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Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Yamanashi
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Before the riverside road opened in 1843, Mitake pilgrims used a trail winding over Kakuenpo’s upper slopes. A 1951 account even names traces of the old route: Sakura Daimon and Sugi Daimon.
Local tradition says the peak is named for monk Kakuen, who practiced at its summit, where only a few tatami mats could fit. This towering landmark remembers a remarkably small place for meditation.
Kakuenpo became a pocket-sized national icon: Shosenkyo won the 1950 gorge poll with 1,183,654 votes, and the peak appeared on its 8-yen stamp issued in 1951. The companion 24-yen design showed Nagatoro Bridge.
Kakuenpo rises about 180 m in an almost vertical granite face. Weathering and water erosion shaped the pale rock, whose dramatic contrast with the surrounding pines and autumn leaves helped make it Shosenkyo’s signature view.
