THE ERUPTION OF BAXDAI-SAX. 



99 



■whole mass. For, not only must the original form of the mountain 

 have Buffered by the sucessive eruptions, but the débris thus produced, 

 obstructing the water-courses, must have gradually brought the sur- 

 face to its present form. Some of the outbursts would seem from 

 the history of Bandai-san to have been very similar in character to 

 that of the loth of July last. 



The hot springs on the north- western side of Bandai, known as 

 Bandai-no-yu, were latterly the principal remnants of the volcanic 

 forces which once raged with so much vigour. There were three of 

 these springs, all celebrated for their curing effects upon various 

 diseases. They were known as Kami-no-yu, Xaka-no-yu, and Shimo- 

 no-yu, respectively meaning the upper, middle, and lower bath, where 

 small huts had been constructed for the accommodation of bathers, who 

 flocked thither in summer from various parts of the neighbouring 

 district. They were sulphur springs originating in solfatara formed 

 by the issuing of steam and sulphuretted hydrogen from numerous 

 rock-fissures. 



Several years before the eruption Prof. J. Milne,* of the im- 

 perial University, ascended Bandai-san, when he took a sketch and 

 described it. classifying it as an active volcano. 



Traditions and History. 



According to tradition, Bandai-san was originally a single mas- 

 sive peak, the summit of which was burst open in olden times by a 

 volcanic eruption, and split into several peaks, the event being pro- 

 ductive of a terrible catastrophe. The débris of the explosion des- 

 cended on all sides of the mountain, and the two districts Tsukinowa 

 and Sarashina, containing some fifty villages, were engulfed beneath 



* The Volcanoes of Japan — Transactions of the Seismologieal Society of Japan, Vol. IX. 

 Part II. 



