Mount Haku

Taichō, a mountain Shugendo monk, first climbed Mount Hakusan in 717. For hundreds of years, people have come to Haku for prayers (白山信仰 Hakusan Shinkō). A branch shrine of Shirayama Hime Shrine, which served as the Ichinomiya for Kaga Province, is on the mountain. The Shirayama Hime Shrine is the {{nihongo|main shrine|総本社|sō-honsha}} of approximately 2,000 {{nihongo|Hakusan shrines|白山神社|Hakusan jinja}} in Japan. In 1980 an area of 48,000 ha was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve.{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=JPN+01&mode=all |title=Biosphere Reserve Information - Mount Hakusan |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=29 April 2011}}

Mount Haku was designated as a quasi-national park in 1955. It became a national park in 1962[http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=JPN+01&mode=all UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Information: Mount Hakusan]. UNESCO. Accessed May 16, 2008. and was renamed Hakusan National Park. Because the central part of the mountain has much precipitous terrain, there are very few roads and, as a result, little human intrusion into the area. Also limiting human intrusion is the designation of the park as a Wildlife Protection Area, covering over 38,061 ha. The park stretches beyond the mountain's borders into Toyama Prefecture.

The area surrounding Mount Haku is one of the few in Japan that contains outcroppings from the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era. Many of Japan's typical examples of dinosaur fossils were found in this area. One of the major rock outcrops is in the Kuwashima area and is known as the "Kuwashima Fossil Wall" (桑島化石壁 Kuwashima Kasekikabe).

Because the mountain is a dormant volcano, it is well known for its many onsen.

Mount Haku is known for its diverse plant life. Along the Sabō Trail, after passing the Jinnosuke Lodge, alpine plants are found, including the chocolate lily, which is Ishikawa's prefectural plant.

There are many alpine plants which have Hakusan in their name. These include Primula cuneifolia (Hakusan Kozakura), Anemone narcissiflora (Hakusan Ichige), Dactylorhiza (Hakusan Chidori), Geranium yesoemse (Hakusan Fuuro) and Rhododendron brachycarpum (Hakusan Shakunage). These plants can be found on many mountains throughout Japan, but they were first discovered and named along the older hiking trails leading to Hakusan Shrine.

The golden eagle, Ishikawa's prefectural bird, lives on the slopes of Mount Haku. The rock ptarmigan, Gifu's prefectural bird,[http://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/pref/s11111/english/eng2007-1.pdf A Statistical Guide to Gifu Prefecture 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325083413/http://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/pref/s11111/english/eng2007-1.pdf |date=2009-03-25 }}. Gifu Prefecture. Accessed May 16, 2008. used to live on the slopes as well. During the Meiji period, the entire population of ptarmigan on the mountain disappeared; however, sightings of the grouse have recently been recorded by local residents.

The three most used hiking trails are the Kankō Trail (観光新道 Kankō Shinmichi), the Sabō Trail (砂防新道 Sabō Shinmichi) and the Hirase Trail (平瀬道 Hirase-dō). Both the Kankō Trail and the Sabō trail originate in the city of Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture, but the Hirase Trail starts from the Ōshirakawa Dam (大白川ダム) in Gifu Prefecture.

Because the area is protected as a national park, very few trails have been made on the mountain. Though the trails listed above are easy enough to hike up and down in one day, other trails can take two or three days because of the uncleared trails and rough terrain.

File:Mount Haku Top Gozengamine 2004-10-17.JPG|Top of Gozengamine (Mount Haku) and Ōnanjimine

File:Hakusan Shrine in Murodo 2008-7-1.jpg|Hakusan Shrine at Murodo and Gozengamine

File:Pond Midorigaike 2008-10-2.jpg|Volcanic crater (Midoriga-ike)

File:12 changes of Oonanjimine from top of Hakusan with title.jpg|Mount Haku in each season

File:Hakusan01.JPG|Mount Haku from Midagahara

File:Hakusan08.JPG|Kengamine Peak from Gozengamine Peak

File:Bessan and Hakusan from Hideridake 2009-4-7.jpg|Mount Haku from east of Mount Hideri

File:Mount Bessan from Mount Haku 2001-11-7.jpg|Mount Bessan from the top of Gozengamine

{{Commons category}}

• Hakusan National Park
• Ryōhaku Mountains
• List of volcanoes in Japan
• List of mountains in Japan
• Taichō

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/313_Hakusan/313_index.html Hakusan] - Japan Meteorological Agency {{in lang|ja}}
• {{cite web|url= http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/STOCK/souran_eng/volcanoes/054_hakusan.pdf |title=Hakusan: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan }} - Japan Meteorological Agency
• [https://gbank.gsj.jp/volcano/Quat_Vol/volcano_data/E75.html Hakusan] - Geological Survey of Japan
• {{cite gvp|name=Hakusan|vn=283050|access-date=2021-06-24}}

{{100 Famous Japanese Mountains}}

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Category:Volcanoes of Honshū

Category:Mountains of Gifu Prefecture

Category:Mountains of Ishikawa Prefecture

Category:Mountains of Fukui Prefecture

Category:Two-thousanders of Asia

Category:Biosphere reserves of Japan

Category:Cultural landscapes of Japan

Category:Volcanoes of Gifu Prefecture

Category:Volcanoes of Ishikawa Prefecture

Category:Volcanoes of Fukui Prefecture

Category:Potentially active volcanoes

Category:Pleistocene stratovolcanoes

Category:Pleistocene Asia

Category:Cenozoic Japan

Category:Sacred mountains of Japan

Category:Shugendō

Category:Highest points of Japanese national parks

{{Shirayamahime Faith}}