The Legacy and Name of Mount Fuji
Japan’s tallest mountain is Mount Fuji. About 60 miles (100 km) west of the Tokyo-Yokohama urban area, it climbs to 12,388 feet (3,776 meters) at the Pacific Ocean coast in Yamanashi and Shizuoka ken (prefectures) of central Honshu. Even though this volcano hasn’t erupted since 1707, geologists still consider it to be active in most cases. The mountain is the primary feature of the 1936-established Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is the focal point of a 2013 UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mount Fuji’s Iconic Shape and Cultural Significance
It’s unclear where the mountain got its name. In the ancient government record Hitachi no kuni fudoki (713 CE), it is initially mentioned as Fuji no Yama. One of the many ideas regarding the origin of the name is that it comes from a combination of an Ainu term meaning “fire” and the Japanese word for “mountain,” san. Fuji is now written using Chinese ideograms, or kanji, which are more commonly associated with luck or well-being. Nowadays, international visitors prefer to refer to the peak somewhat erroneously as Mount Fujiyama, which translates to “Mount Fuji mountain” in Japanese. In contrast, the Japanese usually refer to the mountain as Fujisan.
With its elegant conical shape, Mount Fuji has gained international fame and is revered as the national symbol of Japan. There is a strong sense of personal affinity among the Japanese with the mountain, and thousands of them ascend to the shrine at the summit each summer. Numerous Japanese artworks have included its picture; none more well-known than Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji woodblock print series, which was first released in 1826 and 1833.
Geology and Formation of Mount Fuji
Tradition holds that an earthquake around 286 BCE built the volcano. The reality is a little more nuanced. Although the exact age of Fuji is unknown, it originated during the last 2.6 million years on a base that may have existed 65 million years ago; the first eruptions and peaks most likely happened 700,000 years ago. Komitake, which makes up the mountain’s north slope, and Ashitaka-yama, located southeast of the peak, were the earliest predecessors to Mount Fuji. A stratovolcano, Mount Fuji was formed between Ashitaka-yama and Komitake peaks approximately 400,000 years ago.
The Volcanic Activity of Mount Fuji
The current mountain is a mixture of three previous volcanoes: Komitake at the base, topped by Ko Fuji (also known as “Old Fuji”) approximately 100,000 years ago, and Shin Fuji (also known as “New Fuji”), the most recent volcano. While the summit of Komitake’s cone continued to rise off Ko Fuji’s slope, most of the island was covered by lava and other ejecta from Ko Fuji over millennia. Shin Fuji likely began to erupt or simmer about 10,000 years ago, and it has continued to do so ever since. In the process, it added the summit zone and filled in the slopes left by its predecessors, giving the mountain its current, almost flawlessly tapered shape.
The volcano has a diameter of about 25 to 30 miles (40 to 50 km) and a circumference of about 78 miles (125 km). The crater at the top of Mount Fuji has a surface diameter of around 1,600 feet (500 meters) and descends to a depth of approximately 820 feet (250 meters). Eight peaks (Oshaidake, Izudake, Jojudake, Komagatake, Mushimatake, Kengamine, Hukusandake, and Kusushidake) surround the crater’s ragged borders.
The volcanic chain that extends northward from the Mariana Islands and the Izu Islands through the Izu Peninsula to northern Honshu includes Mount Fuji. Geologists observe that Mount Fuji’s volcanic activity is most likely caused by the Pacific Plate subducting beneath the Philippine Plate at the Nankai Trough, which runs along Japan’s southern coast. Big eruptions happen roughly every 500 years. According to accounts of the most recent significant eruption, which occurred in December 1707, ash blanketed nearby temples and homes and clouded the daytime sky as far as Edo (modern-day Tokyo). According to geologists, a magnitude-8.4 earthquake that occurred 49 days before the eruption was the cause of it. Since 1707, Mount Fuji’s volcanic activity has usually only resulted in minor earthquakes; however, in the days that followed the Great Sendai Earthquake of 2011, an aftershock with a magnitude of 6.4 impacted the mountain’s southern flank.
The Fuji Five Lakes and Surrounding Attractions
The Fuji Five Lakes (Fuji Goko), which are formed by the filling of lava flows, are on the northern slopes of Mount Fuji. From east to west, they are Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Sai, Lake Shōji, and Lake Motosu. At 2,726 feet (831 meters), Lake Kawaguchi is the lowest point and is well known for having an inverted reflection of Mount Fuji on its cool waters. With its fun parks, botanical gardens, ski slopes, and other idle places, the region has a well-developed tourism industry. One of the most well-liked resort places is Lake Yamanaka, the largest of the lakes at 2.5 square miles [6.4 square km]. Numerous golf courses and other attractions can be found in the valley between Mount Fuji and Mount Kenashi, which is located west of the mountain. The forested volcanic Hakone region, southeast of Mount Fuji, is well-known for its hot spring resorts at Yumoto and Gōra.
The region’s plentiful streams and groundwater make farming, the chemical and paper industries, and other businesses easier to run. Other operations include dairy farming and rainbow trout cultivation.
Sacred Mount Fuji: Pilgrimage and Modern Climbing Traditions
Encircled by temples and shrines, including ones at the crater’s edge and bottom, Mount Fuji is considered a sacred mountain by some, the Fujikō sect considering it to be almost a soul. Although women were prohibited from climbing the mountain until the Meiji Restoration (1868), mountain climbing has long been a sacred tradition. In the past, pilgrims would typically climb while wearing white robes. Nowadays, the majority of the yearly influx of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and casual climbers occurs during the climbing season, which runs from July 1 to August 26. Climbers usually leave at night to reach the peak by sunrise.