Mount Taradake - Taradake

The main peak of the Tara volcanic group that straddles both Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It has an elevation of 996 meters. The summit is located in Tara Town, Fujitsu County, Saga Prefecture. It is a famous mountain known as a sacred place for Tara-dake faith and Shugendo. Tara-dake is a cone-shaped extinct volcano facing the Ariake Sea to the east and Omura Bay to the west, but there are three main peaks near the summit: Tara-dake, Kyo-ga-dake (1,076 meters), and Gokawara-dake (1,057 meters). The "Tara-no-mine" of the source of the Shiota River, which appears in the 8th century "Hizen no Kuni Fudoki," refers to the Tara volcanic area that continues northwest of Tara-dake. The foothills of Mt. Taradake, consisting of tuff breccia, spread out along Ariake Coast on the Saga Prefecture side of Kashima City and Tara Town, forming beautifully developed radiating valleys. This foothills was brought into the spotlight by the National Taradake Pilot Project, and the forests and fields between the valleys were rapidly developed into tangerine orchards and other areas. The Nagasaki Main Line and National Route 207 run through Ariake Coast at the end of the foothills. The back of Mt. Taradake's mountainside, consisting of pyroxene andesite, is a forestry area producing cedars and cypresses, and a forest road has also been built across Mt. Taradake. Both Saga and Nagasaki prefectures have designated the Tara volcano area as part of the Taradake Prefectural Natural Park. The area around the summit of Mt. Taradake is a sacred place with many climbers, including Taradake Shrine and Kinsenji Temple, and the mountainside is home to scenic spots such as the Kazahaya Plateau covered in Japanese silver grass and Todoroki Falls on the Nagasaki side. In July 1962 (Showa 37), the mountain experienced a major landslide in Oura, Tara Town, at the eastern foot of the mountain. The Taradake folk song "Take no Shintaro (Zanza Bushi)" is well known.

[Shigeru Kawasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

佐賀・長崎両県にまたがる多良火山群の主峰。標高996メートル。頂上は佐賀県藤津(ふじつ)郡太良町(たらちょう)に属する。多良岳信仰や修験道(しゅげんどう)の霊場で知られた名山。多良火山は、東は有明(ありあけ)海、西は大村湾に臨む円錐(えんすい)形の死火山であるが、山頂付近には、多良岳、経(きょう)ヶ岳（1076メートル）、五家原(ごかわら)岳（1057メートル）の三つの主峰がある。8世紀の『肥前国風土記(ひぜんのくにふどき)』にみえる塩田(しおた)川水源の「託羅(たら)の峰」は、多良岳北西方に続く多良火山地をさす。多良岳の凝灰角礫岩(かくれきがん)などの裾野(すその)は鹿島(かしま)市や太良町の佐賀県側有明海岸に広がり、放射谷のみごとな発達をみる。この裾野は国営多良岳パイロット事業で脚光を浴び、谷と谷との間の山林・原野などはミカン園などに急速に開発された。裾野末端の有明海岸に長崎本線や国道207号が通ずる。輝石安山岩類などの多良岳中腹奥地はスギ、ヒノキなどの林業地をなし、多良岳横断林道もできた。佐賀・長崎両県とも多良火山地一帯を多良岳県立自然公園に指定している。多良岳山頂付近は多良岳神社や金泉寺(きんせんじ)などがある霊場で登山者が多く、また山腹にはススキの風配(かざはや)高原や、長崎県側の轟ノ滝(とどろきのたき)などの景勝地がある。東方裾野の太良町大浦(おおうら)で1962年（昭和37）7月、山崩(やまくず)れの大災害を経験した。多良岳民謡「岳(たけ)の新太郎(しんたろう)（ザンザ節）」などが知られる。

［川崎　茂］

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