I moved to Kofu several years ago, and I will regularly update photos and news.

Footsteps of the Pilgrims of Mt. Fuji

A tour sponsored by the Global & Exchange Division, Yamanashi Prefectural Government to test the feasibility of this tour

http://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/english/index.html

Soon, this tour will be available for tourist, charging a fee.

Aim:

Enable to understand the spiritual importance of Mt. Fuji and the worship of Mt. Fuji

Short introduction of the tour:

Principally, three ways of worship exists.

A.) Viewing Mt. Fuji from a distance

B.) Creating pictures or literature

C.) Climbing Mt. Fuji

(https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/1387/)

Mt. Fuji was an active volcano. To calm down the mountain and prevent further large scales eruption, the emperor ordered to build shrines, which are called Sengen-Shrines. Sengen means deities of the volcano; more than 1300 Sengen-Shrines exist throughout Japan.

At this tour we visited one of this Shrines:

Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-Shrine.

"The goddess of Mt. Fuji, Konohana-sakuya-hime-no-mikoto, Hikoho-no-ninigi-no-mikoto, and Ooyamazumi-no-kami are worshipped here."

(https://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/foreign/english/spot/p1_8016.html)

"the shrine is called “Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja,” “jinja” being the word for “shrine.” “Sengen,” with the old reading of “asama,” is related to Shinto animistic worship of volcanoes and Sengen branch shrines circle the mountain. "

(http://www.sengenjinja.jp/english/index.html)

After the activities of the volcano subsided, the worship practice changed slowly from A.) and B.) to C.).

Shugendo (修験道)played an important role for Japanese traditions and spiritual guiding.

"Shugendō (also spelled Shugendo) can be loosely translated as "path of training to achieve spiritual powers." Shugendō is an important Kami-Buddha combinatory sect that blends pre-Buddhist mountain worship, Kannabi Shinkō 神奈備信仰 (the idea that mountains are the home of the dead and of agricultural spirits), shamanistic beliefs, animism, ascetic practices,

Chinese Yin-Yang mysticism and Taoist magic, and the rituals and spells of Esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism in the hope of achieving magical skills, medical powers, and long life. Practitioners are called Shugenja 修験者 or Shugyōsha 修行者 or Keza 験者 (those who have accumulated power) and Yamabushi 山伏 (those who lie down in the mountain). These various terms are typically translated into English as ascetic monk or mountain priest. As a general rule, this sect stresses physical endurance as the path to enlightenment."

(http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shugendou.html)

Shugenja started to climb the mountain. Slowly, a new believe arose. Worshipping Mt. Fuji and climbing this mountain, as Buddha and deities are living in this mountain, will enable to reach the paradise after death.

"When volcanic activity subsided in the late Heian period (794–1185), Mt. Fuji became a center of training in Shugendo, a fusion of traditional Japanese mountain worship and esoteric Buddhism. The practice of worshipping Mt. Fuji from afar thus changed and people came to climb its slopes for worship. In the early 12th century, Matsudai Shonin founded Dainichi Temple at the summit. By the late Muromachi period (1336–1573), climbing Mt. Fuji for worship gradually gained currency and became a thing not only for monks but also for the general public. In the Sengoku period (ca 1467–1590), Hasegawa Kakugyo developed a new sect of Mt. Fuji worship, which grew in popularity in the mid-Edo period (1603–1868) by the name Fuji-kou. This prompted many in the Kanto region to ascend Mt. Fuji on a pilgrimage of sacred sites such as the Shiraito Waterfall. In the Meiji period (1868–1912), women were permitted to climb to the summit."

(http://www.fujisan223.com/en/reason/)

The Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen-Shrine is important for climbing Mt. Fuji, as one of the important climbing routes in the Edo period started from this Shrine (Yoshidaguchi climbing trail).

Of course, with the increasing numbers of people that worship Mt. Fuji, new lodging needed to be provided. In the Edo period more than 800 Fuji-ko (Fuji pilgrimage associations) existed. Lodgings for the pilgrims were called Oshi-houses or Oshi-lodgings. The owners of these lodgings were called Oshi, had a license to be Shinto priest, and acted as religious guide. A whole Oshi-town existed at the peak of the movement.

We visited one example of these old lodgings:

Former-Togawa family House. Certainly, you can pray to the goodness for a safe trip, but as you will meet Buddha and deities at the mountain, a purification step to reach the spiritual awareness might be necessary.

The Funatsu lava tree molds, that we visited, played an important role. Around 1000 years ago lava engulfed the trees in that area, trees burned out letting to formation of caves, and some of these caves are big enough that humans can enter. An assembly of caves look like a human body and the deepest point is referred to the mother womb. This sacred place enables a religious rebirth and purifies your body and mind for climbing the sacred mountain.

Comments:

1.) As the caves are wet and rough, a extra pair of shoes suitable for hiking are recommended.

2.) If you have problems with your back or knees, you will not be able to enter mother's womb.

3.) People having Claustrophobia should not enter the caves.

Summary:

The number of tourist that climb Mt. Fuji are increasing steadily; however, they can not embrace the meaning of climbing Mt. Fuji, as for most of the tourist it is only another Facebook photo to show their strength to climb or to tick off the bucket list. If you join this tour before you climb Mt. Fuji, you will understand that this is a spiritual experience, and the mountain is a living entity.

Thus, you will gain a deeper conscious for climbing Mt. Fuji.