Chūgoku Mountains ( 中国山地 , Chūgoku Sanchi ) is a mountain range in the Chūgoku region of western Japan . It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately 500 km (311 mi) from Hyōgo Prefecture in the east to the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture . The range also reaches under the Pacific Ocean .
13-452: The two tallest mountains in the group are Daisen and Mount Hyōno , which are 1,729 m (5,673 ft) and 1,510 m (4,954 ft), respectively. Many other mountains in the range are also over 1,000 m (3,281 ft), while some of the smaller mountains are less than 500 m (1,640 ft). Granite is the most common stone found among the mountains, much of which has been exposed through erosion. Other than Daisen, most of
26-610: A second group of eruptions which started 50,000 years ago and ended 10,000 years ago in the caldera of Old Daisen. 50,000 years ago, this mountain had a plinian eruption from which volcanic ash can be found as far away as the Tohoku Region of Japan. Daisen is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan , and also one of the Chūgoku 100 mountains . Mount Daisen, which stands directly on the Sea of Japan,
39-756: The Chūgoku region , and the most important volcano on the Daisen volcanic belt , which is a part of the Southwestern Honshu volcanic arc, where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Amurian Plate . Mount Daisen is a complex volcano , made by repeated volcanic activity over thousands of years. Eruptions in this area started 1.8 million years ago and resulted in Old Daisen some 500,000 years ago . The Mount Daisen of today, New Daisen , resulted from
52-788: The Inland Sea with the exception of the Gōnokawa River (206 kilometres (128 mi)), which runs along the mountain range in Hiroshima and Shimane prefectures. The Sendai River (52 kilometres (32 mi)), the Tenjin River (32 kilometres (20 mi)), the Hino River (77 kilometres (48 mi)), and the Kando River (82 kilometres (51 mi)) all run steeply from the Chūgoku Mountains to
65-579: The Japan Sea. The Yoshii River (83 kilometres (52 mi)), the Asahi River (88 kilometres (55 mi)), and the Ōta River (655 kilometres (407 mi)) form a broader alluvial plain to the south of the mountain range and empty in to the Inland Sea. The Chūgoku Mountains are a source of iron sand , and the region was home to some of the earliest production of ironware in Japan. The broad tablelands of
78-489: The Misen Peak. It takes three hours to reach the summit. Izumo Province Izumo Province ( 出雲国 , Izumo-no-kuni ) was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture . It was sometimes called Unshū ( 雲州 ) . The province is in the Chūgoku region . During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this region was independent and constructed rectangular tumuli . But in
91-550: The clans of Izumo. The mythological mother of Japan, the goddess Izanami , is said to be buried on Mt. Hiba, at the border of the old provinces of Izumo and Hōki , near modern-day Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture . By the Sengoku period , Izumo had lost much of its importance. It was dominated before the Battle of Sekigahara by the Mōri clan , and after Sekigahara, it was an independent fief with
104-605: The fourth century this region saw the construction of rectangular and key shaped tumuli. During the 6th or 7th century it was absorbed due to the expansion of the state of Yamato , within which it assumed the role of a sacerdotal domain. Today, the Izumo Shrine constitutes (as does the Grand Shrine of Ise ) one of the most important sacred places of Shinto : it is dedicated to kami , especially to Ōkuninushi ( Ō-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto ), mythical progeny of Susanoo and all
117-463: The mountain region support cattle ranches, notably for the production of wagyu beef. The numerous rivers of the Chūgoku Mountains support an extensive network of rice production in western Japan. Daisen (mountain) Mount Daisen ( 大山 , Daisen ) is a dormant stratovolcano in Tottori Prefecture , Japan . It has an elevation of 1,729 metres. This mountain is the highest in
130-617: The mountain stands a Buddhist temple, Daisen-ji . This has existed as a centre of worship since the Heian period . It was founded by the Tendai sect in 718. Climbing the mountain used to be severely prohibited without a selected monk of Daisen-ji, and common people could not access the mountain until the Edo period . The mountain has also been important to the mountain ascetics of the Shugendō sect. Just above
143-558: The mountains run along the border of Tottori and Okayama prefectures and the border of Shimane and Hiroshima prefectures. The mountains form a drainage divide and natural barrier in western Japan between the San'in Region to the north and the San'yō Region to the south. The Chūgoku Mountains are the source of several rivers in western Japan. All flow either north to the Japan Sea or south to
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#1733093535183156-465: The temple is the Ōgamiyama Jinja , literally, shrine of the mountain of the great god . After the 2000 Tottori earthquake , some of Mount Daisen's peaks are on the verge of collapse. It is prohibited to ascend the mountain's highest peak, the Kengamine (1,729 metres (5,673 ft)). Climbers are able to access the Misen Peak (1,709.4 metres (5,608 ft)). The most popular route is from Daisen-ji to
169-474: Was regarded as one of the most important mountains for Japanese Shugendō religion . According to the Izumo Kokudo Fudoki , completed in 733, it was called Ōkami-take , literally, Mountain of the great god . Mount Daisen has been called Hōki Fuji and Izumo Fuji, depending on which side of the mountain the viewer is standing on. These names are based on the old Hōki and Izumo provinces. Halfway up
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