Moutains and hills

Fudzhijama

Published: 18.11.2008

Fudzhijama Mountain is, including with its snow cap, most famous from total 2000 Japanese volcanos, and it is a holy place for local shinto-religion. It is located in the middle of plain- lands along Pacific coast of Honshu Island, up to the height of 3776 m. of sea level.

The Princess of bamboo flower, Konohama-saku-ja-hima (Fudzihima) is a sister of Son Amaterasu Goddess, divine ruler of Japanese Emperors. As a Goddess, she reigns beautiful and dangerous mountain at the same time:Fudzhisan. Fudzhi is Japanese holy mountain and country symbol at the same time. Its symmetrical cone is covered with snow for ten months in a year. It inspired to master works whole generations of painters and poets. To most famous ones belongs wood-engravers of 36 Fudzhi wood-carvings, made by Katsushika Hokusai.

Suddenly exploding volcano could bring death and destruction. It happened in 1707 for the last time, when 1,5 kms wide and 30 kms long belts of lava spilled along the surface. Capital Edo (Tokyo at present), 100 kms distant in west direction, was covered with 20 centimetres ash-layer. Also the name corresponds to this destructive side of the mountain, which gave (with a deep respect) Aine, original inhabitants of Japan: Fudzhi became a Goddness of Fire. The mountain, with its symmetric form, raising above the plain-land, is placed in craters of two predecessing generations of volcanos. Their inside was perfectly emptied with red-hot magma during powerful explosions. Their peaks were fallen into created precipises. Inside these landsliped strattums, there was created - over magmatic mineral vein - new volcano - Fudzhi. It was established as follows: 600000 years ago, changeable strattums of lava-ash were put aside, till time period 300000 years ago, when the mountain obtained today´s face. At present, Fudzhi  reaches the height of 3776 metres and takes the surface of 908 square kilometres approx. Hoei-san, biggest of 70 neighbouring craters, created in 1707 on its hill-side, is to be found in an altitude of 2702 metres. Fudzhi is the biggest and most beautiful, nevertheless, it is not Japanese volcano only. The Pacific continental platform is compressed-in front of Japanese island-arch – below East-Asian ground mass. These enormous (gigantic) movements have the reason (motive) in often earthquakes with catastrophical consequences, and have the cause in creation of 265 Japanese volcanos. 36 volcanos are marked as active, and 20 volcanos developed greater activity since 1900. Holy Fudzhisan Mountain became, with its ideal form, a symbol of eternity, purity incarnation and spirit transparency. Central crater has 600 metres in diameter and is 200 metres deep, names Nai-in (this means holy place). In 806, Emperor Heizei established on its top sanctuary of Shinto God. So, this place became holy place of Japanese religion – shintoism. Anyway, even Buddhist monks settled here. Till 1868, there was not allowed the access up to Fudzhijama  to women. Anyway, increased nationality consciousness, together with revival of shintoism, led to a fact that there were started patriotic pilgrimages to Fudzhi peak. So, each Japanese could undertake ten stoppages of this way (once in his life, at least), and experience sun-rise on the top of Fudzhi. However, it is not often possible from climatic reasons.

The best time-period to access for climbing to the top of the mountains, there are months of July and August, when the volcano is not covered with snow. So, million of people is climbing the mountain in endless chain. First man who entered the mountain peak, was Buddhist monk. He reached the top in 800, in order to look for calm and silence for his meditation. He returned back down with singeing hairs and clothes and informed shocked that crater was full of red-hot lava. Nevertheless, now, we find here, instead of red-hot lava, snow, ash and ice only.

Text: Jakub Štantejský and Monumente der Welt

Photo: Google Earth