Mount Takachiho
| Takachiho-no-mine | |
|---|---|
 South Face, seen from Takachiho Farm | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,573.36 m (5,161.9 ft) |
| Geography | |
 | |
Country |  Japan |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Pleistocene |
| Stratovolcano (active) | |
| Rock type | Andesite |
Takachiho-no-mine (高千穂峰) or Mt. Takachiho (1573m) is a volcano in Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures, Japan. It is part of Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park, where it is the second highest peak in the Kirishima range.
Mt. Takachicho is a stratovolcano, flanked by the Ohachi volcano to the west and Futago-ishi volcano to the east. While the Ohachi vent has been active with major eruptions in 788 CE and 1235 CE, it last had a minor eruption in 1913.[1]
Shinto Myth
[edit]According to the Nihon Shoki, it was on the peak of Mt. Takachiho that Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of supreme deity Amaterasu, first descended onto earth.[2] Today, the peak features a replica of the legendary halberd Ame-no-sakahoko (天逆鉾), the inverted spear of heaven, said to have been thrust into the mountain by Ninigi.
According to legend, three generations of Ninigis descendants continued living in the area until Jimmu set out to conquer the Yamato plain, thus becoming the legendary first emperor of Japan.
The nearby Kirishima Shrine still enshrines these intermediary generations as Kami. It used to stand directly at the base of Mt. Takachiho but was repeatedly damaged by eruptions of the Ochachi flank and then moved. The old shrine's remains can still be seen at Takachiho-gawara, which nowadays also functions as the trailhead to Mt. Takachiho.[3]
Images
[edit]
View from Southwest
View from Mt. Karakuni beyond Shinmoedake, 1998
View from Takachiho-gawara from the south
View from Lake Miike from the east
View of peak from Ohachi crater
View from the south, with Ohachi crater in the foreground
References
[edit]- ↑ "気象庁｜霧島山 有史以降の火山活動". www.data.jma.go.jp. Retrieved 2026-08-06.
- ↑ Aston, W. G. (William George) (1896). Nihongi : chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. London : Published for the Society by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübrer & Co., Limited. pp. 84–85.
- ↑ "Takachihogawara Visitor Center". www.japan.travel. Retrieved 2026-08-06.