Senjojiki Cirque (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi)
Though Japan’s Yama-no-hi, or Mountain Day, on Aug. 11 is observed as a national holiday, there is no official celebration.
This holiday was legislated in 2014 at the request of the Japanese Alpine Club and various other groups. Lawmakers launched the League of Congressmen for Legislating Mountain Day in April 2013. After a year of selecting and drafting process, the bill was finally legislated in May of 2014.
The National Holiday Act defines it as a holiday to familiarize people with the mountains and appreciate their blessings.
Mountains play a large role in Japanese culture, as 9.7 million people climb them every year, according to the Japan Productivity Center (2016).
The country’s roughly 15,000 mountains account for about 70% of the Japanese archipelago, according to the Japanese Alpine Club.
Senjojiki Cirque (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi)
During the selection process, the first Sunday of June was a strong candidate for Mountain Day. In the end, Aug. 11 was chosen since it is just before the traditional Obon period (Aug. 13-15), giving workers an additional holiday.
This year, the holiday falls on Monday, which makes a three-day weekend. On base, Japanese employees will not have the day off on the holiday. Employees in Japan will have the day off and government offices will be closed on Aug. 12, so plan ahead if you have official business.
Happy Mountain Day!
AloJapan.com