Mount Nagata (Japan)
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| Mount Nagata | |
|---|---|
 Mount Nagata seen from Mount Miyanoura | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,886 m (6,188 ft)[1] |
| Listing | List of mountains and hills of Japan by height |
| Coordinates | 30°20′34.001″N 130°29′33.000″E / 30.34277806°N 130.49250000°E |
| Naming | |
| Native name | 永田岳 (Japanese) |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Mount Nagata (永田岳, Nagata-dake) is a mountain on the island of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. At an altitude of 1,886 m (6,188 ft), it is the second highest peak of Yakushima and the Kyushu region after Mount Miyanoura.[1]
Inō Tadataka's map of Yakushima refers to Mt. Nagata as Mt. Gongen (権現岳, gongen-dake) [2]
Locals have traditionally made biannual pilgrimages to the summit of Mt. Nagata in the fall and spring.[3][4] In 1722, a hokora (a type of miniature Shinto shrine) was constructed on the mountain's summit.[3]
In the 1480s, the Buddhist priest Nichizō Shōnin retreated to a cave atop Mt. Nagata where he recited the Lotus Sutra for seven days.[4] Since then, the native kami of the Shinto religion, Hikohohodemi no Mikoto, has been venerated as a manifestation of the Buddhist mountain deity Ippon Hoju Daigongen.[4] This fusion of an indigenous Shinto deity with an introduced Buddhist deity is an example of Shinbutsu-shūgō.
The area near the summit is covered with Yakushima bamboo grass, dotted with Yakushima rhododendrons. At lower elevations Daphniphyllum teijsmannii and Farfugium japonicum can be seen.[5]
