is a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

on the

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

, in the city of Katsuura, in the southeast area of

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. There are two Cape Hachimans located in close proximity to one another: Cape Hachiman in Katsuura, and Cape Hachiman a few kilometers to the north in Isumi City. The cape is named after

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

, a mythological Japanese god of archery and war.

Geography

The cape consists of steep 40-meter high

sea cliffs A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal areas in whic ...

. It is rich in subtropical vegetation. Especially noteworthy are the

Castanopsis ''Castanopsis'', commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. The Engli ...

tree, an evergreen of the beech family, and in the ''tabu'' species of

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

History

Cape Hachiman was known as a natural point of maritime defense at least as early as the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. The ruins of

Katsuura Castle Katsuura may refer to: *Katsuura, Chiba is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 16,872 in 8566 households and a population density of 180 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Katsuura ...

are located prominently on the cape. The castle was built in the 10th century, while Cape Misaki was part of

Kazusa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...

. The castle is traditionally thought to be constructed by the Okiyo no Ōkimi clan of Kazusa Province. It was later transferred to the powerful Masaki branch of the

Satomi clan The was a Japanese samurai clan of the Sengoku period (1467–1573) and early Edo period (1603–1868). The clan ruled Awa Province as a ''Sengoku daimyō'' and was a major military power in the Kantō region during the wars of the Nanboku-c ...

of Awa Province. In 1549 the Satomi clan relinquished the castle to

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

, who destroyed it.

Cape Hachiman Park

Cape Hachiman Park was established to include access to the cape, the remains of

, and the Katsuura Lighthouse. Cape Hachiman is home to a small shrine, the Hachiman Shrine. The park includes the grave of 130 soldiers who died in a shipwreck off the coast of Katsuura during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

(1868–1869). The park is also home to a large

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statue of Yōjuin, a favored

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Transportation

The cape can be accessed via the

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

Sotobō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, on the eastern (i.e., outer) side of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Chiba Station in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Sta ...

Katsuura Station.

References

* {{Coord, 35, 8, 7.48, N, 140, 18, 40.8, E, region:JP-12_type:landmark, display=title

Tourist attractions in Chiba Prefecture Landforms of Chiba Prefecture Parks and gardens in Chiba Prefecture