Hakkōda Mountain Disaster Day

What Is Hakkōda Mountain Disaster Day?

Every January 23rd is "Hakkōda Mountain Disaster Day" (八甲田山の日, Hakkōda-san no Hi) in Japan. On January 23, 1902, a Japanese Imperial Army unit — the Aomori-based 5th Infantry Regiment, with a company led by Captain Kannari Bunkichi and accompanied by battalion commander Major Yamaguchi Shin — suffered one of the worst peacetime military disasters in Japanese history while conducting winter mountain exercises on the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori Prefecture. Of 210 soldiers who set out on January 23rd, only 11 survived. The tragedy — caused by a catastrophic blizzard and the failure of command — remains a solemn reminder of winter mountain dangers.

The Hakkōda Tragedy

The 5th Infantry Regiment's exercise was intended to test soldiers' ability to survive and navigate in severe winter conditions — part of Japan's preparation for potential military operations in cold climates. The unit set out in the early hours of January 23, 1902 in already severe conditions that rapidly deteriorated into a blizzard during a powerful cold wave — the same cold wave in which Asahikawa recorded Japan's all-time low of -41.0°C two days later, on January 25. The unit became hopelessly lost in the whiteout conditions; command broke down; and soldiers died of hypothermia over the following days as rescue parties searched. In the end 199 of the 210 men died. On January 27, a rescue party found Corporal Gotō Fusanosuke standing upright in the snow, barely alive; his statue now stands at Umatateba on the mountain.

Lessons and Legacy

The Hakkōda disaster prompted major reviews of military training protocols, cold-weather equipment, and command decision-making in extreme conditions. It also entered Japanese cultural memory through Jirō Nitta's 1971 novel "Hakkōda-san Shi no Hōkō" (Death March on Mount Hakkōda) and the 1977 epic film adaptation directed by Shirō Moritani — one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of its era. The disaster site on the Hakkōda Mountains is now a hiking and ski area, with monuments to the soldiers who perished.

Winter Mountain Safety

The Hakkōda disaster's lessons about winter mountain conditions — the speed with which weather can deteriorate, the danger of inadequate preparation, and the critical importance of knowing when to turn back — remain highly relevant. Japan's mountain rescue services respond to thousands of incidents involving hikers and climbers each year, many in winter conditions. Mountain safety education emphasizes the same lessons the 1902 disaster taught at such terrible cost.

Fun Facts

• Record cold: The -41.0°C recorded at Asahikawa on January 25, 1902 — while the Hakkōda soldiers were still stranded in the mountains — remains Japan's official record low temperature.
• Hakkōda Ropeway: The Hakkōda Ropeway (八甲田ロープウェー) now carries tourists and skiers to the mountain summit, passing through the landscape where the 1902 tragedy unfolded.