Kirigamine

This plateau is located in the northeast of Lake Suwa in central Nagano Prefecture. It is one of the centers of the Yatsugatake Chushin Highlands Quasi-National Park, and a large grassland at an altitude of 1,600 to 1,800 meters spreads out like waves, with the highest peak, Kurumayama (1,925 meters), at its center. This grassland was grazing land for local municipalities. The lowlands between the undulating terrain include Yashimagaike Pond and Kamagaike Pond, and are famous as a high-altitude marsh area. There are said to be hundreds of species of plants in the plateau, but the large colonies of Hemerocallis nipponica are a speciality of the plateau. The best time to see them is in mid- to late July, when they are spectacular. There are also marsh plant communities in the marsh, and the Yashimagahara Marsh is said to be a typical high-altitude marsh in Japan, with many Sphagnum mosses and thick layers of peat, and is a nationally designated natural monument. Nearby is the ruins of the former Misayama mountain, where warriors from the Kanto and Shinano regions competed in hunting and martial arts during the Kamakura period. Japan's first glider hangar was built on a hill near Kowashimizu in 1933, and glider flights have continued uninterrupted to this day. The slope behind Kurumayama is a paragliding training ground in summer and a ski resort in winter. Obsidian, which was used to make stone arrowheads in the Stone Age, is found near Wada Pass at the northern end of the plateau. Nagano Prefecture's representative mountain tourist road, the Venus Line, runs over the plateau. A bus runs from Kami-Suwa Station, and there is a hiking trail that goes from Kurumayama to Sawando to the former Misayama mountain to Yashimagahara Marshland to Washigamine to Wada Pass.

[Hiroyoshi Kobayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

長野県中央部、諏訪(すわ)湖北東方にある高原。八ヶ岳(やつがたけ)中信高原国定公園の一中心地で、最高峰車山(くるまやま)（1925メートル）を中心に、標高1600～1800メートルの一大草原が波浪状に展開している。この草原は地元市町村の放牧地であった。起伏の間の低地には八島ヶ池(やしまがいけ)、鎌ヶ池(かまがいけ)などもあり高層湿原地帯として有名。高原一帯には数百種もの草木があるといわれるが、とくにニッコウキスゲの大群落は高原の名物。7月中～下旬の見ごろは壮観である。また、湿原に湿原植物群落があり、なかでも八島ヶ原湿原は日本の典型的高層湿原といわれ、ミズゴケ類が多く泥炭層が厚く堆積(たいせき)し、国指定天然記念物になっている。この近くには鎌倉時代、関東・信濃(しなの)の武士たちが狩猟を競い、互いに武技を競い合った場所である旧御射山遺跡(もとみさやまいせき)もある。強清水(こわしみず)近くの丘陵上には1933年（昭和8）日本初のグライダー格納庫が建設され、今日までとぎれることなくグライダー飛行が続けられている。車山の後ろ斜面は夏はパラグライダー訓練地、冬はスキー場になる。また、高原の北端和田峠付近は、石器時代の石鏃(せきぞく)の材料になった黒曜石が出る。長野県の代表的山岳観光道路ビーナスラインが高原上を走っている。上諏訪駅からバスが通じ、車山―沢渡(さわたり)―旧御射山―八島ヶ原湿原―鷲ヶ峰(わしがみね)―和田峠のハイキングコースがある。

［小林寛義］

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