The Japanese have always lived a precarious existence among rumbling peaks of fire, cataclysmic earthquakes and tidal waves.
Mount Unzen, which on Monday drove thousands of villagers from its forested flanks with raging floods of lava and ash, is the deadliest of Japan's many volcanic peaks.Some 250 volcanoes form the backbone of the Japanese archipelago - 8 percent of all the volcanoes in the world. About 75 of them are active and 19 are considered dangerous and under constant surveillance.
Many, including majestic Mount Fuji, are topped with shrines attesting to the divinity that Japanese bestow on the mighty forces of nature. Abundant volcanic hot springs also are worshiped for their healing and relaxing powers.
Unzen, in Nagasaki prefecture, 610 miles southwest of Tokyo, was the site of Japan's most disastrous volcanic eruption in 1792, with an estimated 15,000 people killed.
The 4,485-foot mountain, composed of several volcanic peaks, remained active but silent for almost 200 years until it sprang to life Nov. 17, spewing mud and steam from two new craters.
It erupted again on Feb. 12 and May 24. Then, on Monday, floods of lava, ash and mud rushed down the mountain, setting afire much of a village nestled among the rice terraces that cover the volcano's lower slopes.
This week's eruption of Mount Unzen marked the first time that a volcanic eruption in Japan had caused deaths since 1962, when Mount Tokachi on the northernmost island of Hokkaido erupted, killing five people.
The most recent major eruption in the archipelago was in November 1986, on Izu-Oshima Island, 70 miles south of Tokyo, when Mount Mihara blasted molten rock 660 yards into the air. The entire island was evacuated, and there were no direct casualties.
The island's 11,000 residents returned about one month later, and now live a cautious existence, with one eye on the volcano that attracts thousands of tourists each year but could blow at any time.
Oshima is the largest of the seven-island Izu chain, which is considered one of the world's most active volcanic areas, although active peaks are scattered throughout the islands.
Japan's most famous peak, Mount Fuji, last erupted in 1707 and laid a blanket of ash over Edo, now Tokyo, 60 miles to the northeast. Fuji is considered an active volcano.
Japanese authorities have planted seismographs and other instruments in the slopes of volcanos considered dangerous.