Japanese Cultural Topic# 9 Mt.Fuji
- "No spot in this world can be more horrible, more atrociously dismal, than the cindered tip of the Lotus as you stand upon it" — Lafcadio Hearn (1898)
The Iconic snow tipped peak of Mt.Fuji, standing 3776 meters, it is Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshiped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among the japanese people throughout the centuries.
It situated at the border of two prefectures, Shizuoka and Yamanashi. With unrivaled magnificence and a beautiful cone shape, Mt. Fuji has often been selected as the subject of paintings and literature. It is the world-famous as a symbol of Japan.
At the foot of Mt.Fuji is Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine, the headquarters of 1300 Sengen Jinja Shrines in Japan, worshipped by the early climbers before climbing up. In May, "Yabusame Festival", the Japanese samurai performance with bows and arrows on the horse, is traditionally held in this shrine. You can also visit Shiraito Falls or explore nature of Asagiri Highland including Lake Tanuki where you can see “Diamond Fuji”, the precious moment when the sun rises on the top of Mt.Fuji.
Mt. Fuji has long been the center of mountain worship of ancient Japan. Today, it is a popular mountain to climb, and many people climb Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise called Goraiko from the top. Access to the 5th station is well maintained, so you can go up to this point and thoroughly enjoy the magnificence of Mt. Fuji
The Japanese always refer to Mt. Fuji as Fuji-san, but the -san (山) here simply means "mountain", and has nothing to do with the honorific san (さん) for people's names. "Fujiyama" is a misreading of the name, and is never used by the Japanese themselves — except in the set phrase Fujiyama geisha. As they say, a wise man climbs Fuji once, and a fool twice, but the true wisdom of this phrase is usually only learned the hard way.
Mt. Fuji has long been the center of mountain worship of ancient Japan. Today, it is a popular mountain to climb, and many people climb Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise called Goraiko from the top. Access to the 5th station is well maintained, so you can go up to this point and thoroughly enjoy the magnificence of Mt. Fuji
The Japanese always refer to Mt. Fuji as Fuji-san, but the -san (山) here simply means "mountain", and has nothing to do with the honorific san (さん) for people's names. "Fujiyama" is a misreading of the name, and is never used by the Japanese themselves — except in the set phrase Fujiyama geisha. As they say, a wise man climbs Fuji once, and a fool twice, but the true wisdom of this phrase is usually only learned the hard way.
For more on this icon of the flowery empire please enjoy the video below, Japanology Plus : Mt. Fuji
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