Junko Tabei obituary

Japanese mountaineer who was the first woman to reach the summit of EverestJunko Tabei, who has died aged 77 from cancer, described the summit of Everest as “smaller than a tatami mat”, a pleasing comparison from the Japanese mountaineer who not only was the first woman to climb the mountain, reaching the summit on 16 May 1975, but who also challenged cultural stereotypes in her homeland about a woman’s role in society while at the same time drawing on the deep spiritual feelin