1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, Welcome to this Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: where we dust off a little piece of history every day. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: Today is September. The day was September nine. Japanese mountaineer 5 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: Junko Tabei, known for being the first woman to summit 6 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, was born. 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: Tabe was raised in Mihadombachi, a small town in northern Japan. 8 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: She grew up during World War Two and relative poverty, 9 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: and was considered a quote weak child, but she did 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: not let that label define her. She became interested in 11 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: mountaineering when she was ten years old. On a school 12 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: field trip, she climbed Mount Asahi and Mount Chaosu, two 13 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: peaks that are part of Mountain Nasu, a group of 14 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: volcanoes in Japan. She liked how climbing mountains was challenging 15 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: but not competitive, a person who could quit in the 16 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: middle of the mountain if they wanted to. In nineteen 17 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 1: sixty two, Tabe graduated from Showa Women's University in Tokyo 18 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: with a degree in English literature. She planned to teach, 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: but she soon made climbing a priority and took jobs 20 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: to support herself. She worked as a medical journal editor 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: and joined several mountain climbing clubs. She also married climber 22 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: Masanobo Tabei, whom she met in nineteen sixty five, but 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: the climbing clubs she was part of consistent mostly of 24 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: men and weren't a completely supportive environment. She formed the 25 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: Joshi Tohan Club for women and continued training. She climbed 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: go to Dock and practiced her climbing skills on Mount Fuji. 27 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: She went with a group up Annapurnah three in Nepal. 28 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: It was her first expedition to the Himalayas, and it 29 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: took place in nineteen seventy and she worked in places 30 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: Besides her job as a science journal editor, she offered 31 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: piano lessons and English tutoring. Still, she set her sights 32 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: on summoning Mount Everest. Tabei and Aco Miyazaki planned to 33 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: lead a trip of Mount Everest in nineteen seventy five, 34 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: but potential financiers were not convinced that ten women could 35 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: make the climb to the summit. The group did eventually 36 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: make enough money to fund their expedition thanks to a 37 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: TV network and Tokyo newspaper but it was a small 38 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: amount considering previous costs for trips of Mount Everest. Fifteen 39 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: women and six sherp reporters ascended Mount Everest. Once all 40 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: of the team had gathered, they began practicing the climbs 41 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: at base camp. For a couple of months, the climbers 42 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: moved between camps, hiked sections up and down the mountain, 43 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 1: and got adjusted to life on the mountain. Then they 44 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: began the climb, but on May fourth, Taba and her 45 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: tentmates were buried by an avalanche. They survived five but 46 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: there was pressure on her to give up. She was 47 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,919 Speaker 1: bruised and it could not walk and time was taking 48 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: The monsoons were on their way. After a couple of days, 49 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: Tabei began to walk again, and on May tenth, she 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: and Ashrba began to climb the mountain again. She had 51 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: to crawl sometimes on the ascent, but on May sixteenth, 52 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: the two of them made it to the summit. That 53 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: made Tabei the first woman to reach the top of 54 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: the mountain, and she got a lot of press attention 55 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: for her accomplishment. In the following years, she summited Kilimanjaro, 56 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: Mount Aconcagua, Denali, Mount Elbrest, Vincent Massif, and Java Peak 57 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: that made her the first woman to summit the highest 58 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: mountain on each continent in n Tabai went on to 59 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: advocate for environmentalism. She did post graduate work at Koshu 60 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: University in Fukuoka, Japan, studying mountain degradation caused by waste 61 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: people leave behind. She also was director of the preservation 62 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: organization Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan. Tabe died of cancer 63 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: in She has survived by Masanobu Tabei and their children. 64 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Scheff Coote and hopefully you know a little 65 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 66 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: feel like correcting my pronunciation or my accent on anything 67 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: that I've said in the show, feel free to leave 68 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: a very kind comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. At 69 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: t d I h C podcast come back tomorrow for 70 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: another tidbit from History. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, 71 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 72 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.