Maki Yūkō (槇 有恒, Maki Yūkō, 5 February 1894 – 2 May 1989), also known as Maki Aritsune (using the native Japanese reading of the characters of his given name;Yūkō is the Sino-Japanese reading), was a Japanese mountain climber. He was born in Sendai and died in Tokyo.

Maki Yūkō
Born
Maki Aritsune

(1894-02-05)5 February 1894
Died2 May 1989(1989-05-02) (aged 95)
Tokyo, Japan
Alma materKeio University Faculty of Law
OccupationMountaineer

Early life and education

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Maki climbed Mount Fuji at the age of ten and made many climbs in his teens, including Mount Aso. He established a climbing club while studying law at Keio University in Tokyo, from which he graduated in 1919. He continued his studies in the United States and Great Britain.[1]

Climbing career

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During the period 1919 to 1921, he made numerous climbs in Switzerland, and on 10 September 1921, he made the first ascent of the Eiger by the Mittellegigrat (northeast ridge) with mountain guides Fritz Amatter, Samuel Brawand and Fritz Steuri.[1][2][3]

He made a donation of 10,000 Swiss francs toward the construction of the Mittellegi Hut.[1][3][4]

In 1922, he made the first winter ascent of Mount Yari (3,180 metres (10,430 ft)) in Japan. In 1925, with five other Japanese mountaineers and three Swiss mountain guides, he made the first ascent of Mount Alberta (3,619 metres (11,873 ft)) in the Canadian Rockies.[5] The expedition was sponsored by Prince Chichibu.[1]

In 1926, he was again in the Alps, making the ascent of the Matterhorn via the Zmuttgrat, and climbing with Prince Chichibu.[1][6]

Maki's climbing career was interrupted by World War II, preventing him from leading a Japanese expedition to the Himalayas.[1] In 1956, Maki led the third Japanese expedition to the Nepalese mountain Manaslu, where expedition members Toshio Imanishi and Sherpa Gyalzen Norbu made the first ascent of Manaslu on 9 May 1956.[7][1][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Douglas, Ed (2011). Mountaineers: Great Tales of Bravery and Conquest. Smithsonian Institution. New York, New York: DK Publishing. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-0-7566-8682-6.
  2. ^ Harrer, Heinrich; Maix, Kurt (1959). The White Spider: The Story of the North Face of the Eiger. Trans. Hugh Merrick. Rupert Hart-Davis. p. 27. ISBN 0-586-08874-1.
  3. ^ a b Brawand, Samuel (July 1989). "Erinnerungen an Yuko Maki" [Memories of Yuko Maki] (PDF) (in German). Grindelwald. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Kev (2012). The Swiss Alps. Cicerone World Mountain Ranges. Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. p. 331. ISBN 978-1-85284-465-3. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  5. ^ Yoshizawa, Ichiro (1990). "Yuko Maki, 1894-1989". American Alpine Journal. 32 (64). American Alpine Club: 338. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  6. ^ Brawand, pp. 7-8.
  7. ^ "The Ascent of Manaslu". Himalayan Journal. 20. Himalayan Club. 1957. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Kev (2000). Manaslu: A Trekker's Guide. Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. p. 14. ISBN 1-85284-302-0. Retrieved 23 January 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Publications

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