[Shrines and temples of Mount Fuji worship] (Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, former province name: Suruga)

Mt. Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2013. The name of the registration is "Mt. Fuji - Object of worship and source of artistic inspiration" and it has been recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site. The unexpectedness of a natural sight like a mountain being registered as a cultural heritage site caused a stir at the time, but this was a result of considering the reverence that Japanese people have had for Mt. Fuji since ancient times, and the great influence that the diversity of art with Mt. Fuji as a motif has had on the world. As a result, there are 25 constituent heritage sites in Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, which literally embody the breadth of the culture surrounding Mt. Fuji. Among them, the foothills area on the side of the former Suruga Province (present-day eastern Shizuoka Prefecture) are dotted with religious centers that form the foundation of the culture. ① Yamamiya Sengen Shrine (photos 1-4) Yamamiya Sengen Shrine is thought to retain the most primitive form of faith in Mt. Fuji. Located about 13 km southwest of the summit, the shrine is the mountain itself. Today, it does not have the shrine buildings that are commonly imagined, but instead, a sacred area called a "remote worship site" awaits. The origins of this remote worship site are unclear, but it is recorded that it was a center of faith at least as early as the early 9th century. At this time, Mt. Fuji was an active volcano and was at its most active, especially in 864 when the "Jogan eruption," which is thought to be the largest eruption in the history of Mt. Fuji, broke out. In works such as "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," which is thought to have been written around the same time, Mt. Fuji is often represented with "smoke," and it was perceived as a terrifying presence beyond human understanding, rather than as a "beautiful sight" as Japanese people today have it. In fact, along the approach to Yamamiya Sengen Shrine, lined with stone lanterns, volcanic bombs from Mt. Fuji are placed like keystones, emanating an eerie presence. Mt. Fuji, seen from the distant worship site at the end of the approach, now retains its noble and graceful appearance under the blue sky, but when you imagine the smoke rising from the mountain that must have once appeared and dissolving into thunderclouds, it is not difficult to imagine the thoughts of the people who worked hard to calm the threat of nature. Access: About 25 minutes by car from Shin-Fuji IC ② Murayama Sengen Shrine (photos 5-7) Murayama Sengen Shrine, located about 4km east of Yamamiya Sengen Shrine, is also one of the components of the World Heritage Site. Murayama is a major base for the mountain trails on the southwest foot of Mt. Fuji, and developed as a base for Shugendo from an early stage in history. Around the Kamakura period, Fujisan Kohoji Temple was opened and took charge of the mountain trails and temples. Consistently receiving the patronage of the rulers of Suruga Province, the temple continued to flourish. The Dainichi Hall was the core of Kohoji Temple. Dainichi Nyorai was originally regarded as the principal image of Mt. Fuji in the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist thought, but it suffered a major blow with the anti-Buddhist and anti-Shinto movement in the early Meiji period, and many of the Dainichi Nyorai statues around the foot of Mt. Fuji were destroyed. However, Kohoji Temple's Dainichi Hall narrowly escaped destruction thanks to the efforts of local residents, and has survived to this day as a valuable relic that tells of the Fuji faith of the past, standing alongside Murayama Sengen Shrine. Inside the hall, a seated statue of Dainichi Nyorai, said to have been made in the Kamakura period, is neatly placed next to a statue of En no Gyoja, and continues to quietly watch over the changes in the area. Access: About 20 minutes by car from Shin-Fuji IC ③ Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha (photos 8-10) The first shrine to be established as the base of worship of Mt. Fuji was Yamamiya Sengen Shrine, but in 806, at the beginning of the Heian period, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758-811) was ordered by the Imperial Court to move it and build Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha. The area is a key location where the underground waters of Mt. Fuji spring out or join together, and even today you can see the clear water at Wakutama Pond on the grounds. As the head shrine of Fuji worship and the Ichinomiya of Suruga Province, it attracted tremendous faith, and was especially protected by powerful people with ties to Suruga Province, such as the generals of the Kamakura Shogunate, Takeda Shingen, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu in particular revered the temple deeply, donating temple land and building a magnificent shrine building to celebrate his victory in the Battle of Sekigahara. The main hall and worship hall that still stand today were donated by Ieyasu, and the main hall in particular is a two-story tower known as "Asama-zukuri," a groundbreaking piece in the history of shrine architecture. Today, the vermilion torii gates and shrine buildings line the grounds of the approximately 54,000m2 temple grounds, symbolizing the landscape of central Fujinomiya City. In particular, from near the large torii gate, which serves as the entrance to the temple grounds, you can see the majestic Mount Fuji to the northeast. While it has an unshakable presence as a unique symbol, the ever-changing colors of Mount Fuji can be experienced even more powerfully when viewed in conjunction with the large torii gate. Access: About 10 minutes on foot from Fujinomiya Station Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★ (There are quite a few people, but it's a large place so it doesn't bother me) Visited: Around 1pm on the second Sunday of February *Some of the photos in this post were borrowed from a friend #Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha #Yamamiya Sengen Shrine #Murayama Sengen Shrine #Shizuoka Trip #Shizuoka Tourism #Shizuoka Prefecture Tourism #Shizuoka Genki Trip