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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Nagano
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The bedrock holding the relief is about 1.5 million years old—astonishingly young for granite. This Takidani granodiorite also gives geologists evidence of the Hotaka range’s rapid uplift.
Today’s round portrait dates to 1965; the original 1937 relief was rectangular. Removed during the war because Weston was British, it was damaged in a 1945 Tokyo air raid, repaired, and returned in 1947.
When Weston climbed simply for pleasure, locals asked if he was prospecting for silver or crystals. Recreational mountaineering was so unfamiliar that his explanation was hard to believe.
Weston and local hunter-guide Kamonji Kamijo were friends for more than 20 years. The ice axe Weston gave him still survives at Kamonji Hut, which the guide’s fifth-generation family runs beside Myojin Pond.
The Weston Festival began with the 1947 ceremony returning the relief to Kamikochi, where more than 70 people gathered. Since 1961, its eve has included a memorial hike from Shimashima over Tokugo Pass, following Weston’s old route.
The monument honors Weston for introducing the “Japanese Alps” to the world, but he did not coin the name: Japan’s Environment Ministry credits William Gowland with naming the range. Weston’s 1896 book helped popularize it abroad.
