Ideas of the Event

“Mountain Day” on August 11 was newly established as the 16th national holiday as defined by the “Law on National Holidays” (Law No. 178 of 1948).

To celebrate the introduction of “Mountain Day,” a national holiday, a prestigious Inaugural National Ceremony will be mainly held at Kamikochi, Matsumoto, Nagano.

Mountains produce water, a source of life, moisten forests and fields, and grow oceans. In addition, mountains serve as the bedrock of a natural cycle to produce fresh air and rain to the mountains again. These blessings of nature that are represented by the mountains or oceans should be equally shared not only by us as human beings but also by all living things on this earth.

We human beings are blessed by nature and are kept alive by the balance in the universe. As a springboard for the establishment of “Mountain Day,” we wish to take the first step to appreciate the benefits of mountains, which leads to solutions to our various problems in coexistence with mountains.

With great effort, we will make the Inaugural National Ceremony a worthy event in which the purpose of its establishment can be shared with all people countrywide.

Japan is a “mountainous country” where about 70% of its land is occupied by a variety of mountains.
Japanese people have worshiped mountains, enjoyed the blessings of forests, and have coexisted with nature since ancient times.
Bearing this in mind, protecting this beautiful and rich nature so that it can be passed on to future generations, the day of August 11 has been established as a national holiday, “Mountain Day.”
Based on this, the Inaugural National Ceremony for Mountain Day, an event to celebrate this national holiday, will be held according to the following ideas.

? Heightening public interest is the purpose of establishing “Mountain Day,” “giving people the opportunity to come close to mountains and appreciate the benefits of mountains,” thereby allowing the opportunity for “mountains and people” to reconnect.

? For us to coexist with mountains, we will use this event as a springboard to develop measures to find solutions to various issues, such as passing down history and culture concerning mountains, provide opportunities for nature-based experiences, environmental protection, tourism promotion, health promotion, response to alpine accidents or natural disasters, etc., and to revitalize mountain villages and surrounding areas.

? In cooperation with people in all fields concerning “mountains,” we have created a world-class ceremony suitable for the establishment of “Mountain Day” for the public, offering our message both at home and abroad from Kamikochi with the limpid water of the Azusa River flowing by, making the first step to create a path for “the future of mountains” to be passed on to the children of future generations.

? Since this will be the first holiday established for “mountains” in the world, we aim to express the way Japanese think about mountains to people both at home and abroad. This is an initiative originating from Nagano (the prefecture with so many famous high mountain peaks) and Matsumoto (a mountain-climbing mecca) but allowing the opportunity to construct a wide-range of networks both in Japan and abroad concerning “mountains.”