| Kegon Falls 華厳滝 - Kegon no Taki | |
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Kegon Falls and Lake Chūzenji
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| Location | Nikkō National Park, Tochigi Prefecture, Honshū, Japan |
| Coordinates | 36°44′17″N 139°30′09″E / 36.73806°N 139.50250°E / 36.73806; 139.50250 |
| Type | Plunge |
| Total height | 97 metres (318 ft) |
| Number of drops | 1 |
| Total width | 7 metres (23 ft) |
| Watercourse | Oshiri River |
Kegon Falls (華厳滝, Kegon no Taki[1]) is located at Lake Chūzenji (source of the Oshiri River) in Nikkō National Park near the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The falls were formed when the Daiya River was rerouted by lava flows. The main falls had a height of approximately 97 metres (318 ft) and about twelve smaller waterfalls are situated behind and to the sides of Kegon Falls, leaking through the many cracks between the mountain and the lava flows.
In the autumn, the traffic on the road from Nikko to Chūzenji can sometimes slow to a crawl as visitors come to see the fall colors.
In 1927, the Kegon Falls was recognized as one of the "Eight Views" which best showed Japan and its culture in the Shōwa period.[2] It is also listed as one of "Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls", in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990.
The Kegon Falls are infamous as a site where individuals, especially Japanese youth, have committed suicide.[3]
Misao Fujimura (1886 – May 22, 1903), a Japanese philosophy student and poet, is largely remembered due to his farewell poem written directly on the trunk of a tree before committing suicide by jumping from the Kegon Falls.
The story was soon sensationalized in contemporary newspapers and was commented upon by the famed writer Natsume Sōseki. This led the famed scenic falls to become a notorious spot for lovetorn or otherwise desperate youngsters to take their lives (Werther Effect).[4]
土門公記（Domon Kouki）: 藤村操の手紙－華厳の滝に眠る16歳のメッセージ. Shimotsuke Shimbunsha, 2002, ISBN 4-88286-175-5
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