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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Gunma / Niigata
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Tanigawa is one of only 2 Japanese mountains where the silvery, woolly alpine flower hosoba-hina-usuyukiso grows naturally; the other is Mount Shibutsu in Oze, according to the Environment Ministry’s local office.
From the Numata side, Tanigawa’s summit looks like a pair of cat ears: the nearer Toma-no-mimi is 1,963 m high, while the farther, higher Oki-no-mimi reaches 1,977 m. The peaks are nicknamed “the two ears.”
Local history records yamabushi—mountain ascetics—climbing Oki-no-mimi on July 1 to pray at its Sengen shrine. A story links their tossed offerings to the name Zeniire-sawa, “coin-inserting ravine”; Edo-period coins have been found in nearby Ichinokura-sawa.
A Minakami tourism guide links a local onsen-town treat to the mountain itself: it describes Minakami manjū as made with Tanigawa’s clear water, which gives the sweet a moist texture and gentle sweetness.
The shrine at Oki-no-mimi is traditionally said to have been founded in 1380. It once held 8 Buddhist-image mirrors; 2 survive in Minakami’s Mountain Museum, including one inscribed with the date 1565.
Tanigawa lies on Japan’s central watershed: water on the Japan Sea side drains north, while water on the Gunma side joins the Tone River and flows toward the Pacific. The mountain’s faces differ too—steep cliffs on the Gunma side, gentler slopes on the Niigata side.
The first recorded traverse of Tanigawa was on July 2, 1920. Climbers Toshio Fujishima and Takashi Mori followed paths already used by mountain ascetics and hunters, traveling from Tsuchitaru to Tanigawa Onsen with a local guide.
Tanigawa-dake has a cartographic twist: a mountain-history account says the name originally referred to nearby Manaitagura, but surveyors applied it to the present summit area. The map label caught on, and the name stuck.
When the Oshirimizu Shinkansen tunnel opened in 1982, its 22,221 m length was described as the world’s longest. Water from the tunnel now helps supply Minakami’s tap water and bottled mineral water, serving about 5,000 people.
Heavy snow and wind squeeze Tanigawa’s subalpine forest belt, creating a “pseudo-alpine” zone. The result is a mosaic of vegetation, with alpine plants appearing after a relatively short climb from the lower forests.
Some beech trees in Tanigawa’s foothills, upstream from the Machigazawa junction, are more than 300 years old. The local ecotourism plan notes these ancient trees among the mountain’s forest features.
In local dialect, “kura” means a rock wall or cliff. Ichinokura-sawa is named for its place as a foremost rock wall in the area—a small piece of local language built right into the mountain landscape.
Gunma police formed a dedicated Tanigawa-dake Guard Unit in April 1958 as climbing incidents increased; local people also organized a separate rescue group. Both efforts began before the prefecture’s 1967 accident-prevention ordinance.
The “two ears” were also two sacred addresses: Toma-no-mimi was associated with Yakushi, the healing Buddha, while Oki-no-mimi was linked to Sengen Daibosatsu. Local lore said water from a cave on Yakushi-dake could cure eye ailments.
In 1966, 37 climbers died on Tanigawa. The toll helped prompt Gunma’s 1967 accident-prevention ordinance, which established a guidance center and required plans for entry into designated danger zones.
