Documenting the birth of Mount Showa-Shinzan The local postmaster, Mr. Masao Mimatsu, was fascinated by the volcano’s activities, and able to observe and document the mountain’s progress for future generations. These documents were later to be known as the “Mimatsu Diagram” and received international acclaim at volcano conferences throughout the world. In addition, Mr. Mimatsu purchased the land for the volcano’s protection, and up to today it is private property of his descendants – since the mountain was declared a natural monument of Japan, this is quite a rarity worldwide. Furthermore, the area around Lake Toya and volcano Usu including Mt Showa-Shinzan, has been registered as Japan’s first “Unesco Global Geopark” in 2009.