The are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in central Honshū, Japan, bordering

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Yamanashi and

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

prefectures. It is also called the , as it joins with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the

Kiso Mountains are a mountain range in Nagano and Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group collectively known as the Japanese ...

("Central Alps") to form the Japanese Alps.

Origin of the name

There are a lot of red stones (赤石 Aka-Ishi) around the Akaishi River, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Ōi River The is a river in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Geography The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. These mountains, with p ...

in the southern part of Southern Alps. Then it was said that the mountain of red stone came to be called

Mount Akaishi , is a peak in the Akaishi Mountains, on the border of Shizuoka and Nagano Prefectures in central Honshū, Japan. On June 1, 1964, the mountain was included within the Minami Alps National Park. Geography At , Mount Akaish is the 7th tall ...

. The mountain represents the mountain range and the name ''Akaishi'' is used for the whole range mountain range, Akaishi Mountains.

Major peaks

Almost all major peaks of the Akaishi Mountains are in

Minami Alps National Park is a national park in the Akaishi Mountains, Chūbu region, Honshū, Japan. The Minami Alps National Park was established on June 1, 1964. It extends along the border of Shizuoka, Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures for a length of , and a ...

that was established on June 1, 1964.Minami Alps National Park
(home page of the Ministry of the Environment) The range is the source of two rivers,

and

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shizuoka Prefect ...

, which flow to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

Akaishi Mountains and Ina Valley from Mount Ena 2010-12-12

Panorama

Flora and fauna

Alpine plants Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...

, such as

Siberian dwarf pine ''Pinus pumila'', commonly known as the Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine, dwarf stone pine, Japanese stone pine, or creeping pine, is a tree in the family Pinaceae native to northeastern Asia and the Japanese isles. It shares the commo ...

can be seen above the tree line.

Rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

and

spotted nutcracker The spotted nutcracker, Eurasian nutcracker, or simply nutcracker (''Nucifraga caryocatactes'') is a passerine bird slightly larger than the Eurasian jay. It has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over ...

also live in the alpine zone.

Japanese serow The : (''Capricornis crispus'') ( 羚羊) is a Japanese goat-antelope, an even-toed ungulate mammal. It is found in dense woodland in Japan, primarily in northern and central Honshu. The serow is seen as a national symbol of Japan, and is subj ...

and

sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...

live in the forest belt on the mountain slopes. is endemic to

Mount Kita is a mountain of the Akaishi Mountains−"Southern Alps" (南アルプス ''Minami-Arupusu''), in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is the second tallest mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with ...

. File:Ptarmigan Raicyou in Arakawadake Mother and child 1994 7 29.jpg,

File:Spotted Nutcracker.jpg, Spotted
nutcracker File:Cervus nippon Nagoya castle 2010-10-3.JPG,

Sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...

File:Pinus pumila1.JPG, Siberian
dwarf pine File:Callianthemum hondoense 01.jpg, ''

Callianthemum ''Callianthemum'' is a genus that consists of 24 species of little rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creep ...

''
''hondoense'' File:Polemonium caeruleum Miyamahashinobu in Kitadake 2002-9-2.jpg, ''Polemonium''
''caeruleum''

Walter Weston in the Japanese Alps

Englishman

Walter Weston Walter Weston (25 December 1861 – 27 March 1940), was an English clergyman and Anglican missionary who helped popularise recreational mountaineering in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Background and early life Weston was born 25 De ...

introduced the Western world to the Japanese Alps in his book ''Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps''. During his visits to Japan, he climbed Akaishi Mountains. Several monuments in his memory have been set up in several places in the Japanese Alps. He climbed the following peaks: * 1892 Mount Akaishi - The first non-Japanese to climb this mountain * 1902 Mount Kita * 1903 Mount Kaikoma * 1904 Mount Hōō and Mount Senjō

References

Books

*''Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps'' -by Walter Weston (1896)

External links

{{commons category, Akaishi Mountains
Yamanashi Nichinichi Newspaper: Minami Alps website
Japan Alps Mountain ranges of Nagano Prefecture Mountain ranges of Shizuoka Prefecture Mountain ranges of Yamanashi Prefecture