Nomugi Pass
野麦峠
Matsumoto, Nagano
Known for treacherous weather, sudden landslides, heavy snow, and wild animals, Nomugi Pass is located at an altitude of 1,672 metres near Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture. While it is a tourist route of stunning mountain scenery and relaxing onsens, it is highly recommended not to enter the pass unless proper gear has been obtained and travellers are determined to finish the journey.
Locals avoid the area due to its deeply discomforting history, reports of hallucinations and ghost sightings, and secret tunnels and passages hidden within the rock formations which are said to house frightening creatures.
Nomugi Pass was a perilous and necessary means of travelling between the three cities of Noto, Hida, and Shinshu between the Meiji and Taisho periods (1868 - 1926).
Goods and wares which sold for very little locally were worth a staggering amount in another city over the pass; a tempting deal for people struggling to raise their starving families.
Goods and wares which sold for very little locally were worth a staggering amount in another city over the pass; a tempting deal for people struggling to raise their starving families.
The pass was most often used by girls and women in order to work in factories of poor conditions under the control of cruel, money-obsessed managers. Despite the dismal living conditions, life in a factory was considered 'a better life compared to working the home'.
As being pregnant or having children was a guaranteed refusal of a job, women would abort their pregnancies while travelling the pass.
Due to the extremes in weather, the high likelihood of falling from an edge, and the bleak future which lay ahead in the next city, those who entered the pass were believed to have a poor existence with very few prospects (also known as 'lost souls').
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In present day, Nomugi Pass has an ominous atmosphere of dread, panic, and hopelessness. Due to the minerals within the mountains, hallucinations are believed to be a common occurrence which is added to by the echoing sound of wind and oppressing isolation. These hallucinations usually include sightings of 'swirling spirits', body-less limbs, and transparent figures wearing rags walking barefoot in the snow.
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"あゝ野麦峠" ("Ah! Nomugi Pass!") written by Shigemi Yamamoto in 1968 highlighted the harsh extremes women faced when crossing the pass.
The novel was later adapted into a movie. |
Along with the tunnels built in order for workers to have access during the local dam's construction, secret tunnels and passageways are rumoured to exist within the pass.
While no one is certain what the role of the structures were, entry to the tunnels is strictly forbidden with warnings of being lost forever and beliefs of disfigured creatures which take joy in carnage. When travellers mysteriously disappear while following the pass, it is a local belief the creatures have taken them.
While no one is certain what the role of the structures were, entry to the tunnels is strictly forbidden with warnings of being lost forever and beliefs of disfigured creatures which take joy in carnage. When travellers mysteriously disappear while following the pass, it is a local belief the creatures have taken them.
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