Funagata volcano, Stratovolcano on border of Yamagata and Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Mount Funagata is a stratovolcano on the border of Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures, rising to 1,500.34 metres at its summit. Its Funagata volcano group includes Mount Ushiroshirahige, Mount Mitsumine and Mount Izumigatake, while Mount Kurohana is now considered a separate, older volcano. The summit holds a first-order triangulation point and the Funagata Goshō Shrine.

The volcano formed between the end of the Tertiary and the start of the Quaternary, at the same time as the Ou Mountains were rising. Those geological movements gradually shaped the whole group of peaks visible today.

The mountain takes its name from its boat-shaped outline, visible from certain viewpoints in the surrounding valleys. In Yamagata Prefecture, many locals call it Mount Gosho, a name that feels more familiar to those who grew up near it.

The mountain can be approached from both the Yamagata and Miyagi sides, with trails leading to different peaks across the massif. Conditions change quickly at this elevation, so checking local trail reports before setting out is a good habit.

Mount Kurohana, long treated as part of the Funagata massif, is now considered a separate volcano: its layers and potassium-argon dating show it is older than the Quaternary andesite peaks around it. It erupted pigeonite basalt, a rock that differs from the andesite of the main cone.