Shimazaki Sanpo loves mountains. He loves them so much he calls himself a mountain-man and lives in the alpines, lending his hand as a volunteer in a rescue team, finding people, dead or alive, in the Japanese alpines. The alpines can be a beautiful place, but it's also a dangerous, dangerous place. Gaku: Minna no Yama received the 2008 Manga Taisho ("Cartoon Grand Prize") and the 2009 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.