Mount Nantai
Encyclopedia
is a stratovolcano
in the Nikkō National Park
in central Honshū
, the main island of Japan
. It stands at 2,486 m high. A prominent landmark, it can be seen on clear days from as far as the Pacific coast, 100 km away.
The mountain is popular with hikers, and the trail to the summit starts through a gate at Futarasan Shrine
's . The gate is open between 5 May and 25 October.
Mount Nantai is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.
In September 2008, the Japan Meteorological Agency
was asked to reclassify Mount Nantai as "active" based upon work by Yasuo Ishizaki and colleagues of Toyama University showing evidence of an eruption approximately 7000 years ago.
the most common (a yorishiro
housing a kami) in the earliest Shinto shrines was a nearby mountain peak supplying with its streams water, and therefore life, to the plains below where people lived.
Mount Nantai constitutes Futarasan Shrine
's go-shintai, and the shrine is an important example of this ancient type of mountain cult. Significantly, the name itself means "man's body". The mountain not only provides water to the rice paddies below, but has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
in the Nikkō National Park
Nikko National Park
is a national park in the Kantō region, on the main island of Honshū in Japan. The park spreads over four prefectures: Tochigi, Gunma, Fukushima, and Niigata.Notable attractions include:* Nikkō Tōshō-gū* Lake Chūzenji* Kegon Falls* Ryūzu Falls* Mount Nantai...
in central Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, the main island of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It stands at 2,486 m high. A prominent landmark, it can be seen on clear days from as far as the Pacific coast, 100 km away.
The mountain is popular with hikers, and the trail to the summit starts through a gate at Futarasan Shrine
Futarasan Shrine
, also known as Nikkō Futarasan Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. To distinguish it from the shrine in nearby Utsunomiya. It enshrines three deities: Ōkuninushi, Tagorihime, and Ajisukitakahikone....
's . The gate is open between 5 May and 25 October.
Mount Nantai is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.
In September 2008, the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
was asked to reclassify Mount Nantai as "active" based upon work by Yasuo Ishizaki and colleagues of Toyama University showing evidence of an eruption approximately 7000 years ago.
Mount Nantai as a sacred mountain
Archeologists affirm that during the Yayoi periodYayoi period
The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...
the most common (a yorishiro
Yorishiro
A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called kami, thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. Yorishiro are used during ceremonies to call the kami for worship. The word itself literally means approach substitute. Once a yorishiro...
housing a kami) in the earliest Shinto shrines was a nearby mountain peak supplying with its streams water, and therefore life, to the plains below where people lived.
Mount Nantai constitutes Futarasan Shrine
Futarasan Shrine
, also known as Nikkō Futarasan Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. To distinguish it from the shrine in nearby Utsunomiya. It enshrines three deities: Ōkuninushi, Tagorihime, and Ajisukitakahikone....
's go-shintai, and the shrine is an important example of this ancient type of mountain cult. Significantly, the name itself means "man's body". The mountain not only provides water to the rice paddies below, but has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.