Kurakami: hardest multi-pitch trad route in Japan

Do we establish our climbs for other people—or for our own satisfaction? "I believe that the creation of a route and the completion of a route are separate," an elder climber told me. "This may well be the difference between the public and the private."

At first glance, the various modern genres of climbing may appear different; over time, they fill this or that gap, in accordance with an individual's aspirations, until they eventually merge into a continuous experience. From this perspective—apart from the practical nuances—the division between bouldering, multipitch climbing and alpinism holds no deep meaning-

there are many nooks and crannies, containing everything from small, compact boulders to long, secret traditional lines. And if we could collect all the experiences that past climbers have amassed from the early days up to now, even just within this one small peak, we still could discover new and unimagined inner realms. All too often, as Naito says, "We have forgotten the most valuable thing, and are consumed by frivolities such as what climbs and how many and which grades." The essence of our pursuit lies deeper than such forms of measurement. Whether it's possible to cross the line into places from which one can no longer return—even that idea can signify more than just physical runouts.

In the 1920s, climbers visited briefly, but Mizugaki seemed too diminutive for them, and they continued north to the larger rocks of the Hida Mountains. At first, Japanese alpinists relied only on pitons for direct aid on harder sections. Yet by the late 1950s, the use of expansion bolts spread from Europe to Japan. Influenced by the 1960s direttissime in the Alps, Japanese climbers started drilling bolt ladders on sheer, smooth walls in many areas, including Mizugaki.

Then, during the mid-1970s, Japanese climbers visited Yosemite, where they discovered the ways that free climbing allowed them to face steep rock on more equal terms.
They returned to Toichimen-iwa and explored routes that became symbols of a new era, developing a virtuoso style and an ideal of "no bolts and no falls."

In 1980 Tomoyoshi Omata established Haru Urara, "Bright Spring," as an aid route, using primarily nuts. Four years later, Naoki Toda made the first free ascent, with bolts only at belays. The climb represents a monument to the history of Japanese free climbing. To this day, the ethos of its pioneers has a powerful influence on visitors, and Toichimen-iwa resembles a place of pilgrimage for climbers.