Showa Shinzan

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

photo by Ray Swi-hymn from Sijhih-Taipei, Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0

The postmaster drew the birth of the mountain every day from his window (1943–45).

At the base of the cone, still smoking, a path runs along the slope that in the ’40s was a wheat field. The mountain rose between 1943 and 1945, and the local postmaster, Mimatsu Masao, drew it every day from his own window: the result, the ‘Mimatsu diagram’, is considered the only case in the world of a continuous human record of the birth of a volcano.

Showa Shinzan is a dome volcano that rose between December 1943 and September 1945 out of a farm field, pushed up by the eruptions of nearby Mount Usu. The land, now 398 metres high, still belongs to the family of the observer Mimatsu Masao, head of the local post office, who documented its growth day by day. It has been a Natural Monument since 1951 and a Special Natural Monument since 1957; access to the summit is forbidden because it remains a permanently monitored volcano.

ℹ️ You can view and photograph the volcano from its base, along the road; climbing it is forbidden. A small free museum, open since 1988, displays Mimatsu Masao's instruments and observations: check its opening hours before your visit.

🚉 昭和新山 · 3 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

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