is located at

Lake Chūzenji , also called Sea of Happiness, is a scenic lake in Nikkō National Park in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It was created 20,000 years ago when Mount Nantai (2484 m) erupted and blocked the river. The lake has a surface area of 11. ...

(source of the Oshiri River) in

Nikkō National Park is a national park in the Kantō region, on the main island of Honshū in Japan. The park spreads over three prefectures: Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma and Fukushima Prefecture, Fukushima, and was established in 1934. Hi ...

near the city of

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The falls were formed when the Daiya River was rerouted by lava flows. The main falls had a height of approximately and about twelve smaller waterfalls are situated behind and to the sides of Kegon Falls, leaking through the many cracks between the mountain and the lava flows. In the autumn, the traffic on the road from Nikko to Chūzenji can sometimes slow to a crawl as visitors come to see the fall colors. In 1927, the Kegon Falls was recognized as one of the "Eight Views" which best showed Japan and its culture in the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

. It is also listed as one of the "

Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls is a list of waterfalls in Japan compiled by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. Background According to the Japanese government, there are 517 named waterfalls in Japan. Many of these waterfalls are located in remote mountain lo ...

", in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. The Kegon Falls are infamous for suicides, especially among Japanese youth.

Suicides

Misao Fujimura (1886 – May 22, 1903), a Japanese philosophy student and poet, is largely remembered due to his farewell poem written directly on the trunk of a tree before committing suicide by jumping from the Kegon Falls. The story was soon sensationalized in contemporary newspapers and was commented upon by the famed writer

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', '' Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

. This led the famed scenic falls to become a notorious spot for lovetorn or otherwise desperate youngsters to take their lives ( Werther Effect). p. 519

References

土門公記（Domon Kouki）: 藤村操の手紙－華厳の滝に眠る16歳のメッセージ. Shimotsuke Shimbunsha, 2002,

External links

A trip to Kegon Falls with fall coloursTourism website for Kegon Falls Why 200 people committed suicide near the Kegon Falls?
An article about the history of the Falls and its dark side of suicides. Waterfalls of Japan Nikkō, Tochigi Tourist attractions in Tochigi Prefecture Landforms of Tochigi Prefecture {{Tochigi-geo-stub