Mount Bandai

Mount Bandai (磐梯山, Bandai-san) is a stratovolcano in Japan. It lies in Yama-Gun, in Fukushima prefecture, and covers parts of Inawashiro-town, Bandai-town, and Kitashiobara village. It is an active volcano, located north of Lake Inawashiro. Mount Bandai, including the Bandai heights, is part of the Bandai-Asahi National Park.

For a long time, the height of Mount Bandai was measured from a triangulation station called "Bandai," which was set up in 1904. After that station was lost to erosion, the mountain was measured again in October 2010. Its main peak is now 1,816.29 metres (5,959.0 ft) high. The name "Mount Bandai" also covers several other peaks, including Akahani and Kushigamine. These peaks were formed during the 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai.

The mountain was first called "Iwahashi-yama," which means "a rock ladder to the sky." Today it is sometimes called "Aizu Fuji" and "Aizu Bandai." The south side is known as Omotebandai, and the north side as Urabandai. From Omotebandai, the mountain looks neat and almost shaped like a cone. From Urabandai, it looks wild, with jagged cliffs and bare rock, because part of it collapsed.

Mount Bandai is one of the 100 famous mountains of Japan. In 2007, it was chosen as one of the top 100 geographic landmarks in Japan. In 2011, it was also certified as a geopark of Japan.

Volcanic activity

Mount Bandai often has debris avalanches and sector collapses. It has not had a lava flow since an eruption about 10,000 years ago. Volcanic activity is thought to have started about 290,000 years ago, after Mount Nekoma, somewhere to the west, had been active. Based on sediment studies, geologists divide the volcano's history into six periods. Some periods had scoria, pumice, and ash eruptions. Others involved parts of the mountain collapsing. Around 90,000 and 50,000 years ago, a river was blocked and Lake Inawashiro formed. The four peaks created in 1888 are said to have come from a mountain shaped like Mount Fuji, which formed in an eruption in 806.

Main article: 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai

In July 1888, there was rumbling, but people did not realize it was a warning. On July 15, 1888, a phreatic eruption happened. The north side of Kobandai collapsed. Lahars (volcanic mudslides) and debris flows blocked rivers and damaged the land downstream. Several lakes formed. The avalanche of debris buried five nearby villages, and many people died. This was the first major disaster for the modern Japanese government, which had begun in the Meiji period. The government looked into the eruption, provided help, and tried to rebuild the affected villages. The Japanese Red Cross helped with the relief effort, its first disaster relief work during peacetime.

Sacred Mountains

The Enichi Temple is near the south-western foot of Mount Bandai. Many mountains around it are places where people go to worship. These include Mount Bandai to the north-east of the temple, Mount Mayadake to the north, and Mount Azuma to the north of Mount Bandai. Because of where it stands, the temple has played an important part in mountain worship.

The Enichi Temple was founded in 807 AD, one year after Mount Bandai erupted. Some people think the eruption and the founding of the temple may be connected. Several routes for visiting Azumayama Shrine have been set up. All of them start at the main temple of the Enichi shrine.