Celebrating Mountain Day in Japan
Mountain Day or ‘Yama no hi’ is one of Japan’s newest holidays. It is celebrated since 2016 every 11th of August each year unless it falls on a Sunday, the holiday will then be observed and celebrated on the following Monday as a holiday. The United Nations observes a day for International Mountain Day on December 11th each year. Yama no hi is named as such because the kanji for “eight”, 八 resembles the sides of a mountain while “11” looks somewhat like two trees.
Becoming a National Holiday
Mountain Day was established after the Japanese Alpine Club and other groups lobbied for the bill stating that Shinto beliefs in nature have shaped the Japanese culture and the country’s peaks and mountains should be celebrated. The legislation for Mountain Day is intended to provide “opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains”.
Yama no hi is so apt a holiday for Japan considering about 70% of the country is mountainous and outdoor activities such as hiking, and skiing are popular amongst the citizens and foreign visitors. All of Japan’s main islands have a mountain range running through it with Mt. Fuji being the highest mountain, one of the “Three Holy Mountains”, and is synonymous to the country.
Celebrating Mountain Day
There are no particular traditional ceremonies for Mountain Day. The formal inaugural National Ceremony for Mountain Day was held in the Japanese Alps of Kamikochi in Matsumoto, Nagano.
