Detail of a katozome dyed work by Izu-based artist Sawako Koyama; a Mount Fuji mural in a Tokyo sento public bath. Photos by Mio Yamada
Considering Japan is shaped, literally and culturally, by its mountains, it’s a little surprising that the national holiday Mountain Day (Yama no Hi) on August 11 wasn’t established until 2016. Around 70% to 80% of Japan is mountainous terrain, with many of its distinctive peaks featured in folklore, historical art, contemporary art, past and modern literature, and Buddhist and Shinto rituals.
In Japanese creation mythology, the deities Izanagi and Izanami stirred primordial oceans with a spear to create Japan's islands and mountain ranges. Volcanoes came later when Izanami was fatally burned giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the deity of fire. Izanagi, so distraught and angry in his grief, sliced Kagutsuchi into pieces with a sacred sword. The pieces fell onto the islands to become firey volcanoes.
Let’s not forget that Japan also has its famed and spiritually significant destinations of the Three Holy Mountains, each revered as sacred dwellings of deities and regularly climbed by pilgrims and enjoyed by visitors: Mount Haku on the borders of Ishikawa and Gifu prefectures, Mount Tateyama in Toyama prefecture and, of course, Mount Fuji between Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.
Mount Fuji, seen from Mount Komuro in Shizuoka prefecture. Photo by Mio Yamada
August is, in general, a time of ascetic pilgrimages and traditional festivals in Japan. People enjoy fire festivals to honour Konohanasakuya-hime (the goddess of Mount Fuji and volcanoes), take part in other sacred mountain celebrations or join the Mount Ontake and Dewa Sanzan pilgrimages. Yet before 2016, August didn’t have a public holiday, making it the perfect summer month to create one and draw attention to the beauty and importance of Japan’s terrain.
Now Yama no Hi is the nation’s newest holiday — first proposed in 2014 by the Japanese Alpine Club during a bit of a hiking boom. It was established to recognise the spiritual significance and benefits of mountains in Japanese society, with its August 11 date chosen because the kanji for 8 (八) resembles a mountain and the number 11 could be seen as two tall trees standing side by side.
Mountaineering, though, is interestingly an import from Europe to Japan. The Japanese Alpine Club, founded in 1905, was inspired by the English Alpine Club, though it perhaps combined a few more spiritual aspects in its focus on exploration of peaks.
Mountainscape along the Seto Island Sea, taken from the Simose Art Museum in Otake, Hiroshima. Photo by Mio Yamada
The first official Yama no Hi was celebrated in 2016 with a ceremony at Kamikochi, a stunning, unspoiled mountainous area of Nagano Prefecture that's long been popular with pilgrims, experienced mountaineers and hikers. It was attended by the then-Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako and Princess Aiko, and was more of a revered occasion involving speeches of nature appreciation, spiritual history and dedication to environmental stewardship.
Today, those dedicated to the significance of the extra holiday organise local festivals, events, environmental educational programs and hiking trail cleanup campaigns. But most simply take the opportunity to simply appreciate nature by taking hikes, follow mountain trails and enjoy Japan’s beautiful high views.
Mountain view at Sengokuhara in Hakone. Photo by Mio Yamada