Tsukuba (mountain)

Tsukuba
height	877 m TP
location	Tsukuba , Japan
Coordinates	36 ° 13 '19 " N , 140 ° 6' 14" E Coordinates: 36 ° 13 '19 " N , 140 ° 6' 14" E
rock	Granite , gabbro

Tsukuba (Hiroshige)

The Tsukuba ( Japanese 筑波山 , -san ) is a mountain near Tsukuba in Japan . The Tsukuba has two peaks, the Nyotai-san ( 女体山 , literally: "female body") in the east (877 m) and the Nantai-san ( 男体山 , literally: "male body") in the west (871 m) . It is one of the most famous mountains in Japan, also because of its Shinto shrine .

Many tourists climb the mountain every year to enjoy the view of the Kanto plain from its summit . Unlike most of the mountains in Japan, the tsukuba is not of volcanic origin, but is made up of non-volcanic rocks such as granite and gabbro . The mountain is known for a particularly beautiful granite that is still mined here today.

history

The Nyotai-san represents the female deity Izanami , the Nantai-san the male deity Izanagi , the two primary gods of the Japanese creation myth.

In ancient times kagai took place on Nyotai-san . These were orgiastic festivals in which men and women from near and far took part and the men probably also sang love songs for the favor of women. These celebrations also served as wedding rituals and imitated the connection between the two mountains, with which the resulting children had divine blessings. Descriptions of it can be found in the Fudoki of Hitachi Province , which was completed in 721, as well as in various poems in the Man'yōshū , which was compiled in 759. The following poem in it suggests that not only unmarried people took part, but that the rituality of the festival also allowed infidelities with impunity:

「鷲住筑波乃山之裳羽服津乃其津乃上尓率而未通女壮士之徃集集加賀布嬥歌尓他他妻尓吾毛交牟吾妻尓他毛言乎牛山山山言乎牛山山山言乎牛此山山言乎牛山山従来不禁行事叙今日耳者目串毛勿見事毛咎莫」

"Washi no sumu / Tsukuha no yama no / Mohakitsu no / sono tsu no ue ni / adomohite / wotome wotoko no / yukitsudohi / kagafu kagahi ni / hitozuma ni / ware mo majiramu / waga tsuma ni / hito mo kotamaotohe / kono ushihaku kami no / mukashi yori / isamenu waza zo / kefu nomi ha / megushi mo na miso / koto mo togamu na "

“On the Mountain of Tsukuba / Where the eagles dwell / Near the Wells of Mohakitsu, / Seeking each other, in song of Kagai, / I will seek the wives of other men / And let other men woo my own. / The gods dwelling in these mountains / Have allowed this / Since olden times; / Do not make exception today / And do not reproach the lovers / And blame them not. "

- Takahashi no Mushimaro : Man'yōshū, poem # 1759

The mountain with its characteristic double peaks can be seen from Tokyo on a clear day. Utagawa Hiroshige, among others, depicted him several times in his 100 famous Views of Edo , as it were as a counterpart to Mount Fuji in the west.

Attractions

On the southern slope is the Shinto shrine Tsukubasan-jinja ( 筑波山神社 ), which is said to have been founded in the 7th century and where the mountain is venerated. During the Edo period (1603-1868) he received several large donations from the Edo government (today's Tokyo ). In return, the shrine was supposed to protect the capital from disaster as a kimon ( 鬼門 , "demon gate"). The money was used to build pavilions that can be visited.
Nearby is the small temple Ōmi-dō .
Behind the Shinto shrine, the Tsukuba funicular ( Tsukuba-san Cable Car ; 筑波山ケーブルカー ) begins , which reaches just to the summit of Nantai-san. The Tsukuba cable car ( Tsukuba-san Ropeway ; 筑波山ロープウェイ ) leads near Nyotai-san .
There are several unusual rock formations on the Shirakumobashi hiking trail, including Defune-Irifune ( 出船入船 ) - two stones that look like ships leaving ( defune ) or arriving ( irifune ).

Hiking routes

In addition to the cable car, there are a total of four routes to the top of the Tsukuba. These differ from the starting altitude, the ascent, the length, incline and duration.

An overview of all routes:

Surname	Length [km]	Height difference [m]	summit
Miyukigahara Course ( 御幸ヶ原コース )	2.5	610	Nantai-san
Mukaeba Course ( 迎場コース )	1.6	190	Nyotai-san
Shirakumobashi Course ( 白雲橋コース )	2.8	610	Nyotai-san
Otatsuishi Course ( おたつ石コース )	1.0	200	Nyotai-san

The most popular route is the ascent via the Miyukigahara Course and the descent via the Shirakumobashi Course. The Mukaeba Course combines Otatsuishi and Shirakumobashi.

The “nature study path ” ( 自然研究路 , shizen kenkyūro ) leads over 1.5 km around the summit on an even contour line .

Web links

Commons : Mount Tsukuba - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

- Japanese

Tsukuba Kankō Railway (official website) - Japanese

Individual evidence

↑ HE Plutschow: Chaos and Cosmos. Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature . EJ Brill, 1990, ISBN 90-04-08628-5 , pp. 120–122 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - originally published in 1939).
↑ Transcription in the pre-war reading kyū-kanazukai
↑ Tsukuba-san Shrine. In: Japan: the Official Guide. Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed January 30, 2016 .
↑ Japan National Tourism Organization: Tsukuba Area. In: Japan: the Official Guide. Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed January 30, 2016 .
↑ ^a ^b 筑波山登山コース . In: 筑波山ケーブルカー & ロープウェイ / Tsukubasan Cable Car & Ropeway . Retrieved January 30, 2016 (Japanese).

[1] HE Plutschow: Chaos and Cosmos. Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature . EJ Brill, 1990, ISBN 90-04-08628-5 , pp. 120–122 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - originally published in 1939).

[2] Transcription in the pre-war reading kyū-kanazukai

[3] Tsukuba-san Shrine. In: Japan: the Official Guide. Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed January 30, 2016 .

[4] Japan National Tourism Organization: Tsukuba Area. In: Japan: the Official Guide. Japan National Tourism Organization, accessed January 30, 2016 .

[:0-5] 筑波山登山コース . In: 筑波山ケーブルカー & ロープウェイ / Tsukubasan Cable Car & Ropeway . Retrieved January 30, 2016 (Japanese).