and grandeur of its scenery, make it all the more awe-inspiring.

Karakunidake is less shapely than the sacred peak, but has a wider and more majestic view. It has also a crater, 21/2 miles below its summit, but instead of emitting smoke or fire, harbors an emeraldgreen lake (21/2 miles in circumference), called Ōnamiike, or great-wave-pond, but its unruffled surface, reflecting the peaceful verdure of the surrounding trees quite belies its name. Standing on the top of the mountain you will see this pond right under your feet, like a gem set in a sea of sylvan beauty. Immediately to the east you see its grand and handsome sister peak, Takachiho, with its smoke-emitting crater, soaring above its more humble neighbors. Turning northward, you behold a strikingly extensive view, over Shiratorisan, of various mountain ranges of central Kyūshū, including Asosan and Sobosan. But the grandest sight of all is that facing southward. Here, in one marvelous, comprehensive panorama are included the crystal bay of Kagoshima with the fair Sakurajima, and, away on the Pacific shore, the high peak of Kaimondake, the Fuji of Satsuma, or the most southerly mountain outpost of Japan.

Both these wonderful peaks of Kirishima are not, as mountains of Japan, very high, though higher than the highest peak in Great Britain, and strenuous climbers could combine the two in one day, covering part of the distance, thanks to the traffic of motor-buses. No, their glories do not lie in their height. The first glory among them is their beauty of scenery--not only the great views they command but in their own peculiar handsomeness. Behold the colors and depths of 5,050 acres of virgin forests, clothing the lower half of the mountains, which the woodcutter's axe has never touched since the age of the gods, containing graceful forest giants, over 1,000 years old, soaring to a height of 130 feet. These trees, together with the resplendent Kirishima azaleas --blooming in May--the color and variety of which baffle description, and some of which are as large as 17 meters high and 7 meters around--are numbered among the precious "natural monuments" for which the State now tenderly cares. In the same breath must be mentioned the sacred Kirishima Shrine, dedicated to the soul of Ninigi. It is situated on the south-western side of Takachiho Peak, 1,640 ft. above sea level, built over 200 years ago. It commands beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and higher mountains around, sheltered by century-old trees imparting an air of sacred solemnity before which the spectator unconsciously bows his head. This, and the other sacred shrine, Higashi-Kirishima Shrine, which marks the birthplace of Emperor of Jinmu, make the two hallowed spots on Kirishima to which no Japanese visitor will omit to pay his respects.

The famous Kirishima spa is a collective term including more than 20 villages. They lie within easy distance from one another, 2399 feet up, on the way to Karakuni Peak. They are free from snow in winter. The ascent of the peak is made through paths teeming in beautiful foliage, blossom and landscape, and the famous red pines make a striking contrast with the green trees around. It is easy of access, thanks to the constant bus traffic from below. The hot baths there are of various kinds--sulphur, iron, salt, alum--making a splendid stop-over station for rest and recuperation.

The only drawback, if it is a drawback, of Kirishima Park is its remoteness from the center of Japan. This accounts for the fact that the hotel accommodation and other factors of comfort, though far from lacking, are not quite as perfect as they are at Hakone or Unzen. The relative absence of modern amenities is regarded, however, as an attraction in the eyes of young tourists, who love nature and adventure and who would prefer roughing it a bit to the pampered ease of the Pullman car and the palatial hotel. Indeed, it would seem a pity in these days of spreading modernism to damage any of the primitive charms of Kirishima so associated with the age of the gods, even for the doubtful meed of converting it into a popular resort.