Lake Chūzenji

{{Short description|Lake in Nikkō, Kantō region, Japan}} {{Infobox lake | name = Lake Chūzenji | native_name = {{native name|ja|中禅寺湖}} | image = Mount nantai and lake chuzenji.jpg | caption = Lake and Mt. Nantai | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Nikkō National Park, Nikkō, Tochigi | coords = {{coord|36|44|26|N|139|27|44|E|region:JP_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | type = | inflow = Kegon Falls | outflow = Daiya River | catchment = | basin_countries = Japan | length = {{cvt|1.8|km}}<ref name = "Guide-Book">{{Cite book |last1=Tsuboi |first1=Seitarô |last2=Sugi |first2=Ken-ichi |url=https://www.geog.or.jp/km/1926_guide_books_of_the_excursions/B-1%20NIKKO.pdf |title=Geological Guide To The Nikkō District |date=October 1926 |publisher=Pan-Pacific Science Congress |location=Japan |pages=25–26 |language=en}}</ref> | width = {{cvt|6.5|km}}<ref name="Guide-Book" /> | area = {{cvt|11.62|km2}} | depth = {{cvt|163|m}} | max-depth = {{cvt|172|m}}<ref name = "Guide-Book" /> | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{cvt|1,269|m}} | islands = | cities =  | pushpin_map = Japan | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Chūzenji in Japan. | pushpin_map_caption =  | website = | reference = }}

{{nihongo|'''Lake Chūzenji'''|中禅寺湖|Chūzenji-ko}}, also called '''Sea of Happiness''',<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Lake Chuzenji|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Chuzenji|access-date=3 February 2021|website=Britannica}}</ref> is a scenic lake in Nikkō National Park in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It was created 20,000 years ago when Mount Nantai (2484 m) erupted and blocked the river.

The lake has a surface area of 11.62 km<sup>2</sup> and a circumference of 25 km. Its elevation at the surface is 1,269 m (4,124 ft), and the water reaches a depth of 163 m (508 ft). The Yukawa River is the principal source of water. It drains through the Kegon Falls.

Chuzenji Lake was discovered in 782 by a priest named Shōdō when his group succeeded in climbing Mt. Nantai. Considered sacred, the mountain was closed to women, horses, and cows until 1872. In the middle of the Meiji period and early Showa period, many European embassies built vacation houses around the lake. The former Italian villa has been renewed and is now open to visitors. Other sites around the lake include Futara Shrine built in 790, Chuzenji Temple, and Kegon Falls.

In spring, cherry blossoms are blooming. In summer, people can escape the heat and enjoy bird watching and hiking. In fall, there are the famous beautiful autumn leaves and in winter there is the Snow and Ice Festival, plus winter sports like skiing and skating.

The lake was a favourite summer haunt of Sir Ernest Satow when he was Britain's envoy in Japan from 1895 to 1900, as his diaries of that time attest. He constructed a house by the lake which was used as a villa by the British Embassy for over a century.<ref>''The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister in Tokyo (1895-1900)'', Edited by Ian Ruxton, 2003</ref>

== Overview == Lake Chuzenji is presumed to have the oldest brown trout population in Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Berrebi |first=Patrick |last2=Marić |first2=Saša |last3=Snoj |first3=Aleš |last4=Hasegawa |first4=Koh |date=2020 |title=Brown trout in Japan − introduction history, distribution and genetic structure |url=https://www.kmae-journal.org/10.1051/kmae/2020004 |journal=Knowledge & Management of Aquatic Ecosystems |issue=421 |page=2 |doi=10.1051/kmae/2020004 |issn=1961-9502|doi-access=free }}</ref> It is also a source of water for some adjacent springs,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hirayama |first=Mitsuei |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/rikusui1931/49/4/49_4_251/_pdf |title=Water Leakage from Lake Chuzenji, Nikko |last2=Murakami |first2=Keigo |last3=Koyama |first3=Jiro |date=1 April 1988 |publisher=Japanese Journal of Limnology |publication-date=29 June 1988 |pages=1 |language=en}}</ref> and at least around 1981 had an abundant amount of ''Monodiamesa sp.'' and ''Orthocladius chuzesextus'' at the littoral zone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yasuno |first=Masayuki |url=https://www.nies.go.jp/kanko/kenkyu/pdf/972070-1.pdf |title=Ecological Studies on Chironomids in Lakes of the Nikko National Park |last2=Iwakuma |first2=Toshio |last3=Sugaya |first3=Yoshio |last4=Sasa |first4=Manabu |date=March 1984 |publisher=The National Institute for Environmental Studies |pages=19 |language=en}}</ref>

==Views of Lake Chūzenji== <gallery> 中禅寺湖と赤い大鳥居.jpg|View from hotel Hana-an Lake Chūzenji in autumn.jpg|Fall colors at the lake Lake Chuzenjiko and snowpack 2.JPG|Winter at the lake Lake Chuzenji - 2021 10 29.webm|Sunny view of the lake </gallery>

==Sources== *Encyclopædia Britannica, [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/117454/Lake-Chuzenji Lake Chūzenji], accessed on September 20, 2009. *''The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister in Tokyo (1895-1900)'', edited by Ian Ruxton, lulu.com, 2003.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Chuzenji Category:Nikkō, Tochigi