English Version
The Hakkoda Mountains are a group of mountains in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan. They are volcanic mountains, and the highest peak, Mount Odake, rises to 1,584 meters. The area is strikingly beautiful, but it is also the setting of one of modern Japan’s worst mountain disasters: the Hakkoda Mountains Snow March of 1902, later made famous through film.
When people hear about a party getting lost in a snowy mountain range, it is easy to imagine nature as the only enemy. Of course, the power of winter weather cannot be dismissed. But when you look closely at the records of the Hakkoda Snow March, the tragedy begins to look less like a simple natural disaster and more like a human-made one.
Today, the Hakkoda area is a real travel destination, but winter conditions can be severe and change quickly. If you visit, follow local advisories, use proper equipment, stay on approved routes, and do not attempt historical routes casually.
Only 11 people survived
More than 200 men were caught in the disaster during the Hakkoda Mountains Snow March. In the end, only 11 survived.
Even those survivors did not come away unharmed. According to accounts of the incident, some suffered such severe frostbite that hands or feet had to be amputated.
The march began in January 1902, during the Meiji era. The plan was to train soldiers by having them cross snowy mountain terrain in preparation for a possible future war with Russia.
Two infantry regiments were assigned separate routes. The Aomori 5th Infantry Regiment planned a one-way march of about 20 kilometers. The Hirosaki 31st Infantry Regiment planned a much longer one-way route of about 224 kilometers.
Japanese sources on the incident, including Aomori City materials and records compiled by the 5th Infantry Regiment, describe a major difference between the two groups.
The Hirosaki 31st Regiment reportedly prepared by drawing on the knowledge of local matagi hunters and other people familiar with the mountains. They gathered information, planned for frostbite, and moved with a group of 38 men.
The Aomori 5th Regiment, however, was a much larger force of around 210 men. They used sleds and brought substantial loads, but their preparation for frostbite, local conditions, and mountain information appears to have been far from complete. In fact, it is hard not to call it insufficient.
That was the unit that would be struck by disaster.
Was the Hakkoda Snow March a human-made disaster?
The officer originally in command of the march was Captain Bunki Kannari. However, Major Yamaguchi, a superior officer, also joined the expedition.
Because Yamaguchi outranked the officer who was supposed to be in command, it seems likely that the chain of command became confused. That confusion is often pointed to as one of the factors behind the disaster.
On the first day of the march, the weather was already bad. The men were not properly equipped for severe winter mountain conditions. And this was Aomori in the middle of winter. If the weather turned dangerous, turning back would have been the sensible choice.
But the unit did not turn back. They entered the mountains.
As they pushed forward through worsening weather, they lost their way. Then, after abandoning the sleds partway through the march, the men had to carry their loads on their backs, draining even more strength from their bodies. Some accounts say that one man was forced to carry a large copper cauldron.
In a snowy mountain environment, sweating can be extremely dangerous. Heavy exertion makes the body sweat; then the sweat chills, drawing away body heat and increasing the risk of hypothermia and frostbite. That appears to be exactly what happened to this unit.
If someone was made to carry something as heavy as a copper cauldron under those conditions, it would have been nearly unbearable.
It seems the group lacked essential knowledge for moving through winter mountains. They took few proper rests, struggled to cook rice, and spent the night in terrible condition.
The next day, they wandered into a gorge and finally reached a point where they could neither advance nor easily turn back. They were now truly stranded.
They tried to escape by climbing cliffs and moving through ravines and streams, but by that point many men had already died or fallen behind.
The blizzard was so intense that footprints were quickly erased. Those who could still walk kept moving, but because they were already lost, they no longer knew the correct direction.
Out on the exposed winter mountain, the food they carried froze solid and became impossible to eat. In other words, they were wandering through a midwinter blizzard with almost no food and almost no proper sleep.
Their hands, feet, and lips froze. Even men who were still alive reportedly lost the ability to make normal judgments.
At one point, they managed to build a fire and warm themselves. But they were so exhausted that no one could properly tend it, and the fire went out.
Afterward, rescue parties were organized once the weather improved. The 11 survivors were eventually found and rescued.
The death toll was 199. Nearly everyone in the unit died.
The riverbed called Sai no Kawara
The stream valley where Ishikura and others descended was known as Sai no Kawara. Even before this disaster, it was said to be a place where villagers from nearby communities had become lost and frozen to death.
The rescue and recovery effort eventually involved a total of around 10,000 people. Searchers reportedly lined up side by side and probed the snow with poles as they moved across the area.
That method alone suggests how deeply the bodies were buried under snow.
The last missing body was not found until the end of May.
The equipment was shockingly inadequate
The equipment used for the snow march was also a serious problem.
According to the equipment lists often cited in accounts of the incident, special-duty sergeants and higher-ranking personnel had items such as:
- One wool overcoat
- A wool military cap
- A flannel winter uniform
- One pair of gloves
- Long military boots
- Snow footwear shaped like long boots
Noncommissioned officers and enlisted men had items such as:
- Two wool overcoats worn in layers
- A regular felt military cap
- A standard uniform made of heavy cotton cloth
- One pair of gloves
- Short military boots
In simple terms, this was not equipment suited for a winter mountain expedition. It likely offered little real waterproof protection. Marching through deep snow in the middle of winter while carrying heavy loads with gear like this was reckless.
A beautiful mountain, and a brutal lesson
The Hakkoda Mountains Snow March was not caused by bad weather alone. Poor equipment, limited information, lack of mountain knowledge, and confusion in leadership all appear to have contributed to the catastrophe.
The result was one of the most haunting military disasters in modern Japanese history: a reckless winter march that ended with 199 dead and only 11 survivors.
Japanese Language
八甲田山は青森県にある山の総称です。八甲田山は成層火山で最も標高が高いのは大岳山の１５８４メートルです。とても美しい山々なのですが、明治３５年にこの山で遭難事故が起きたことをご存知でしょうか。映画にもなった 「八甲田山雪中行軍」 です。雪山で遭難というと自然の猛威が原因のようにも思えます。もちもん、それは否定しませんが、八甲田山雪中の記録をよく見て見ると天災や自然災害というよりむしろ 「人災」 に近い物があるんです。無謀すぎる八甲田山雪中行軍…ちょっと見てみましょう。
八甲田山雪中行軍から生還した人はわずか１１名！。八甲田山雪中行軍では２００名を越す人間が遭難するのですが、最終的な生存者はわずか１１名でした。そして、生存者も無傷というわけではなく、凍傷を追って足や手を切断するしかなかったそうです。八甲田山雪中行軍のルートと日程。。八甲田山雪中行軍は明治３５年の１月２０日からで、予定で雪山を歩いて踏破し、きたるロシアとの戦争に備えようというものでした。八甲田山雪中行軍では二つの師団が別のルートを行軍する予定となっていて、 青森歩兵第5連隊は片道２０キロ、弘前歩兵第３１連隊は片道２２４キロの行程 を予定していました。
参考資料 「八甲田山雪中行軍から学ぶ組織の在り方」 – 青森市HP 。歩兵第五聯隊, ed. (1902-07), 遭難始末〔本編〕, 歩兵第五聯隊。そして、弘前第３１連隊はマタギなどの知恵を借りて装備を整え、凍傷などの対策もしていました。部隊は３８名で情報収集もしっかりと行われていたそうです。そしてもう一方の、青森第５連隊は２１０名もの大所帯となり、ソリなどを使用する大掛かりなものでした。ですが、 凍傷への備えや情報収集は完璧ではなく…むしろ不十分だったと言わざるを得ない ものでした。
そしてこの青森第５連隊を悲劇が襲うのです。八甲田山雪中行軍は人災だった？。。まず八甲田山雪中行軍の指揮をしていた人物は歩兵大尉の神成文吉という人材でした。ですが、この人物とは別に歩兵少佐の山口も同行したのです。指揮を執るはずの神成大尉より上官にあたる山口が参加することで、 部隊の指揮命令系統に乱れが生じたのも、遭難の原因 のように思えます。雪中行軍の初日、まずは天候が荒れていました。装備も不十分でしたし、何より真冬の青森県ですから天候が荒れたら中止するのが賢い選択であることは言うまでもありません。
ですが、部隊は引き返すことなく山に入ってしまいます。悪天候の中、歩みを進めていくわけですが道に迷ったこと、そして途中からソリを捨てて荷物を背負ったことで更に体力を消耗していきます。中には大きな銅釜を背負わされた方もいらっしゃったそうです。雪山では汗をかくことが最も危険で、体力を使って汗をかき、汗で身体が冷やされるとどんどん体温が奪われて低体温症や凍傷になってしまうんです。まさにこの舞台はその状態だったということです。そんななかで銅釜なんか背負わされたら、ひとたまりもありません。
雪山への知識がなかったのでしょう。ろくに休憩をとらず、炊飯も上手くできずに夜を明かします。。そして、翌日彼らはゴルジュに迷い込みとうとう引き返すことも先へ進むことも出来なくなります。遭難したわけです。なんとか脱出をしようと崖を登ったり、沢を抜けたりとするわけですが、この時点でたくさんの 死者や脱落者 が出てしまいます。足跡をすぐに消すほどの猛烈な吹雪のなかをまだ歩ける人だけで進んでいくのですが、彼らはすでに遭難していますから正しい方向を把握できていません。
吹きさらしの雪山で、持っていた食料はすべて凍ってしまって食べられず…。つまり、 ろくに食べず、そしてちゃをと寝ずに真冬の暴風雪のなかをさまよっている わけです。手足や唇が凍りついて、まだ活きている人もまともな判断力を失っていたそうです。一度、火を起こして暖をとったのですが、あまりの疲労で火の番ができずにその火を消してしまいました。そしてその後、天候の回復を待って救助隊が結成され、 生存者の１１名 が救助されます。死者の数は１９９名…つまりほとんどの人が亡くなるという最悪の結果を招くことになったのです。
下りた河原の名前は「賽の河原」。。石倉をはじめとする一行が下りた沢は、 「賽の河原」 と呼ばれる場所で、この遭難事件の前にも近隣の村人が遭難して凍死した場所だったそう。救助にはのべ１万人が投入され、横一列にならんで棒で雪を刺しながら捜索するという方法でした。この捜索方法からも、ものすごい量の雪に遺体が埋もれていたことがわかります。ちなみに、最後の行方不明者の遺体が見つかったのは５月末でした。雪中行軍の装備があまりにもひどすぎた。雪中行軍の装備は。
特務曹長（准士官）以上が「毛糸の外套1着」「毛糸の軍帽」「ネル生地の冬軍服」「軍手1双」「長脚型軍靴」「長靴型雪沓」。下士卒が「毛糸の外套2着重ね着」「フェルト地の普通軍帽」「小倉生地の普通軍服」「軍手1双」「短脚型軍靴」(引用:Wikipedia)。でした。早い話が、冬山に対応するような装備ではなかったんです。当然、防水性もなかったことでしょう。こんな装備で真冬の雪山に重い荷物を抱えて行進するのは無謀としか言いようがありません。引用: wikipedia 。
まとめ。八甲田山雪中行軍は、天候不良だけでなく装備の不足や情報不足、知識不足が招いたものでした。あまりにも無謀な雪中行軍は１９９名の死者を出す大惨事となりました。ライター 。Miiko 福岡県在住フリーライター
