The Island of Izu Ōshima, located approximately 75 miles southeast of Honshu, Japan, in the Izu archipelago of the Philippine Sea, is an inhabited volcanic island. The most famous of the volcanoes here is Mount Mihara.
Mount Mihara is predominantly basaltic, and major eruptions occur every 100 – 150 years. In 1986, the eruption saw lava fountains spout up to 1 mile high, at which time all of the 12,000 occupants of the island were evacuated.
Mount Mihara is also known as the place where the Japanese government imprisoned Godzilla in the movie, The Return of Godzilla, and in the movie Godzilla vs. Biollante, bombs were placed on Mount Mihara and release Godzilla.
It is a criminal offense to buy a 1-way ticket to this island.
It all began on February 11, 1933. 21-year old student, Kiyoko Matsumoto committed suicide by throwing herself into the volcanic crater of Mount Mihara.
Matsumoto was a student at Jissan College in Tokyo. She developed an infatuation with her fellow student, Masako Tomita. She wrote a letter, “Dearest, I am bewildered to distraction by the perplexities of maturing womanhood. I can stand the strain no longer. What shall I do? I should like to jump into a volcano.”
Lesbian relationships were taboo in Japanese culture at that time, and as such, Tomita traveled with Matsumoto to Mount Mihara. They climbed Mount Mihara until they reached the top, Matsumoto threw herself into the fiery depths of the volcano.
Tomita returned to school, and told all her friends of Matsumoto’s leap. Her suicide became a media sensation across Japan. News agencies picked up the story and made her an instant celebrity. Her note to Tomita was printed in newspapers, and suddenly Mount Mihara began to attract tourists and curiosity seekers.
Not long after, Masako Tomita died, though the cause of her death was never publicized.
Kiyoko Matsumoto’s death, and sexual orientation, became a new cultural meme in Japan. Lesbian women found a new outlet for their condition, where they once suffered in silence, they could now kiss the flames.
The note left behind by Matsumoto made her suicide a romantic ending. Couples began to make suicide pacts, known as shinjuu in Japan. Until the outbreak of WW2, as many as 45 couples would commit suicide each year by throwing themselves into the volcano.
In one noted shinjuu case in 1956, 27 year old Fumisuke Onodera and 21 year old Chieko Numakura decided on suicide after learning of Numakura’s bone tuberculosis. They both jumped into the volcano, but instead of a fiery death, they landed on a ledge about 30 feet above the lava. Onodera tried to climb out with Numakura on his back. Unable to carry her out, he ultimately climbed out on his own and arranged for her rescue. They were both badly burned, but survived.
To profit from the volcano’s rising popularity, Jinnojo Hayashi, the president of Tokyo Bay Steamship Company, set up a daily steamship line to run to the island where it was located. Travelers would ride donkeys and horses to the top of the mountain. The observation post near the top of the volcanic cone, allowed them to see straight down into the lava filled crater. The observation post soon claimed the name, “Suicide Point.” The fishing community at the foot of the volcano prospered with the new tourist trade.
In 1933 alone, 944 people (804 men, 140 women) jumped into the crater. In the next two years, an additional 350 suicides were recorded, along with 1386 attempted suicides. People would travel to the observation point, just to watch people jump.
Although alarmed by the prospect of copycat deaths, authorities did little to discourage the suicides at first. But as the number of deaths grew, they were forced to take action. The Mount Mihara suicide epidemic ended through enhanced security. It officially became a criminal offense to purchase a 1-way ticket to the Island of Izu Ōshima
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