• The world's worst mountaineering disaster
    MOUNT HAKKODA

    Where did the worst mountain accident in history occur? Mount McKinley? Mount Everest? No, the deadliest mountain climbing accident in the world occurred in the Hakkoda Mountains, a mountain range consisting of peaks approximately 5,000 feet in altitude, lying in northern Honshu, Japan’s main island. In 1902, 210 soldiers of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Imperial Army set out on a 12 mile winter march around Mount Hakkoda to Tashiro Hot Spring. This is not an arduous mountain route. It should have been an easy approach to the hot spring at Tashiro. However, at a mere altitude of around 2,000 feet, the 5th Regiment met with a disaster that claimed the lives of 199 men. Featured interviews with survivors tell the true story about what happened in the Hakkoda Mountains.

    lengths / 1hour 28minutes
    Produced by 5NETWORK©MMXV

  • Director's Statement


    In winter of 2007, I visited the Imperial Japanese Army Cemetery in Aomori City. It was covered in snow, and gravestones poked above the surface here and there. The soldiers who took part in the ill-fated training exercise in the Hakkoda Mountains in 1902 had lost their lives amid snow, and now lay buried beneath it. I felt as if their history was fading into the distance and becoming forgotten. The soldiers' destination, a hot spring, was only a short distance away. However, the weather conditions suddenly changed, forcing them to wander blindly through the mountains. On day two, unable to eat or rest, they walked continuously for 15 hours. The snowstorm abated from time to time, occasionally instilling them with hope until waves of despair washed over them once again. I attempted to bring the soldiers' story to the screen by accurately tracing the course of events that led them to lose their way, as well as the emotional journey that they must have gone through. What sights did they witness in the midst of such overwhelming confusion? In interviews carried out for the film, experts explain the factors that caused the tragedy. I am convinced that the information presented within remains relevant to the mountain climbers of today.
    Executive Producer / Director
    SATOSHI MIYATA



    CONTACT INFO

    5NETWORK TOKYO
    1-4-14 AZABUDAI MINATOKU TOKYO 1060041 JAPAN

    info@mounthakkoda.com

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  • TRAILER



    • CAST
      Maj Shin Yamaguchi / SEIJI KAWADA
      Cap Bunkichi Kannari/ TAKAHITO ARAI
      Cpl Chuzaburo Obara / YUUMA SATO
      Cpl Fusanosuke Goto / YUUTA MORIYA
      Cpl Bunya Muramatsu / MAKOTO SASAKI
      Lt Kakumei Ito / AKINORI SUMIYOSHI
      Medical Officer Gengo Nagai / TAICHI ISHIDA
      Cor Yasuteru Tsugawa / ATSUSHI TAKAHASHI
      Lt2 Sadanosuke Mikami / KATSUHIKO TANABE
      Cpl Oikawa / TOSHIYA TOYA
      Cpl Tada / KENJIRO MURATA
      Cpl Takahashi / HISASHI HAYASHI
      Cpl Tomioka / KEIGO KUROTAKI
      Private Youkichi Furudate/ KOUSUKE WATANABE
      Private Konno / YUUKI KAWAUCHI Private Ogasawara / TAIGA MIKAMI
      Cpl Goto 6 year old / REN KOBAYASHI
      Sachiyo Goto / AMY KUBO
      Village elder / HITOSHI HASEGAWA
      Soldiers & Villagers / THEATER DEPARTMENT AOMORI YAMADA HIGH SCHOOL, OHYAMA SENMAIDA ORGANIZATION, CENTRAL CHILDREN'S TALENT, AOMORI FILM COMMISSION, JATPA ENTERTAINMEMT

      STAFF CREDITS

  • CREDITS

    Cinematographer / MASAAKI OGUSHI
    Production Designer / KATSUHIKO TANUMA
    Costume / KENJI KAWASAKI - TOHO COSTUME, MAKOTO SOGOU - TOHO COSTUME, DONG XIA ZHOU, CHANG HUA BAO, KIMONO HANAGOYOMI, TOMOTADA MIYAMOTO
    Props / KEIHAN SHOUKAI, TOHO EIZO BIJYUTSU, JATPA ENTERTAINMEMT
    Makeup Artists / YUMI HANDA, YUMIKO TAKEUCHI, YUKI SHOUDA
    Grips / TOMOHIRO YAMAGUCHI, DAICHI EBINA, SATORU TAMAKUMA, MASAKI KAWAMURA, TAMAKI SATO, ISSI TAKASUGHI, TAKAYORI HARADA, TATSUYA SATO
    Assistant Camera / TOMOHIRO IBATA, KATSUJI NARITA, KAZUHIRO KAKUTA, TETSUO MORI
    'B' camera / MAKOTO SARUGASAWA Sound Technician / TAKASHI SHIRATORI, TOMOAKI YAMASHITA Millitary Advisor / YOSHIMI MATSUOKA Script Supervisor / YUKIE TSUSHIMA
    Assistant Directors / TSUTOMU IWASHITA, TOHRU MURAGUCHI, MANTARO KUBOTA, TATSUNOSUKE ARIMA
    Screenplay & Directed by SATOSHI MIYATA

    Special Thanks To:
    MT.HAKKODA SNOW MARCH DISASTER MUSEUM, JAPAN ARMY 5TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, JSDF, HAKKODA ROPEWAY, HAKKODA GUIDE CLUB, TOWADA NATIOAL PARK OFFICE, AOMORI FOREST OFFICE, TASHIRO STOCKFARM ASSOCIATION, FUTAGO HACHIMAN SHRINE, KAWAKURA JIZOU TEMPLE, OSOREZAN TEMPLE, OHYAMA SENMAIDA ORGANIZATION, OHYAMA TEMPLE, HIROSAKI FILM COMMISSION, KUROISHI JUNIOR CHAMBER, OKONOGHI AREA ASSOCIATION OF CULTIVATION OF CHILDREN, AKTIO MINAMIAOMORI, IRIS GARDEN, KOYO BUS, SNAPPY, JAPAN HELICIS, MITSUWA AIR SERVICE, HOTEL AOMORI, SUKAYU ONSEN RYOKAN HOTEL, AOMORI PREFECTURE, JATPA ENTERTAINMENT, AOMORI CITY, AOMORI FILM COMMISSION, DOUZOU JAYA