Mountains · Toyama

Tsurugi-dake

剱岳つるぎだけTsurugi-dake

The steep granite sword north of Tateyama, hardest of the 100 Famous Mountains.

Tsurugi-dake (剱岳), 2,999 m, is a jagged granite peak north of Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture, widely regarded as the most difficult of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. Its first recorded ascent in 1907 by a government survey team found relics left by an unknown earlier climber.

Elevation: 2,999 mNational park · 1934100 Famous Mountains

National park: Chubu Sangaku National Park

Overview

Tsurugi-dake rises just north of the Tateyama massif, a spiky tower of granite surrounded by ridges of pinnacles and deep snow gullies. At 2,999 m it falls one metre short of the 3,000 m mark, but few Japanese peaks look as forbidding: from Murodō or Bessan the mountain appears as a wall of rock without any obvious line of weakness.

For centuries it was considered unclimbable and, in the Tateyama belief, a "needle mountain" of hell. Today it is one of the most coveted summits of the Northern Alps, climbed each summer by experienced hikers along two fixed-chain routes, and by rock climbers on its Hachitsu-ridge and Chinne faces.

Landscape and formation

Tsurugi-dake is built of granite and gneiss, hard rocks that weathered into sharp ridges and pinnacles instead of the rounded forms of volcanic peaks. Heavy snowfall from the Sea of Japan fills the gullies (sekkei) on its eastern side – Chōjirō, Heizō and the Tsurugi-sawa – which remain snow-covered all summer. Two of these permanent snow bodies, in the Sannomado and Komado valleys, move as glaciers.

Highlights

Kani no Tatebai
カニのタテバイKani no tatebai
"The crab's vertical crawl", a near-vertical slab with chains just below the summit on the ascent route.
Kani no Yokobai
カニのヨコバイKani no yokobai
"The crab's sideways crawl", an exposed traverse on the descent where the first foothold is out of sight.
Hachitsu ridge
八ツ峰Yatsumine
A row of eight pinnacles on the east side, a classic alpine rock route.
Tsurugi-sawa
剱沢Tsurugi-sawa
The valley west of the peak with the Tsurugisawa hut and campsite, base for climbs in summer.

Ecology

Above the forest belt the mountain is dominated by rock, snow and dwarf pine. The snow gullies support late-flowering meadows, and the lower Hayatsuki ridge passes through old-growth beech and Tateyama cedar.

Flora

Siberian dwarf pine
ハイマツhaimatsu
Covers the ridges between rock towers.
Beech forest
ブナbuna
Old beech lines the lower Hayatsuki ridge above Banbajima.

Fauna

Rock ptarmigan
ライチョウraichō
Seen around Tsurugi-gozen and the Tsurugisawa huts.
Golden eagle
イヌワシinuwashi
Hunts over the steep valleys of the Tateyama–Tsurugi area.

Culture

In the Tateyama mandalas Tsurugi-dake appears as the Hari no Yama, the mountain of needles in hell, which believers were forbidden to climb. When Shibasaki Yoshitarō's survey party reached the summit in 1907 to set up a triangulation point, they found a bronze staff head (shakujō) and an iron sword blade, probably left in the Nara or Heian period. Nitta Jirō's novel Tsurugidake: Ten no Ki (1977), filmed in 2009, told the story of the survey and made the mountain widely famous.

Kenzan-sō
剣山荘Kenzan-sō
The hut at the start of the Betsuzan ridge route, the usual overnight stop before the summit.
Banbajima
馬場島Banbajima
The trailhead at about 750 m for the Hayatsuki ridge, with a memorial to climbers who died on the mountain.

History

Nara/Heian period
An unknown ascetic reaches the summit and leaves a staff head and a sword blade.
1907
First recorded ascent by the Army Land Survey party under Shibasaki Yoshitarō.
1934
Chūbu-Sangaku National Park is designated.
1977
Nitta Jirō publishes Tsurugidake: Ten no Ki.
2012
The Sannomado and Komado glaciers are confirmed.

Through the seasons

Spring

The mountain is snowbound; Toyama Prefecture requires advance notice for winter and spring climbs in the Tsurugi area.

Summer

The climbing season from mid-July to September. Snow in the gullies lasts all summer and makes crossings icy early in the season.

Autumn

Late September to early October brings autumn colours around Tsurugisawa and stable weather; snow can fall any time from October.

Winter

One of the most serious winter objectives in Japan, with extreme snowfall and avalanche danger.

Routes and trails

Betsuzan ridge route
From Murodō via Bessan or Tsurugi-gozen to Kenzan-sō (about 4 hours), then about 3 hours to the summit via the Kani no Tatebai. Usually two days; exposed chains and slabs, for experienced hikers only.
Hayatsuki ridge route
From Banbajima, over 2,200 m of continuous ascent to the Hayatsuki hut and the summit, 9–10 hours up; physically very demanding with exposed rock near the top.
Hachitsu ridge and Chinne
Alpine rock routes on the east side, for roped climbing parties with snow and rock experience.

Practical notes

Toyama Prefecture operates a mountain-safety ordinance for the Tsurugi area: climbers must submit a climbing plan in advance for winter and spring. Check the prefecture's current rules.
Helmets are strongly recommended and are available for loan at some huts; rockfall and falls cause accidents every season.
The Murodō side is reached via the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route; Banbajima is reached by road from Kamiichi.
Do not attempt the chain sections in rain or fog; the rock becomes slippery and route-finding difficult.

Frequently asked questions

How difficult is Tsurugi-dake?

Both standard routes involve long sections of steep, exposed rock with chains and iron pegs, including the notorious Kani no Tatebai slab. It is suitable only for experienced, sure-footed hikers in dry conditions and is widely considered the hardest of the 100 Famous Mountains.

Should Tsurugi-dake be confused with Tsurugi-san?

No. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳, 2,999 m) is in the Northern Alps of Toyama; Tsurugi-san (剣山, 1,955 m) is a gentler sacred mountain in Tokushima on Shikoku.

Who first climbed Tsurugi-dake?

The first recorded ascent was made in 1907 by a party of the Army Land Survey led by Shibasaki Yoshitarō. On the summit they found an iron staff head and a sword blade, showing that a mountain ascetic had reached it centuries earlier.

Does Tsurugi-dake have glaciers?

Yes. In 2012 the Sannomado and Komado snowfields on its north-east side were recognised, together with Gozenzawa on Tateyama, as the first living glaciers confirmed in Japan.

Sources

1.日本の主な山岳標高 (opens in a new tab) — 国土地理院 (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan)
2.中部山岳国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省 (Ministry of the Environment)
3.富山県公式ウェブサイト (opens in a new tab) — 富山県 (Toyama Prefecture)